Jennifer Nelson of Shirley brandished knife, told teens their lives were 'ended,' cellphone video played at her attempted murder trial shows

A Suffolk jury saw a cellphone video Wednesday of a Shirley mother carrying a knife and telling a group of William Floyd High School students their “life is ended” about an hour before she allegedly ran one of the teens over with her vehicle because she believed he bullied her son and stole his designer footwear.

Jennifer Nelson, 35, of Shirley is on trial for an attempted murder charge before State Supreme Court Justice Timothy Mazzei in Riverhead. Prosecutors have alleged that on Oct. 7, 2022, Nelson twice ran over a 15-year-old boy who she believed had participated in robbing her son of his Yeezy Slides — footwear designed by Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West.

“Y’all [expletive] did this to my son, your life is ended today,” Nelson could be heard shouting to the group of more than a dozen teens in the video shot by one of the students gathered at a Dunkin’ next to school grounds that morning. “So call your parents, call whoever.”

The video, which also includes footage of a group of teens punching Nelson’s son and chasing after him earlier that morning, was played during the testimony of a 14-year-old student who said he was among the students who had left school and were hanging around the businesses that morning.

The student told the jury a group of about five or six students who were present had punched Nelson’s son in the face and stolen his Slides before he called his mom for help. The footage shows Nelson’s son, who the witness said was quiet and kept to himself, shoeless outside the business.

The video shows the mother arriving on the scene and removing from the trunk of her Honda Passport what the defendant described as a long knife in a case, which he said she unsheathed before pointing it at the students.

“I’ve been to jail for trying to kill somebody,” Nelson could be heard saying in the video played for the jury. “It ain’t nothing.”

On cross examination, Nelson’s attorney, Katherine Fernandez of Uniondale, questioned the witness repeatedly about any statements he might have made to Nelson that morning.

While at first denying speaking with her during questioning by both Assistant District Attorney Veronica McMahon and Fernandez, he later admitted to the defense attorney he told Nelson at the scene her son was attacked by a middle school student and not the boys he had earlier testified to witnessing assaulting his classmate.

Fernandez also asked the witness about two prior incidents in which she suggested the teen who was allegedly struck by Nelson’s vehicle had attacked her son off school grounds, incidents the witness said he was unaware of.

After court, Fernandez said her client does not have a criminal record and was only trying to intimidate the teens.

The surveillance video evidence shown to the jury Wednesday captured the students interacting outside Dunkin’ for more than 90 minutes after school had begun.

More than an hour after she first confronted her son’s alleged attackers, Nelson was shown returning in her car to a neighboring parking lot. A man in another car who arrived at the same time could be seen chasing one of the teens with a baseball bat as other students, including the testifying witness, followed after him.

The witness said he was told upon returning that Nelson had struck the 15-year-old with her vehicle in the parking lot of a bagel store across the street, outside of the area captured by the Dunkin’ cameras.

“He looked like he was in a lot of pain,” the witness said of his classmate. “[He said] ‘I got ran over. Take my shoes. I can’t feel my legs.”

The victim suffered multiple fractures of the pelvis, six fractured ribs and a punctured lung, prosecutors have said.

Prosecutors have alleged Nelson fled the scene and, in an effort to conceal her crimes, traded in her vehicle for a newer model “even though her lease was not set to expire.” She is charged with second-degree attempted murder, first-degree assault, first-degree reckless endangerment and leaving the scene of an incident without reporting serious injury, all felonies.

Late in the day, the teen who was allegedly run over took the stand. His testimony at the trial that began on Monday continues on Thursday.

With Shari Einhorn

By Grant Parpan

grant.parpan@newsday.com@GrantParpan

Grant Parpan covers Suffolk County courts and federal courts for Newsday. A Long Island native, he joined Newsday in 2022.