Murdered: Steven Nurse
On Sunday, July 23rd, 2017, Steven Nurse was discovered dead in his home. Immediately, police focused on one suspect. Who killed Steven Nurse?
On Sunday, July 23rd, 2017, in the southwest area of Travis County in Central Texas, deputies were sent to preform a wellness check at the home of Steven Nurse. Nurse's boss had called them because he had failed to show up to work since July 10th. When the deputies arrived, they were greeted by a neighbor, who told them that he had not seen Nurse or his vehicle in a while. A former neighbor also reported to the deputies that they had tried to text Nurse to check on him, receiving a message back saying only, "I'm pretty sick right now." The deputies decided to track Nurse's phone, which lead them to parking garage at the Hill County Galleria, about 15 minutes away from the home.
Upon arrival to the parking garage, they found Nurse's adult son, Skye McMillon, seated inside Nurse's missing car. When the deputies called Nurse's phone, they heard it ringing in the passenger seat of the car, next to McMillon. McMillon told the deputies that he had taken his father to nearby Seton Hospital that past Thursday, because he was sick. Later on, his story changed and he said it was that past Friday that he had taken his father to the hospital, not Thursday. McMillon claimed that he had not seen his father since he was dropped off, and that he had had his father's phone since then.
Deputies did not believe McMillon's story regarding the hospital. Before they had tracked Nurse's phone, they had checked all the hospitals in the area for any sign of him. After speaking with McMillon, the officers arrived back at Nurse's house, which they then entered. Almost immediately, they discovered Nurse's body in a downstairs bedroom, laying on the ground by the bed and badly decomposed. His body was covered in a blanket and what appeared to be salt and foot powder. There were empty salt containers and two candles next to the body. The investigating detectives believed that the candles, salt, and possibly foot powder were used as an attempt to cover up the smell of the body decomposing.
Skye McMillon, Steven Nurse's son, had a history of violent behavior. In 2011, he was arrested and charged with Aggravated Assault with Serious Bodily Injury after he beat Nurse in the head with a shovel while he slept. While Nurse survived the attack, he had severe injuries and was in critical condition in the ICU at Brackenridge Hospital for many days. As a result of the attack, Nurse could no longer work his previous job. He was demoted at his job at Motorola and worked an entry-level job, with the people that he had previously trained now training him.
Following the 2011 attack, McMillon's mother, Melissa McMillon moved out of the family home and to Beaumont, Texas. She feared for her safety. About a month after McMillon's arrest in 2017, Melissa McMillon was killed in a car accident, along with her sister and nephew.
According to detectives, McMillon reported that he had wanted to kill his father, and then himself, for about two weeks before the attack in 2011. He had previously tried to bring up his mental illness issues with his parents, but was told to "brush it off."
Prior to being arrested and charged for the murder of his father, McMillon was also charged with evidence tampering, because he tried to hide the smell of the body. Nurse death was caused by blunt force trauma, the murder weapon possibly identified as a barbell found with Nurse's blood on it. While the tampering charge was dropped as a result of a plea deal, McMillon was ultimately sentenced to 40 years for the death of his father. He is still in prison to this day.
Sources:
Ryan Autullo, Austin American-Statesman
Katie Green & Courtney Schoenemann
FOX 7 Austin
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