A Sad Family Tragedy

If anyone thought for a minute that victims of child molestation didn't find themselves with serious emotional problems later in life, just take a look at this story.

The mother who killed her son's accused molester in a courtroom in 1993, a sensational story that led to a TV movie, has died.

Ellie Nesler died Friday in Sacramento at 56 years of age, after a 14 year battle with breast cancer.

Nesler gained notoriety after she shot and killed Daniel Driver, who had been accused of molesting four boys, including her then-six-year old son William, at a Christian camp. There was a mixture of support for taking out a man who many believed was a monster, but there was an equal measure of condemnation for her vigilante-brand of justice.

After being convicted of voluntary manslaughter, Nesler's 10-year sentence was overturned because of jury misconduct. She pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was let out after three years due to her cancer. In 2002, she pleaded guilty to selling and possessing methamphetamine, and served four years of a six-year sentence.

In and of itself, this was a terrible story. But it doesn't end there. In reporting about Nesler's death, the LA Times also noted that William Nesler, who again was only six years old at the time his mother killed his accused molester, has himself had serious problems with the law. In 2005, he was convicted of first degree murder for stomping to death a man hired to clean his family's property. He is currently serving a 25-year-to-life sentence for that crime.

A sad tragedy all around.