Tarpon Springs Resident Has Family Ties to 1981 Murder

It looks like the family of Elisa Nelson will get the closure they’ve been seeking since the 10-year-old Palm Harbor girl went missing and was later found dead back in 1980.

Her convicted killer, Larry Eugene Mann of Dunedin, has run out of appeals, The Tampa Tribune is reporting.

While Mann’s attorneys had requested a review of the case the court has decided against hearing any of the appeals filed by Capital Collateral Regional Counsel, The Tribune says.

That means Mann’s scheduled execution on April 10 at 6 p.m. can move forward.

Mann, 59, was convicted in 1981 of first-degree murder and kidnapping in connection with Nelson's death. The Palm Harbor Middle school student vanished Nov. 4, 1980, on her way to school. She was late for school because of a dentist appointment and was carrying a tardy note from her mother. 

Police and community members started searching for Nelson after her bike was found in a ditch a mile away from Palm Harbor Middle School on the same day that she disappeared. Her body was found in a Palm Harbor orange grove the following day.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott signed the death warrant for Mann in March. He is scheduled to die by lethal injection.

While Mann’s execution won’t bring Elisa back, her aunt Wanda Vekasi is relieved it’s moving forward.

“It will bring closure, I don’t care what people say,” Vekasi, a Tarpon Springs resident, told The Tribune.  “But for my tax dollars to keep that guy alive all these years is ridiculous.” 

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