ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — A Missouri man accused of killing two brothers from Wisconsin made his first in-person court appearance Thursday.
Garland Joseph Nelson, of Braymer, did not speak at the hearing, where a preliminary hearing date was set for March 24, the St. Joseph News-Press reported.
He is chargedwith two counts of first-degree murder and several other counts in the deaths of Nick Diemel, 35, and Justin Diemel, 34, of Shawano County, Wisconsin.
Jack Diemel, the brothers' father, said the two went to Nelson's northwestern Missouri farm to collect a $250,000 debt, according to a probable cause statement. The father reported his sons missing July 21 after they failed to show up for a flight home and did not answer their phones.
Their remains were found in Missouri and Nebraska.
Lisa Diemel, the wife of Nicholas Diemel, said in a Facebook post that Thursday's hearing was uneventful "other than us having to see the monster Garland Nelson in person."
