Rockford, IL father bludgeons his six children to death: On Saturday, January 7, 1978 the residents of Rockford, Illinois--a mid-sized, city just several miles south of the Wisconsin state border and 90 miles northwest of Chicago, awoke to horrifying news that would shake up the country: Simon Peter Nelson, 45, had bludgeoned his six children, ages 3 - 12 to death as they slept in their bungalow-style house at 1425 Camp Avenue. He had also cut the throat of the family's dog. He then drove to Milwaukee to confront his wife about her plans to divorce him; plans which he would later claim prompted him to murder their children.