Omaima’s Egyptian Spare Ribs

Normally I don’t do food criticisms; however in my efforts to seek out subject matter for my second book, I found a little lady fits whose criteria fits perfectly for inclusion in my little blog of depravity. So get out your pens and paper and get ready to take notes as we cover the secret recipe for Omaima’s Egyptian Spare Ribs.

Born and raised in Egypt, Omaima Nelson immigrated to the United States in 1986. Soon after her arrival in the U.S., Omaima began caring for children of various households as a nanny. Slender with olive skin and bedroom eyes, it wasn’t long before a photographer noticed her and she began working part time as a model.

Omaima underwent a series of dysfunctional relationships with other men. In October 1991 a 23 year old Omaima was out for a night of fun and relaxation at a local bar, while shooting pool she met a 56 year old pilot named William Nelson. A whirlwind courtship ensued and in a matter of weeks the couple married. Acquaintances of the couple describe the two as ordinary love birds in respect to their relationship. However, on Thanksgiving Day 1991, the theme of the day would be anything but ordinary for William “Bill” Nelson & his wife Omaima.

On Thanksgiving 1991 Omaima Nelson repeatedly stabbed her husband Bill with a pair of scissors in their Costa Mesa apartment. Mrs. Nelson then proceeded to beat her husband with a clothes iron other objects until he died. Normally, death is the embodiment of the end, but for this true tale of the macabre, this is only the beginning. Later Omaima would claim that she was raped and beaten and that the crimes were in self-defense, however, evidence shows that Bill Nelson was tied securely to the bed during the onslaught.

Omaima at Parole Hearing

After making sure that Bill was indeed dead, Omaima proceeded to dismember her husband’s corpse. Blending portions of the corpse with the day’s Thanksgiving meal; she forced body parts down a garbage disposal unit that she kept running for hours after the murder. Omaima boiled Bill’s head, fried his hands, attempting to destroy his fingerprints and skinned his torso and lower extremities. Remaining body parts were stuffed in garbage bags as she appealed to ex-boyfriends to assist her in the disposal of them. To add insult to injury, she castrated the corpse claiming she’d done that out of revenge for the abuse he had inflicted upon her.

The climax of the evening came when Omaima donned her red hat, red stilettoes and red lipstick. She then proceeded to cook the ribs of her murdered husband, barbecue style.  "I did his ribs just like in a restaurant," Nelson is quoted as saying. She said she sat at the kitchen table with Bill Nelson's cooked remains and said out loud, "It's so sweet, it's so delicious. . . . I like mine tender," she reportedly admitted to the court psychiatrist.

Omaima Aree Nelson was found guilty of 2^nd degree murder on January 12, 1993. She was sentenced to 28 years to life in prison. Omaima first became eligible for parole in 2006, but was denied when "commissioners found her unpredictable and a serious threat to public safety." She became eligible again in 2011, but was denied by the parole board again, citing that she had not taken responsibility for the murder, and would not be a productive citizen if she were freed. She will not be able to seek parole again until 2026.