Letter from Newport Beach killer's slain mother reveals the 'triple murderer was 'paranoid'

Alleged Newport Beach triple killer was 'paranoid' and 'delusional', suffered from 'roid rage' and threatened to ‘gut’ his father during a family row, a shocking letter written by his slain mother reveals.

Devout Mormon Camden Nicholson, 28, had become increasingly 'erratic' in recent weeks and mom Kim Nicholson feared for her safety.

The letter obtained exclusively by DailyMail.com and a corroborating statement written by the family's housekeeper paint a dark picture of the alleged murderer’s life collapsing amid severe mental illness.

This comes as Camden appeared in court for the first time Friday.

Police say Camden murdered his parents Rick and Kim and their maid of 12 years Maria Morse last month because he didn’t want them to send him to a psychiatric hospital.

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Documents reveal Camden Nicholson, 28, told a police officer he killed his parents and their cleaner because he didn't want to be sent to a psychiatric hospital

The family's maid of 12 years Maria Morse had said Camden 'had a long history of violent and troubling behavior, which included abusing marijuana, steroids, pornography and physically threatening his parents'

Camden appeared in a courtroom in the Orange County Central Men’s Jail in Santa Ana.

The alleged triple murderer, dressed in an orange and white jumpsuit with red hair and an unkempt beard, sat on a bench in a wire cage with a plaster cast on his right hand.

Rick’s bereaved sister, Katharine Trella, 62, watched the hearing from a public viewing room in the jail with her husband and son.

At the request of both the Deputy District Attorney and Camden’s public defender, Commissioner Joseph Dane postponed the alleged murderer’s arraignment until April 19.

The 28-year-old spoke only to agree to the delay.

Police say Camden’s three victims were killed by blunt force or stabbing.

Officers searching the Nicholsons’ home found a barbecue fork on the blood-smeared floor next to one of the bodies, according to court documents filed by Newport Beach detective Richard Henry.

Henry said the body of Camden’s father, 64, appeared to have been hidden in a closet, and his mother killed in the garage.

This undated photo provided by the Morse family shows the Nicholson family's long-time housekeeper, Maria Morse (left), and her husband Wayne Morse

Police said one of the women’s eyes had been gouged.

Henry wrote that it appeared Camden had sat at his desk, eaten and used his computer after killing his parents and their housekeeper of over 10 years.

Officers found a tray of ribs on the kitchen counter and cookies in the master bedroom.

Camden called police from a hospital and confessed to the murders, according to a search warrant filed by Newport Beach detective Richard Henry.

When he was arrested the 28-year-old was sweating, shaking randomly and had cuts on his fingers, police said, leading them to believe he had taken drugs.

According to police, Camden killed his parents because he didn’t want them to send him to a psychiatric hospital.

Police say Camden (pictured) murdered his parents Rick and Kim and their maid of 12 years Maria Morse last month because he didn’t want them to send him to a psychiatric hospital

Kim, 61, filed a missing persons report in December when Camden suddenly left home, telling police her son had depression, Asberger’s syndrome and anger issues (an extract from a letter she wrote is seen above)

Officers say they found at least 200 loose pills in the Nicholsons’ home, some crushed into powder.

Kim, 61, filed a missing persons report in December when Camden suddenly left home, telling police her son had depression, Asberger’s syndrome and anger issues.

Officers found him at a Newport Beach hotel, but decided not to place him on a psychiatric hold.

In a four-page letter dated January 31, Kim wrote that she previously had to move out of the family home fearing an attack, and that her son told her he ‘wanted to gut’ his father, while her housekeeper claimed she found drug needles and sex toys in Camden’s room.

A source close to the police investigation told DailyMail.com that the 27-year-old's mother had written the letter as part of an attempt to place him under a conservatorship, a legal device allowing his parents to manage his financial affairs and daily life due to his alleged mental health problems.

‘Camden has made a lot of bad health choices that have severely affected his mental condition,’ Kim wrote. 

‘Most likely out of frustration to get the right diagnosis and medical treatment, Camden started to prescribe his own medications and treatment, which consisted of obtaining a license to smoke pot and obtain prescriptions from unscrupulous Internet doctors, who prescribed Camden steroids to inject, not to mention all of the other animal and anabolic steroids Camden was injecting he obtained from nefarious websites.

‘I had to leave my home for months because Camden was filled with "roid rage" and threatened me with physical violence,’ she added.

Kim wrote that Camden moved to Denver, Colorado, where his delusions got worse. She said he was admitted to the emergency room twice in August last year complaining of seizures.

‘After two emergency room visits, Camden asked to move home. Camden stated, "I wanted to move home to Newport Beach to get good, quality health care because I am struggling." I genuinely feel Camden was crying for help!' the mother said

‘Camden believed the Denver landlord was surveilling him, and thought the landlord was poisoning him with oyster shells used in the concrete basement floor,’ she wrote.

‘After two emergency room visits, Camden asked to move home. Camden stated, "I wanted to move home to Newport Beach to get good, quality health care because I am struggling." I genuinely feel Camden was crying for help!' the mother said.

‘I was completely horrified, devastated, and broken-hearted how delusional, emotionally broken, and mentally ill Camden had become.’

Once home, her son made his most sinister threat, which he would, according to police, eventually carry out.

‘When Camden moved home, he told me my husband Rick was extremely evil,’ Kim wrote. ‘Camden told me that him and my older son, Cavin, wanted to kill their own dad.

‘Camden said that Cavin was so angry with Rick, Cavin wanted to gut him, and the only reason they didn't is because it is against the law. Camden said my husband filed many of bankruptcies and was a criminal listed on the dark web.’

DailyMail.com could not find any records of bankruptcies filed by Rick Nicholson.

The late mother said Camden eventually started getting treatment for mental health problems, but suddenly left home before Christmas.

Kim wrote that the 27-year-old had become paranoid, claiming her husband ‘forced all family members and some family friends into signing non-discloser [sic] agreements’.

‘On the 14th of December, Camden went on a binge filled with rage, and sent all family members the most vulgar, hateful text storms accusing us of horrible things.’

Kim wrote the texts were ‘obsessed with pornographic sex and getting money from his parents’, and that Camden ‘constantly and graphically degraded and described family members private parts’.

Her son appeared delusional, Kim said, adding that he ‘believes my husband purposely flooded our home, and black mold is growing in our floors. He believes the water heaters are killing us.’

After leaving home, the family discovered Camden had been spending large amounts of money, booking into multiple Newport Beach hotels in one night.

‘We found out Camden was paying for a room at the Marriott Beach Hotel and the Island Hotel in Fashion Island at the same time,’ Kim wrote. ‘During this time Camden charged over $15,000 in tips to employees at the lsland Hotel.’

The area around the home where the bodies were found is seen sealed off above

The mother claimed that her son’s problems began on a Mormon mission he took to Florida nine years ago.

‘Before Camden left on his mission, he was one of the most kindest, gentle, easygoing, and functioning young men,’ she wrote. 

‘After nine months in the mission field, the doctor called stating, "Camden wanted to commit suicide." Camden was immediately sent home.

‘Camden returned home severely depressed and did not want to see any male doctors. I asked Camden if he had been sexually abused on his mission and he said no, However, I still believe the chances are high Camden experienced some horrific trauma on his mission that has drastically affected and changed him into a dark and non-functioning person.’

The following year his mother took him to a psychiatrist, who she claimed ‘did not conduct proper medical evaluations or establish a confirmed medical diagnosis’ and was ‘a complete charlatan’.

Other doctors told Kim that her son had ‘a mild form of Asperger's disease’, and she wrote that although he was ‘prescribed medications that did not help him’, he continued to have skype therapy sessions for the next eight years.

The source close to the murder investigation said Maria, who had grown close to the family working as their housekeeper for 10 years, also wrote a letter in support of a conservatorship for Camden’s parents.

In the three-page letter, obtained by DailyMail.com, Maria wrote that Kim had been concerned about Camden’s mental health since 2010.

‘I have always known Camden as a good young man and a loving, caring son of Rick and Kim,’ the Mexican-born housekeeper wrote.

‘Camden is a well educated sweet boy who at that time went to church often and enjoyed playing golf and I would often give him rides as he needed.

'ln early 2010, the church sent him to be a Missionary in Florida. Later that year in 2010, he was sent back home for medical reasons. lt was then I noticed Camden began acting different. He seemed very depressed and his physical appearance had changed. He was not the same boy I knew who had left for the mission.’

The bodies were found inside the Nicholson's mansion in this gated community in Newport Beach, California, on February 13

Maria backed up the mother’s account, saying Kim left after threats of violence and alleged drug abuse by her son.

‘Kim had to move out of the house as Camden began acting erratic and hostile towards Kim,’ the housekeeper wrote. ‘I noticed he was smoking a lot of marijuana inside the house and growing his own plants. After a while Kim returned home. I witnessed Camden verbally arguing with Kim and showing no respect towards her.’

Maria said she left the family in late 2015 to look after her Texas-based daughter who had been diagnosed with cancer, but before she left the maid found ‘medical syringes and small bottles of liquids along with various sex toys in Camden's dresser drawers.’

‘ln early 2017, Kim had called me and asked when I might be coming back,’ Maria wrote. ‘I asked how she was doing. She told me that Camden was becoming more erratic and mean towards her directly and that he told Kim to leave her own house.

‘I said to her not to leave her home. lt was then I mentioned to her what I had found in Camden's room inside the dresser. I told to look through his dresser and she may find the truth of Camden's Behavior. She followed my advice and Kim told me she had found various drug paraphernalia in his room.’

Maria wrote that when Camden returned home in the fall of 2018, his ‘behavior was off and he looked unhealthy.’

‘He was smoking a lot of marijuana quite often,’ she said. ‘I later begin seeing syringes and sex toys laying out in plain view in his room and bathroom. His behavior in the house was confused and he would just wander around looking for things. I would ask, "Can I help you with anything Camden?" He would just respond with "No thank you, I am fine." Camden did not look good to me.

Maria said that after he disappeared in December and started spending large amounts of money at hotels, Camden texted her asking ‘if I knew of a place where he could spend a couple days'.

‘When I returned the text he told me someone else has helped him,’ she wrote.

Maria said that after he disappeared in December and started spending large amounts of money at hotels, Camden texted her asking ‘if I knew of a place where he could spend a couple days'

The housekeeper signed off her letter saying that ‘Camden's parents have always been loving, caring and respectable towards him.’

‘Rick and Kim have become increasingly concerned of their son's medical problems and are trying to seek the best treatment for him,’ she wrote. ‘Camden is a young man who was given the best education and has a lot of potential. He has lost his way and I pray that he gets the medical help he needs.’

When asked about the letters, Maria’s husband, Wayne Morse, confirmed to DailyMail.com that he helped his wife draft hers. He has now given the letter to Newport Beach detectives.

‘I helped my wife write the letter that went out about Camden’s conservatorship,’ he said. ‘I feel so responsible, because I’m not stupid. The things she was telling me, it was so bizarre.’

Wayne said he is now wracked with guilt, saying that he warned his wife that Camden could be dangerous, but believed her when she denied it.

‘The letter that was written, I feel like it was my wife’s way of reaching out. The thing is, I told her “if you write this letter for conservatorship, he’s going to come after you”, and she told me “he would never hurt me”,’ the bereaved husband told DailyMail.com

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‘I said “you never told me all this Maria.” She said “ah I told you this”, but I said “It’s way beyond, what do you want me to write? What do you want me to say? And if you’re going to give it to an attorney, who’s going to be the conservator of the son, I think we’re reaching a point where I’m really concerned for your health. She told me “Wayne, he’d never harm me.” I took her by that word.

‘I’ve never in my life been through anything like this. I’m devastated. It shocked me, because I probably could have saved my wife. Everybody keeps saying “there’s no way you could have”, but I say no. I got the letters.’

The bodies of the murdered man and two women may have been lying in the Newport Beach mansion for days, DailyMail.com can reveal.

The corpses were found last Wednesday night after a dazed Camden walked into a nearby hospital and called police. But the housekeeper's husband said Maria had been missing since Monday evening, when she was due home from working at the Nicholsons' house.

Wayne said he became increasingly worried as his wife was not responding to calls or texts.

'I texted Maria, I said “are you ok? I just need to know if you’re ok",' he told DailyMail.com.

'My wife was missing Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. I honestly thought maybe she had gone back home [to Mexico] or something, because she seemed so troubled. Then when I saw the news, I said “Oh my god”. I knew there was a problem because she never would not call me.

'Then I called the police, and I said “you tell me if that’s my wife there”. They said there was major trauma... It made no sense to me.'

Although a postmortem report is still pending, Wayne said Detectives believe the Nicholsons were killed before Maria, and that she was knocked unconscious before dying.

Police told the bereaved husband that the family had CCTV cameras in their home, but they had not been recording for the last five years.

A family member of Maria Morse who attended the Friday hearing told DailyMail.com the Morses held a private viewing of Maria’s body before cremating her.

The family member, who asked not to be named, said the housekeeper’s husband was so distraught he was unable to attend the service.

Maria wrote that when Camden returned home in the fall of 2018, his ‘behavior was off and he looked unhealthy'

Maria’s bereaved husband is suing the Nicholsons’ estate for more than $10m over wrongful death, claiming the family knew the alleged killer was violent and unstable.

Morse says Camden 'had a long history of violent and troubling behavior, which included abusing marijuana, steroids, pornography and physically threatening his parents.'

The legal documents, filed in Orange County Friday, claim Camden 'told his mother he wanted to kill his father, and he made repeated threats of physical violence to her.'

Morse claims the parents 'tolerated his constant physical threats of violence against them, allowed him to grow marijuana and use needles to inject himself with steroids which were all over his room.'

He adds that Camden 'repeatedly told Kim Nicholson he wanted to kill his father', said he 'was so angry at his father he wanted to "gut" him and called him evil', as well as making 'threats of physical violence to her.'

Due to the threats and his 'uncontrollable "roid rage"', Kim temporarily moved out of the house, the lawsuit claims.

In the documents, Morse's lawyer, Edward Susolik of Santa Ana firm Callahan & Blaine, writes that the family was 'negligent in repeatedly inviting Maria to come to their home and clean their house without taking security and safety measures, including police intervention.'

'It was clearly foreseeable that Camden could harm Maria at any time,' the complaint says. 'Ultimately, it was not a matter of if Camden was going to commit violence against Maria, it was a matter of when.

'Had Richard Nicholson and/or Kim Nicholson not continued to invite Maria to their residence to clean their house, Maria would be alive today.'

In an interview, Susolik told DailyMail.com that he would be asking the court to award his client damages 'in excess of $10 million.' 

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