Rapae Lollies says he was Mark Nelson's best friend and he says the Katy father's death, allegedly at the hands of his 12-year-old daughter, makes no sense.
"Anybody that really knew him, you couldn't talk to him for ten minutes without him telling you how great his daughter was and how proud he was of her," said Lollies.
Police say the girl shot her father in his sleep on Wednesday. The 38-year-old does have a criminal record that includes an assault in 1997. Katy detectives are talking to several young people to try to determine if there was any history of abuse.
"Basically what they've said is that there was abuse one way or another, but again, we have not found any markings on the defendant," said Assistant Katy Police Chief Tim Tyler. "Any of the allegations that have come up, we have not been able to find any truth in them."
Two weeks ago, police say the girl told people at school her father had tried to strangle her. The case, they say, was investigated out at Carter Middle School by CPS. CPS says it cannot discuss the investigation or say how it ended.
But Lollies says the girl made up the assault after her father took away her cell phone and Internet privileges.
"He found out about the MySpace page and took it down and took back her cell phone and stopped letting her use the Internet, " said Lollies. "That's when she said, well, 'He choked me',"
On Friday, a judge ruled the girl, who is charged with murder, will be held until May 14. Her attorney says she is concerned about her well-being.
"She is an honor student and she's 12," said attorney Windi Atkins Pastorini. "I want to make that point perfectly clear. She is truly 12 years old."
The girl will have a detention hearing on May 14 and another one every 10 days after that. If convicted on the murder charge, she could face up to 40 years at a correctional facility.
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