t/w biphobia/homophobia, murder, rape

the identification photo of Nellie at her final homeless shelter
May 31st, 1992 - December 9th, 2011

SOLVED

Nellie Marie Barren was an American woman who was murdered.

Nellie was born the fifth of eight children in Avery County, North Carolina, and she had a pretty stereotypical upbringing. Went to church every Sunday, her brothers all played football, her sister was a cheerleader, Nellie herself was an exceptional student in school, getting straight As and Bs since fifth grade.

January 7th, 2008, Nellie decided to tell her parents that she was bisexual. Her parents didn't understand what the hell this new fangled sexuality was, all they understood was their perfect baby girl liked girls, so they called her a 'lesbian', 'dyke', 'faggot', all that fun stuff and that very night, she was kicked out of the house.

For the next three years, Nellie was homeless. She would spend the next three years on and off the streets, in and out of homeless shelters.

On December 9th, 2011, she was in Greensboro, North Carolina. And that night, she was found dead by an anonymous woman in an alleyway. Nellie's head was almost entirely severed, she was completely naked, and had been stabbed multiple times in the chest and abdomen. There was evidence of sexual assault.

She was initially a Jane Doe, but was identified the the following month, on January 12th, 2012, when a facial reconstruction of her was posted on the news and her younger brother, Carter Barren, saw it, and brought it to police attention. None of the Barrens had spoken to Nellie since she was kicked out.

None of the Barrens could be reached for comment.

Nellie was taken back to Avery County, where she was buried, and the case remained unsolved, there weren't really any leads, and...this was a homeless woman. A homeless young woman. She was very vulnerable, an easy target, so to speak. It could be any number of people.

It remained unsolved until December 9th, 2021, exactly ten years after her death. A man from Texas, Sebastian Laine, went into a Greensboro police station, in tears. He explained that he and two other men, Samson Diaz and Peter Laurel, were the ones who killed Nellie. He says they took turns raping her while her mouth was taped shut. Once they decided they were done, Sebastian nearly severed her head, while Samson stabbed her in the chest and Peter, in the abdomen.

Sebastian says her was moved to confess after he learned his nine year old daughter was raped by her maternal uncle.

Sebastian was placed in police custody. Samson was located in Raleigh, North Carolina, and Peter was located in Williamsburg, Virginia. Both claimed they were innocent.

They had a joint trial, which started in June of 2022. It concluded on August 3rd, 2022. All three men were convicted- though Samson and Peter still claim they're innocent -and sentenced to seventy years in prison.

Sebastian, since he actually pleaded guilty, will be eligible for parole in 2045.

May Nellie Barren rest in peace.