A Stayton-area man accused of murdering his father now faces an attempted murder charge for allegedly attacking his grandfather, who discovered the slaying on the same night in March.
Joshua Elbert Nelson, 23, was arraigned on an indictment Friday in Linn County Circuit Court. He also faces new charges of strangulation and fourth-degree assault.
He was initially charged with a single count of murder.
The next hearing in the case was scheduled for Aug. 22.
Timothy Nelson, 50, was killed on the night of March 16, and Robert Nelson, his father, discovered the body on the property the family lived at in the 41600 block of Stayton Scio Road.
Robert Nelson retrieved his pistol and confronted his grandson — after Timothy Nelson had gone to pick up Joshua Nelson from a Stayton bar, according to a probable cause affidavit.
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Joshua Nelson immediately denied wrongdoing, then tried to flee. Robert Nelson fired a shot in the air to keep him from running away, the affidavit states.
Robert Nelson told authorities that his grandson eventually knocked him down, straddled him and started choking him. Joshua Nelson took the pistol, tossed it aside and ran away, Robert Nelson said, according to court paperwork.
A deputy arrived shortly afterward, and Joshua Nelson ran inside the residence before surrendering to a SWAT unit that had been called to the property.
According to the affidavit, Joshua Nelson smelled strongly of alcohol and had a large amount of blood on his pants, shirt and arms.
A deputy also observed a shovel by Timothy Nelson’s body that had blood on the blade, according to court paperwork.