The Stella Nestle Murders: 15 Shocking Facts About the Murders (2024)

*Originally Published by Kennedy in June 2023 and Updated by Diana K in May 2024

The Stella Nestle murders are a series of murders of the Fowler motel owner and her boyfriend by their worker. Stella Mary Guidry Nestle was the assailant who murdered Judy Wang and Wai Lee. Stella was married to Gwle Nestle and had two children, Felicia and Peter, and Theresa who was stolen from a hospital as a child.

She was a very bad mother who tortured and mistreated her children. Stella could lock her children in the closet for hours giving them mental and physical torture. They were never taken to see the doctor or the dentist when in need.

The children survived by being there for each other every time. In 1977, Stella Nestle began working at the Fowler Motel as a maid when she started getting more interest in wanting to own the establishment. On that fateful night, she shot Judy Wang and Wai Lee multiple times and killed them.

She then called Peter who was 18 at that time to help her bury the bodies in a shallow grave a few meters from one motel room. Stella called on the police and lied that four Mexican men who were violent had committed the murders. However, investigations linked Stella to the murders and Peter was arrested as her accessory to the murders.

Stella Nestle was handed 30 years sentence while Peter was given a shorter sentence after he testified against his mother. Here are the 10 Shocking Facts About the Stella Nestle Murders;

1. Stella Stole a Baby From Her Biological Mother

Stella Nestle has three children, Felicia, Peter, and Theresa. However, two of the children are her biological children, and Theresa is not her own. She is accused of stealing Theresa as a child from her mother.

Stella had spent two years in Louisiana and returned to Hanford in California with a child, Theresa. Her two children, Felicia and Peter had the assumption that she might have gotten pregnant while in New Orleans.

Read The Setagaya Family Murders: 10 Facts About The Unsolved Case.

2. Stella Neglected Her Children

Peter and Felicia grew up with their sister Theresa who was white, but never mistreated her. Her race never raised any suspicion because Stella Nestle used to date a white boyfriend.

The huge problem that the children went through in their lives is how they were neglected by Stella Nestle. She neglected to take the children to the doctor or dentist and they were raised in a very abusive environment.

3. She Tortured Her Children Mentally and Physically

The hostile environment in which Stella raised her children included physical assault from her. She occasionally locked the children in closets for long hours.

Felicia, Peter, and Theresa had to survive on their own by protecting and looking out for each other. “If Felicia was not around, we wouldn’t have gone far,” Peter stated in a docuseries.

4. Before the Murders, Stella Used Her Children To Con Churchgoers of Their Money

Stella Nestle’s evil deeds began a long time before she committed the murders. Her children were the tools of some of her conning activities.

She used them, her children, to con innocent and unsuspecting churchgoers off their money. After the conning, she used the Bible to stem any attempts of rebellion from the children.

Also, read The Oconee Lake Murders: 10 Facts About The Unsolved Case.

5. Stella Shot The Fowler Motel Owner & Her Boyfriend

In 1977, Stella Nestle began working as a maid at the Fowler Motel. The motel was owned by Judy Wang who was dating Wai Lee.

Through her greed, Stella did the unexpected to her unsuspecting employers. She shot at them multiple times and killed them.

6. Nestle Buried the Bodies of Judy & Wai in a Shallow Grave Near One Motel Room

After committing the murders, Stella had to do away with the bodies of her former employer and her boyfriend. She never went far to dispose of the bodies as she wanted to have an alibi and people to blame on.

Stella Nestle buried the two bodies in a shallow grave a few feet away from one motel room. After that, she called on the police to report the matter and played innocent.

7. Stella Enlisted Peter as Her Accessory in the Murders

After murdering Judy Wang and Wai Lee, Stella sort for help to dispose of the bodies. She tried to ask for help from a few individuals she knew, but they turned her offer down.

Stella then sorts for help from her son Peter who was 18 years old at that time and was later enlisted as her accessory to the murders. Being an obedient child, Peter helped his mother tie the bodies and dragged them to the point of disposing of them.

Peter spoke about this incident as he stated: “Me and my mom, you know, we dragged the bodies… [behind the motel] one at a time. I trusted her. You obey your parents. I mean, that’s in the Bible. That’s all I knew. And I took [the] face value [of] that; hey, my family is in trouble, and look, I would do what I have to do to protect my family.”

Read The Lake Waco Murders: 10 Chilling Facts About Them.

8. Stella Nestle Accused Four Mexican Men For The Murders

Police officers arrived at the crime scene and found the pretending Stella Nestle. She told them her story which they believed because she used to work for Judy Wang.

Stella accused Four Mexicans of the murders. The accusations were based on the violent behavior the Mexicans had demonstrated previously at the motel. The authorities stormed the hotel and arrested the four Mexican-Americans who had been identified as violent guests.

9. Stella’s Motive in The Murders Was to Take Ownership of the Motel

As investigations went on, Stella made an allegation that Judy Wang and Wai Lee had left her in charge of the motel. However, Peter revealed that his mother had killed Wang and Lee to take over the motel.

After she revealed that Wang wanted her to take charge of Fowler’s motel, a family member exposed her lies. Judy’s brother had doubts about Stella’s allegation and revealed that Wang couldn’t leave anyone who was not her relative to be in charge of the motel.

10. Peter Testified Against His Mother on the Murders She Committed

After some people came out and revealed that Stella had asked for help to tie the bodies, she was arrested. Peter, who felt that his mother had destroyed decided to do the right thing. He accepted to testify against his mother in the murders of Judy Wang and Wai Lee and received two years of probation for being an accessory to the murders.

Stella Nestle was sentenced to life in prison and spent thirty years in prison before she was released on parole. She decided to move to California where she lives a silent life away from the limelight.

Read Mary Morris Murders: 10 Horrifying Things To Know.

11. Stella Nestle had a criminal Record before the Murders

You wouldn’t know it by looking at her, but Stella Nestle was no angel before that fateful night in June. Records show the unassuming mother of three had a rap sheet dating back to her teenage years in that very town. At 18, she was caught breaking and entering a neighbour’s home – allegedly just kids being stupid and pulling a prank. A few years later, she was slapped with charges for petty theft after getting caught stuffing merchandise into an oversized purse at the local Walmart.

And just months before the murders, Stella was arrested yet again. This time for assault after a nasty brawl with another mom at a Little League game. Witnesses say she flew into a rage when the other woman mocked her son’s pitching skills. Little did anyone know, this was just a preview of the violence that small town was about to witness.

12. Her Parole Stirred Negative Public Reactions

The announcement of Stella Guidry Nestle’s parole after three decades behind bars sent shockwaves through the community. Outrage erupted as people felt justice had not been served. Many felt the gruesome nature of the murders warranted a life lockep-up forever. Victims’ families agonized, forced to relive the traumatic loss of loved ones.

Debates and condemnation went viral against the parole board’s ruling on social media. Amidst the uproar, some advocated for rehabilitation over retribution. However, the overwhelming sentiment was one of outrage that such a notorious killer could walk free.

13. Stella Nestle is Hollywood Medium Tyler Henry’s “Grandmother”

The dark secrets surrounding Hollywood Medium Tyler Henry’s grandmother read like a grisly true crime novel. Stella Nestle, whose real name was Maria Lee, abducted Henry’s mother Theresa as a newborn from her biological parents.

Behind closed doors, Nestle subjected her children to abuse – withholding food, locking them in closets, and never allowing medical care. Most shockingly, she roped her teenage son Peter into covering up a horrific double murder at the Fowler Motel where she worked.

14. Peter’s (Stella’s son) Life After the Trial

Peter’s life was forever changed after that harrowing trial. His testimony against his own mother had sealed her fate, but also made him a pariah in their small town. People could not look past his ties to such an infamous case. Stares and whispers followed him everywhere he went as he tried to pick up the pieces of his life.

Couldn’t get a job, couldn’t make friends – he was a leper. The only way to start anew was to turn his back on his past completely. He changed his name, moved across the country, and began reinventing himself from the ground up. It was painful to sever all connections to his old life, but it was the only path to finding peace.

15. Even in Prison, Stella Showed No Remorse for her Crimes

Stella’s time behind bars was a chilling continuation of the facade she presented throughout the trial. Reports painted a picture of an unrepentant convict. There were no tearful apologies, no attempts at outreach to the victims’ families. Instead, Stella remained aloof.

She refused to participate in rehabilitation programs, her days filled with a cold detachment. This lack of remorse fueled speculation. Was she a cunning manipulator who’d outsmarted the system? Or was something far more sinister lurking beneath the surface, a darkness that even prison couldn’t extinguish?