'Heinous And Gruesome Crime' In Morris: Jury Finds Alison Findley's Son Guilty Of Her Murder

MORRIS, IL — This month's two-week-long trial for Morris first-degree murder defendant Chris Nielsen has come to an end and the 12-person Grundy County jury reached a unanimous decision: Nielsen was responsible for killing his own mother, 63-year-old Alison Findley.

Morris radio station WCSJ broke the news of Nielsen's guilty verdict. The radio station reported that Nielsen will be sentenced in late March or early April and that he faces 20 to 60 years of imprisonment.

Grundy County State’s Attorney Russ Baker had charged Nielsen with three counts of first-degree murder, two counts of domestic battery and aggravated battery. Baker told the radio station that this was a particularly heinous and gruesome crime, therefore, he believes that Nielsen's sentence to prison should reflect that.

Last February, the Morris Police Department issued a Facebook announcement revealing that the 44-year-old Nielsen was now at the Will County Jail in connection with the slaying of his 63-year-old mother. Her body was discovered in the summer of 2024.

Morris police said that around 7:30 a.m. Aug. 30, 2024, Findley was reported missing by a friend. The friend reported Alison was last seen by Chris Nielsen, her son, at 2 a.m. Aug. 26.

Then, at 6:16 p.m. Aug. 30, Morris officers were called to the area behind the apartment buildings in the 900 block of Twilight Drive. A woman walking her dog discovered Findley's body buried in the brush of the tree line.

Findley lived in an apartment in the 900 block of Twilight Drive with Nielsen, police said.

According to police, when initially interviewed, Nielsen denied any involvement in or knowledge of how his mother died. In the coming days, Grundy County Coroner John Callahan’s Office ruled her death a homicide from strangulation.

After compiling enough evidence for an arrest, police said investigators learned Nielsen had a warrant through Will County on an unrelated charge. They found Nielsen at a house in Bourbonnais.

He was arrested on the Will County warrant and brought to the Will County Jail before being moved to the Grundy County Jail, where he remains a year later.