A Santa Ana man who allegedly killed a woman with his van has died in custody

Nelson Ward Jr., a 62-year-old Santa Ana resident, won’t be charged with murder after allegedly runninv over a woman in a hotel parking lot in Buena Park, back in 2015, because he died in mid-November while in custody, of natural causes, according to the O.C. Register.

Ward Jr. was charged with murder as well as assault with a deadly weapon or instrument likely to produce great bodily injury, after he allegedly killed 32-year-old Jessica Carvajal at about 1:20 a.m., on Sep. 12, 2015, in the parking lot of a Holiday Inn at 7000 Beach Blvd., in Buena Park.

Carvajal and her boyfriend had met with Ward that day, which was his birthday and the three of them had spent the day driving around and drinking, according to the prosecutor.

Ward eventually took a nap in the back of the van while Carvajal and her boyfriend drove around. The boyfriend was at the wheel and Carvajal was in the front passenger seat.

When Ward awoke he became angry and for some reason blamed Carvajal and her boyfriend for stealing his vehicle and wasting his gas. Ward then demanded that they get out of the van, so the boyfriend pulled into the parking lot at the Holiday Inn.

The argument continued after the couple had exited the van. Ward then got behind the wheel, stepped on the gas and drove up and over a divider and a palm tree then onto a sidewalk, where he slammed Carvajal against a wall. She was pronounced dead at the scene and her boyfriend was slightly injured.

The police arrested Ward at a nearby hotel when investigators saw that he had blood on his shoes.

Now Ward is dead and he has escaped justice.

Art Pedroza Editor
Our Editor, Art Pedroza, worked at the O.C. Register and the OC Weekly and studied journalism at CSUF and UCI. He has lived in Santa Ana for over 30 years and has served on several city and county commissions. When he is not writing or editing Pedroza specializes in risk control and occupational safety. He also teaches part time at Cerritos College and CSUF. Pedroza has an MBA from Keller University.
Art Pedroza

Our Editor, Art Pedroza, worked at the O.C. Register and the OC Weekly and studied journalism at CSUF and UCI. He has lived in Santa Ana for over 30 years and has served on several city and county commissions. When he is not writing or editing Pedroza specializes in risk control and occupational safety. He also teaches part time at Cerritos College and CSUF. Pedroza has an MBA from Keller University.

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  • This was my sister and we never got to see our day in court. However, I do feel a little more at peace because I can move on and not have to deal with revisiting the nightmare that happened three years ago today.

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