Kriti Mehrotra
When Jordan Brooke Hill Lum (born Patricia Hill) was found dead inside her 199 Angora Way home in Summerville, South Carolina, in April 2017, it left the suburban community shattered to the core. That’s because the 51-year-old was heinously killed at the hands of someone she believed to be a friend, only for them to be positively identified by the person they had called for help. Investigation Discovery’s ‘The Toxic Tenant’ explores this case in detail, underscoring the events leading up to the offense, the authorities’ efforts to secure justice, and all its aftermath.
Jordan Brooke Lum’s Remains Were Recovered From a Crate in Her Garage
Born on April 29, 1965, in Pima County, Arizona, to homemaker Ingrid Hill and military officer Carl Hill, Jordan Brooke Hill Lum was their only child and reportedly grew up in a strict yet loving home. Unfortunately, her adult years were far from comfortable as she seemingly found herself struggling with addiction, grief, and pain in a way no one could even imagine. She sadly lost her mother in 2008, while her father passed away in 2013. She reportedly also underwent treatment at Palmetto Lowcountry Behavioral Health detox facility in North Charleston, South Carolina, in early 2017.
Little did anyone know the rug would suddenly be pulled from underneath Jordan’s feet on April 2, 2017, when she was hit over the head with a hammer, had her throat slit, and stabbed multiple times. It was 2 days later when officials responded to a 911 emergency call from her home at 199 Angora Way in Summerville, South Carolina, where they found her decomposing remains in the garage. According to police records, the smell in that space was so bad despite her having been wrapped in a blanket and stuffed into a wooden crate that it was evident she had been dead for a few days. Her subsequent autopsy confirmed she had been killed on April 2, with her cause of death being the more than 110 blunt force/stab wounds she suffered across her head, neck, chest, torso, and arms.
The 911 Caller Played a Significant Role in the Investigations Into Jordan Brooke Lum’s Case
The 911 caller who directed local police to Jordan’s home shortly after 9 pm on April 4 was a man named Daniel Joseph Nelson, who candidly told the dispatcher, “There’s been a murder” at the address. He further claimed his estranged wife, Carmie Josette Nelson, was responsible for it and had managed to get his help in cleaning the crime scene over the past two days, indicating he was an accessory. He detailed how she called him on the fateful day and admitted to killing Jordan before insisting he help her in exchange for something that would benefit him because she was going away to rehab. “She said that she bludgeoned her in the head with a hammer a few times,” he alleged. “Then she sliced her neck, she stabbed her or something… I have a feeling she’s going to try to implicate me on this.”
Daniel also clarified on the 911 call that while he was a willing participant at first, things changed when he arrived at the scene because he realized something was wrong. He essentially claimed he had no idea the victim’s remains were still there, stating, “I smelled something. She said, ‘Oh, that’s just the old trash, old garbage.’ Then she was like, ‘Oh, by the way, we got to dispose of this body.'” At one point, he even told the dispatcher, “I didn’t realize what I was cleaning up until it was too late. I was polishing some chairs and tables and stuff… This lady who lived there was a real pigsty. But what I’m wondering is: Am I getting in trouble now, too?”
Daniel also warned the dispatcher that Carmie had been “drinking heavily. She was yelling, cussing, fussing” by the time he had left a short while prior. As per records, when deputies eventually arrived at Jordan’s Angora Way home minutes after the call, they found the 50-year-old intoxicated. In fact, she refused to let investigators in, held a large kitchen knife to her throat, and screamed threats to harm herself to avoid arrest. Thankfully, an officer managed to kick down the door and disarm her before she grew even more agitated, following which Jordan’s remains were discovered in the garage. Both Carmie and Daniel were then taken into police custody.
Jordan Brooke Lum’s Assailants Blamed One Another From the Get-Go
It was in January 2017 that Jordan and Carmie first came across one another while undergoing treatment at the Palmetto Behavioral Health detox facility. According to records, they immediately hit it off, so when the time came for them to be discharged, and Jordan learned her new friend had nowhere to go, she opened her home to her and her pets rent-free. Carmie and Daniel were separated by this point. He was convicted of domestic violence against her in 2015 and was arrested for it again in January 2017. So, he was living in a homeless camp behind a nearby Walmart. We should also mention that while Carmie was a former army nurse, Daniel was a military veteran.
As per court records, although the couple was technically separated in the spring of 2017, they didn’t just keep in touch; they actually communicated almost daily. In fact, Carmie’s phone records revealed she began disparaging Jordan in texts to Daniel within weeks of moving into her home, going as far as to call her a “psychotic bitch.” The then-37-year-old later testified that his wife allegedly also wanted him to either assault Jordan or carry out a plan wherein they steal her designer clothes, sell them, and split the money. He further claimed she managed to get him to come help her clean on April 2 by not only offering him “pills, alcohol, and sex” but also promising she would not only drop the January 2017 domestic charge against him.
According to Daniel’s statements, Carmie motive for killing Jordan was that she was allegedly holding Carmie hostage and hitting her beloved dog, though this specific allegation was never definitively proven. On the other hand, the primary person of interest told detectives that she actually had a date with her estranged husband on the fateful day, only for her to decide not to go because he’d crashed her truck while high. Carmie alleged that she instead resolved to go out with Jordan, but while she was in the shower, she heard her roommate scream in a very high-pitched tone. As per her own accounts, she initially didn’t worry because she’d often heard Jordan yell at her pets or the neighbors. However, she said that when she came out, the victim was dead and Daniel held her hostage.
While Carmie Nelson is Serving Time, Daniel Nelson is a Free Man Today
While Carmie was charged with first-degree murder and possession of a knife in the commission of a violent crime, Daniel was formally indicted on one count of accessory after murder. That’s because he had two voice notes implicating Carmie, which he claimed he made on April 4, after she visited a Harris Teeter and a liquor store to buy more cleaning supplies and liquor. He alleged they had been arguing a lot, so he decided to record their conversations on his phone because he was worried she might blame him for Jordan’s murder. While Carmie can be heard complaining about how he wrecked her truck while high on alcohol, crack, and meth in one tape, the other comprises her admission of killing the victim.
However, when faced with these voice recordings, Carmie claimed her husband had forced her to make them by threatening to harm one of her many pets if she refused. In the end, when she stood trial for the charges against her, Daniel testified for the prosecution, detailing not only everything he had previously told officials but also alleging his wife had asked him to assault, harass, and plan the murder of Jordan. She tried to maintain her innocence at every step of the way, arguing it was Daniel who killed the 51-year-old, but to no avail. In 2019, she was found guilty by a jury and sentenced to life in prison, which she almost immediately appealed.
After years of back and forth, in 2023, the South Carolina Supreme Court overturned Carmie’s conviction on the grounds that Jordan’s autopsy photos shown during the trial were prejudicial and should have never been included. In March 2024, to avoid facing a second trial, Carmie pleaded guilty to murder and was sentenced to 30 years without the possibility of parole. So, today, at age 60, she is incarcerated at the level 3 security Leath Correctional Institution in unincorporated Greenwood County, South Carolina. She is expected to remain there until her scheduled release date of March 29, 2047. On the other hand, Daniel was handed down a 5-year term after pleading guilty to accessory after the fact of murder, so he has since served his time and is now leading a quiet life.
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