Murder Victim's Family Praises 'USA Today' Ad

Raleigh, N.C. — USA Today published a full-page ad Monday about Jenna Nielsen, who was a carrier for the paper and was found murdered in Raleigh. It's one example of the national attention the case is beginning to attract.

Her family said they are grateful for it.

The pain is still raw for Nielsen's father, Kevin Blaine, nearly two weeks after her June 14 murder.

“We're just struggling through day by day. I can't tell you what we're going to do tomorrow, how we prepare ourselves for the rest of our lives, but we keep going,” Blaine said.

Nielsen was eight months pregnant when she was found dead behind a Raleigh convenience store. She had been delivering newspapers for USA Today.

The newspaper’s Monday advertisement asked for information about her death.

“I was grateful USA finally came to bat and posted something in their publication about what happened to someone who was carrying their newspaper, someone who worked for them,” Blaine said.

Nielsen’s husband, Tim, said he was relieved, too.

“After days and days and days of not hearing anything, not seeing anything, it was a big relief knowing that they're stepping up and they're realizing what happened,” Tim Nielsen said.

CBS News, Fox News and others have all shown interest in the investigation.

“The ad and the publicity surrounding the ad is generating additional calls, and that's what we need right now,” Raleigh police spokesman Jim Sughrue said.

Police have no suspects, through they continue to search for a person of interest to whom they want to talk.

For the family, the wait has been nearly unbearable.

“We're always waiting for the phone, and it doesn't ring,” Blaine said.

They're keeping busy by keeping Jenna Nielson's memory alive through a Web site and through her two sons, Schyler, 3, and Kaiden, 11 months.

“He knows mommy's not coming home. He knows she was buried,” Tim Nielsen said of Schyler.

The Web site that Nielsen's family set up is justice4jenna.org. They say their goal is to get as much attention as they can until the killer is behind bars.

49 Comments

WRAL.com welcomes your comments on this story. All comments are moderated prior to publication based on our posting guidelines. Please review them prior to posting and if your message is not approved.

VIEW ALL 49 COMMENTS

This story is closed for comments. Comments on WRAL.com news stories are accepted and moderated between the hours of 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Latest Comments

In my opinion, no matter what her financial needs were, this senseless act of violence was totally avoidable. There has been several comments regarding there only being 1 salary. I must have missed something. Did the husband not have a job? Is he Incapacitated in some way? Why didn't he do the paper route and Jenna stay home?

NC Sunshine
June 27, 2007 3:37 p.m.

"This woman ran this route so that her children didn't ever have to be in a daycare. That was her family's choice and a wise one. How could she have known that she would be a victim of random (or premeditated) crime?" - Happy.

She didn't know she would be a victim, but some common sense may have saved her life. I agree a woman as well as a man should be able to go about their life without fear of being harmed or killed. In the same breath, everyone and their brother knows that evil lurks at night. She was already physically compromised by being 8 months pregnant. As was said in another post, her killer probably knew of her routine, her condition and figured she would be no match for him.

My deepest sympathies for those who are left to carry on without her by their side.

NC Sunshine
June 27, 2007 3:24 p.m.

REV- Your point has been taken with the lady working, but remember she has family that may be reading these articles, and coming from a religious stand point, you are really bashing this woman for helping herself and her family..There are so many children that are latch key because both parents are having to work, not because they want to, but because they have to. I don't know where you live and what type of job you have, but not many can live off of one income.

You bash her and her working then you come up with praying for the family, by that time, your prayers are mute. Staddling the fence is a more appropriate term at the moment with the comments. Ease up from one Christian to another.

Seeminglyopposed
June 27, 2007 2:38 p.m.

1- I noticed the drawing looks a lot like a young woman. And this is just a drawing of someone with possible information, not specifically a suspect. 2- I thought the husband, when shown in a TV interview, was strangely unemotional and "matter of fact"...he reminds me of other male spouses who killed their pregnant wives or girlfriends because they just couldn't "handle" the responsibility. Yet, there has been so very very little from or about him in the news...which makes me think they suspect him but don't want to "spook" him. When interviewed at a playground with his kids right after this happened his personality was as if he was just talking about the weather or something...very detached and unemotional. Very suspicious to me. And of course they rushed the body off to Utah to be buried. hmmmm.

fatkatts2
June 26, 2007 12:49 p.m.

people who do stuff like this, deserve to be off the streets for life when found. my heart goes to Jenna Nielsen's family and friends.

clear heart
June 26, 2007 12:06 p.m.