Inset, left to right: Nelson Clements (DeKalb County Police) and Janice F. Clements (Gregory B. Levett & Sons Funeral Home). Background: An image of Janice Clements holding on to the door of Nelson Clements' car before she was fatally run over (WSB).
A 64-year-old Georgia man is accused of killing his estranged wife by running her over as she held onto the door of his pickup truck, dragging her body back into her home and waiting more than an hour before calling for help.
Nelson David Clements was indicted on two counts of first-degree vehicular homicide and one count each of reckless driving, hit-and-run resulting in death, stalking and concealing the death of another in connection with the June 21 death of 58-year-old Janice Frazier Clements, court records show.
According to the indictment filed in DeKalb County, Clements knew his wife was holding onto the passenger-side door handle when he accelerated his Ram 1500 out of the driveway of her home in the 2800 block of Leisure Springs Circle, "running her over in the street."
Prosecutors further accuse him of failing to immediately stop, return to the scene of the collision or provide "reasonable assistance" after the incident.
After allegedly running over Janice Clements, Nelson Clements allegedly took steps to "conceal her death" from investigators.
DeKalb County police told Law&Crime that officers responded to Janice Clements' home at 2:54 a.m. on June 21 for a serious-injury call. First responders found a woman in her 50s, later identified as Janice Clements, and transported her to a local hospital. She was pronounced dead shortly after arriving at the facility.
After allegedly dragging Janice Clements' body back to the house and waiting more than an hour to call 911, Nelson Clements told neither police nor medical personnel that a pickup truck had just run her over, officials say.
Nelson Clements is also accused of contacting his wife at her home the day before her death without her consent and "for the purpose of harassing and intimidating her," the indictment's stalking charge states. The concealment charge alleges that his actions "hindered the discovery of whether or not [Janice Clements] was unlawfully killed by Nelson Clements."
Nelson Clements' attorney, Jackie Patterson, has maintained that Janice Clements was at fault for grabbing onto his client's car, telling Atlanta-based ABC affiliate WSB that her death was a "complete accident."
But the victim's family members say footage of the incident captured on a home surveillance camera undercuts the defendant's claim that Janice Clements' death was accidental.
Several relatives told WSB that she was trying to stop her estranged husband from driving because they suspected he had been drinking. The family said the footage appeared to show him walking back up the driveway toward the house. The family also claims that based on the time-stamped footage, Nelson Clements did not call 911 for more than an hour.
Patterson also disputed the allegation that Nelson Clements was intoxicated, saying police never asked him to take an alcohol test.
Nelson Clements was arrested on Oct. 23 and booked into the DeKalb County Jail, where he is being held without bond. It was not immediately clear when he was scheduled to appear in court for his arraignment.