Man identified in transient camp killing

By Paul Shockley
Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Richard Allen Nelson, 46, of Mesa, was the man killed in a transient camp Friday near the Colorado River, according to the Mesa County Coroner’s office.

Nelson was also formerly associated with an address in Fort Worth, Texas.

The coroner’s office, however, has not specified a cause and manner of death, saying in a press release those facts were withheld because arrest records remain under seal. Daniel Warner, 47, was ordered Tuesday held on $250,000 bond at the Mesa County Jail, where he was booked Friday on suspicion of second-degree murder in connection to Nelson’s death.

Nelson’s body was reported around 11:30 a.m. Friday by another man who had been camping about a quarter-mile south of Colorado Highway 340. Police have said there were signs of a disturbance in the camp, but have said little else about the case.