4 Tragic Thanksgiving Murders

Every year, most Americans celebrate Thanksgiving on the fourth Thursday in November. The national holiday celebrates togetherness with family and loved ones while giving thanks for the blessings of the harvest. Big meals, parades, football, and gratitude for the things we’re thankful are all part of the festivities. Other people like those listed below are not so thankful and choose the special holiday as the time to commit horrific crimes.

Omaima Nelson

Omaima Nelson, a 23-year-old Egpytian-born fashion model, plunged a pair of scissors deep into the chest and stomach of her 56-year-old husband, Bill Nelson, on Thanksgiving Day 1991.

After stabbing Bill, Omaima repeatedly struck him in the head with a clothes iron with such force that it eventually broke. She cut Bill’s body into several pieces, boiled his hands in oil to remove fingerprints, and chopped off and boiled his head, sticking it in the freezer. After Bill’s head froze, Omaima knocked out all of his teeth and castrated him.

Omaima claimed her husband had been sexually abusive to her throughout their marriage, giving her reason to cut off his penis. According to Omaima, Bill pimped her out to old creepy men for money and once, a car.

She is serving a life sentence at the California Institute for Women.

Paul Michael Merhige Murdered Four Family Members

“I’ve waited 20 years to do this,” Paul Michael Merhige reportedly said after massacring four family members during a family Thanksgiving dinner in 2009. The South Florida man appeared happy and content as he enjoyed dinner with 16 others, laughing and joking with everyone at the dinner.

After dinner, Merhige pulled a handgun from his waist and opened fire, killing his twin sisters, one of whom was pregnant, his cousin-in-law, and his cousin’s 6-year-old daughter. He is serving seven consecutive life sentences after accepting a plea deal to avoid the death penalty.

Joel Guy Jr. Murdered His Parents

Joel Guy Jr. grew up in Knoxville, Tennessee, although relocated to Baton Rouge, LA, as an adult. On Thanksgiving 2016, Guy Jr. drove from Baton Rogue to Knoxville to celebrate the holiday with his parents and three sisters.

As the family enjoyed a meal of turkey, stuffing, and all the fixins’, the family relaxed and spent quality time together in the family room. When night fell, the three sisters returned to their homes.

It is unclear when Guy Jr. ambushed his parents -he drove back home the Monday following Thanksgiving- although he would later confess to police that he became enraged at his parents after they told him they could no longer financially support the 28-year-old as they had been for years.

Guy Jr. stabbed both of his parents; his mother 31 times, and his father 42, and then dismembered their bodies, and attempted to dissolve their bodies in drain cleaner mixed with bleach, sewer cleaner, and hydrogen peroxide.

He was convicted of both murders and sentenced to life in prison.

Matt Harper Kills Sister

On Thanksgiving Day 1995, a house fire disrupted the wholesomeness of the Thanksgiving holiday in Fairfax County, Virginia, especially after investigators found a body smoldering inside the home.

Police later determined that the body was that of a woman named Anne Harper. The 20-year-old had been stabbed with a knife and beaten with a wooden rolling pin, both items found in the blaze. Her autopsy revealed she had suffered multiple stab wounds, causing her death, as well as blunt force trauma to the head.

Anne had returned to her mom’s home for the holiday. Her brother, Matt, and grandmother also lived in the home. Matt told police he had spent the night at his girlfriend’s home. Police were stumped and left without leads.

Three years later, Matt Harper was charged with his sister’s murder. Although their mother insisted Matt was innocent, he pleaded guilty to Anne’s murder and was sentenced to 35 years in prison.