Danville, IL: Nelk lived in fear for months

BY BRIAN L. HUCHEL
Commercial-News
DANVILLE October 25, 2009 01:26 am

— Cerebral palsy might have hampered Jessica Nelk’s legs and her mobility, but as a 32-year-old mother of two, she refused to let it run her life.
Unfortunately, something else dominated the last nine months of her life — fear, both of her boyfriend and what he could and ultimately did do to her.
Police say Nelk was killed on Oct. 10 by her boyfriend, Johnnie Web II, in an apartment on North Franklin Street. He stabbed her multiple times in the back, chest and arms before committing suicide by stabbing himself.
Jerry Nelk of Paris said his daughter had always been “a fighter, very independent.”
“All through her years, she was a very stubborn person,” he said. “She didn’t want anything ever done for her, except for being protected from this guy.”
Court records indicate Jessica Nelk filed for an emergency order of protection against Webb in January. But her father said she still moved around frequently, trying to avoid Webb and any harm to her children — Izayiah, 8, and Rhiannon, 10.
Izayiah was in the apartment the night of the murder-suicide, according to Jerry Nelk. Jessica Nelk told her son to get out of the apartment and the boy caught only a glimpse of Webb grabbing his mother and a knife before running to a neighboring apartment, Nelk said.
Jerry Nelk first met Webb almost two years ago when his daughter and Webb moved to Paris. A job was set up for Webb, but tensions mounted when he allegedly did not show up for work.
Jerry Nelk described Webb as “going ballistic” after being confronted to find a job. He eventually left and moved back to Danville, allegedly threatening Jerry Nelk over the phone after leaving. Jessica Nelk soon moved back to Danville, allegedly after Webb threatened her.
It was not until April of this year that Jessica Nelk revealed to her father accounts of mental and physical abuse by Webb, including being punched, choked and threatened. She told her father that Webb threatened her by saying “she was going to be the next thing on the news” back in March.
Despite the abuse, Jessica Nelk had an attitude of trying to handle the situation regarding Webb on her own.
“She was so scared of him that she didn’t want other people to be involved,” Nelk said. “She was afraid of what he’d do to them.”
Stubbornness also played a role.
“I believe she felt like if she told anyone else exactly what was going on, then they would judge her, try to tell her what to do,” Jerry Nelk said.
“All she ever wanted was to be loved. I just don’t know the effect the whole situation had on her.”
Cheryl Taylor, Jessica’s mother, declined to comment on her daughter, citing the potential for legal action stemming from the incident. Nelk said he also is considering some kind of legal action at this time, although the terms were not released.