Nelson began his killing spree early in 1926. His first known victim was Clara Newman, a wealthy 60-year-old San Francisco landlady. Nelson entered her boardinghouse at 2037 Pierce Street on February 20, 1926, posing as a potential tenant named "Roger Wilson." Sometime after entering the home, Nelson strangled Newman before raping her dead body, and hiding her corpse in a vacant apartment in the house. His second victim, 63-year-old Laura Beale, was strangled in her home in nearby San Jose on March 2. The silken cord which had been used to strangle Beale had reportedly been wound so tightly around her neck, it had embedded in her flesh.