Vigilante killer Ellie Nesler Dies of Breast Cancer At Age 56

 

Vigilante killer Ellie Nesler, who shot and killed her son’s accused molester in a courtroom in 1993 in Sonora, California has died of cancer at age 56.

A spokeswoman for the UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento says 56-year-old Nesler died there Friday morning after battling breast cancer since 1994.

Nesler shot Daniel Driver five times in the head during a break in his preliminary hearing in a Tuolumne County courtroom. Driver had been accused of molesting four boys, including her son Willy.

She was convicted of voluntary manslaughter and served 3 years of a 10-year sentence, being released after an appeal based on jury misconduct. She later went back to prison after a conviction on drug charges, which she served more than 3 years. While in prison, she developed breast cancer.

The case became a 1999 TV movie, “Judgment Day: The Ellie Nesler Story.”

Her son, William, was convicted of killing a neighbor at their home in 2004.