Six people were murdered, by a nurse, in a horrific vehicle accident in Los Angeles that began at 130 mph.

Six people were murdered, by a nurse, in a horrific vehicle accident in Los Angeles that began at 130 mph.


Six people were murdered by a nurse who was judged “mentally unstable” last month in a fiery automobile wreck in Los Angeles; the nurse’s speed was 130 mph, which is more than 40 mph faster than authorities first believed.

Nicole Linton, 37, was initially believed to have been driving her Mercedes-Benz at 90 mph and to have “deliberately” depressed the pedal for at least five seconds just before a collision on August 4 at the junction of La Brea and Slauson Avenues resulted in an explosion of flames.

According to court records acquired by The Los Angeles Times on Sunday following their Friday publication, “further investigation showed that her speed at impact was in fact 130 mph and that she pushed the gas pedal for at least the 5 seconds leading up to the incident, moving from 122 mph to 130 mph.”

Additionally, according to court documents, Linton had been in “full control over driving, keeping the tilt of the steering wheel to keep her automobile heading straight at the packed crossing,” undermining assertions made by the suspect’s counsel that she had been asleep.

Prosecutors said in the court document, “This NASCAR-worthy performance flies in the face of the concept that she was unconscious or incapable.”

Nicole Linton, 37, was driving at 130 mph - 40 mph than cops anticipated -  when she sped into several cars and caused a deadly car crash that killed six people on La Brea and Slauson Aves in downtown Los Angeles on August 4

Nicole Linton, 37, was driving at 130 mph - 40 mph than cops anticipated -  when she sped into several cars and caused a deadly car crash that killed six people on La Brea and Slauson Aves in downtown Los Angeles on August 4

Nicole Linton, 37, was driving at 130 mph – 40 mph than cops anticipated –  when she sped into several cars and caused a deadly car crash that killed six people on La Brea and Slauson Aves in downtown Los Angeles on August 4

Linton's Mercedes raced past a gas station then smashed into the side of a traffic jam, causing a flaming inferno in the Windsor Hills district of Los Angeles on August 4

Linton's Mercedes raced past a gas station then smashed into the side of a traffic jam, causing a flaming inferno in the Windsor Hills district of Los Angeles on August 4

Linton’s Mercedes raced past a gas station then smashed into the side of a traffic jam, causing a flaming inferno in the Windsor Hills district of Los Angeles on August 4

Police investigate the deadly aftermath of the brutal accident, which killed six people at the intersection of Slauson and La Brea avenues

Police investigate the deadly aftermath of the brutal accident, which killed six people at the intersection of Slauson and La Brea avenues

Police investigate the deadly aftermath of the brutal accident, which killed six people at the intersection of Slauson and La Brea avenues

After her arrest, Linton’s total amount of charges upgraded to six counts of murder and five counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence in connection with the crash. The 37-year-old traveling nurse from Houston, Texas could face 90 years to life in prison if convicted of all charges.

One of the murder charges was filed for the unborn son of victim Asherey Ryan, who was eight-months-pregnant when she was killed.

The crash also killed Ryan’s 11-month-old son Alonzo Quintero and her boyfriend, Reynold Lester, according to a GoFundMe posting.

Lester’s family told KABC-TV that the 24-year-old security guard was the father of Ryan’s eight-and-a-half month old unborn child. The family has said Ryan was on the way to a doctor’s appointment for a prenatal checkup when she was killed.

One murder charge — but not an additional charge of vehicular manslaughter — was filed for the fetus, who was identified by the coroner’s office as Armani Lester and listed as born on the same day he died.

‘A young family was destroyed in the blink of an eye,’ LA District Attorney George Gascón, who opposed to set bail for Lincon, said at a news conference.

Two other female victims were later identified as Lynette Noble, 38, and Nathesia Lewis, 42. They were driving together when their car instantly burst into flames, family members told the Times. The bodies of the two weren’t immediately identified due to severe trauma.

Graphic shows the direction the SUV was going in along South La Brea Avenue when it ran the red light and caused the horrendous crash last month

Graphic shows the direction the SUV was going in along South La Brea Avenue when it ran the red light and caused the horrendous crash last month

Graphic shows the direction the SUV was going in along South La Brea Avenue when it ran the red light and caused the horrendous crash last month

Nathesia Lewis, was identified as one of the six victims in the fiery Los Angeles on August 4. Lewis was driving with Lynette Noble when the vehicle burst into flames after being slammed by ICU nurse, Nicole Linton, who was visiting LA from Houston, Texas

Nathesia Lewis, was identified as one of the six victims in the fiery Los Angeles on August 4. Lewis was driving with Lynette Noble when the vehicle burst into flames after being slammed by ICU nurse, Nicole Linton, who was visiting LA from Houston, Texas

Nathesia Lewis, was identified as one of the six victims in the fiery Los Angeles on August 4. Lewis was driving with Lynette Noble when the vehicle burst into flames after being slammed by ICU nurse, Nicole Linton, who was visiting LA from Houston, Texas

Lynette Noble, was identified as one of the six victims in the fiery Los Angeles on August 4. Noble and Lewis were driving together when ICU nurse Nicole Linton slammed into their car

Lynette Noble, was identified as one of the six victims in the fiery Los Angeles on August 4. Noble and Lewis were driving together when ICU nurse Nicole Linton slammed into their car

Lynette Noble, was identified as one of the six victims in the fiery Los Angeles on August 4. Noble and Lewis were driving together when ICU nurse Nicole Linton slammed into their car

Asherey Ryan (above), 23, died in the fiery crash with her one-year-old child and her unborn child. She was almost to her due date when she died

Asherey Ryan (above), 23, died in the fiery crash with her one-year-old child and her unborn child. She was almost to her due date when she died

Asherey Ryan (above), 23, died in the fiery crash with her one-year-old child and her unborn child. She was almost to her due date when she died

One-year-old baby boy Alonzo (pictured) was also killed in the horrific collision between South La Brea Avenue and Slauson Avenue on August 4

One-year-old baby boy Alonzo (pictured) was also killed in the horrific collision between South La Brea Avenue and Slauson Avenue on August 4

One-year-old baby boy Alonzo (pictured) was also killed in the horrific collision between South La Brea Avenue and Slauson Avenue on August 4

The father of the unborn child Reynold (right) also died in the crash. He is here with Asherey

The father of the unborn child Reynold (right) also died in the crash. He is here with Asherey

The father of the unborn child Reynold (right) also died in the crash. He is here with Asherey

Meanwhile, in a filing opposing Linton’s release on bail, Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney Brittany Vannoy said the suspect was suffering from severe mental health issues that were shared with prosecutors by defense lawyers.

‘The defense has disclosed a number of prior incidents which appear to be increasing in severity, ranging from the defendant jumping on police cars to jumping out of apartment windows,’ Vannoy wrote in documents obtained by the Los Angeles Times. ‘The defense indicates [Linton] has been subject to involuntary commitments on several occasions and has hurt herself more than once.’

Some of the suspect’s mental behavior in the past also included panic attacks, self-harming behavior, and her belief that she was being possessed by her deceased grandmother.

The defense’s documents further included a doctor’s assessment that during the crash Linton experience an ‘apparent lapse of consciousness.’

‘She has no recollection of the events that led to her collision,’ doctor William Winter wrote after an August 6 examination of the Texas-based nurse. ‘The next thing she recalled was lying on the pavement and seeing that her car was on fire.’

The court filings did not mention any previous car crashes linked to Linton.

Linton (pictured in court on August 8) was previously held on $9 million bail but it appears that LA County District Attorney George Gascon has withdrawn bond for the Texas-based nurse

Linton (pictured in court on August 8) was previously held on $9 million bail but it appears that LA County District Attorney George Gascon has withdrawn bond for the Texas-based nurse

Linton (pictured in court on August 8) was previously held on $9 million bail but it appears that LA County District Attorney George Gascon has withdrawn bond for the Texas-based nurse

Attorneys for Nicole Linton, Halim Dhanidina and Jacqueline M. Sparagna speak before Judge Victoria B. Wilson during a bail hearing for Linton in August. They argued that the 37-year-old nurse's mental health had been going downhill prior to the fiery collision

Attorneys for Nicole Linton, Halim Dhanidina and Jacqueline M. Sparagna speak before Judge Victoria B. Wilson during a bail hearing for Linton in August. They argued that the 37-year-old nurse's mental health had been going downhill prior to the fiery collision

Attorneys for Nicole Linton, Halim Dhanidina and Jacqueline M. Sparagna speak before Judge Victoria B. Wilson during a bail hearing for Linton in August. They argued that the 37-year-old nurse’s mental health had been going downhill prior to the fiery collision

Skid marks are seen on the ground at the intersection as paramedics and police rush to the scene of the deadly accident

Skid marks are seen on the ground at the intersection as paramedics and police rush to the scene of the deadly accident

Skid marks are seen on the ground at the intersection as paramedics and police rush to the scene of the deadly accident

Linton burned a red light prior to driving her black Mercedes into ongoing traffic flowing both in downtown LA

Linton burned a red light prior to driving her black Mercedes into ongoing traffic flowing both in downtown LA

Linton burned a red light prior to driving her black Mercedes into ongoing traffic flowing both in downtown LA

The mangled wreck of the Mercedes that Linton was speeding in after the crash

The mangled wreck of the Mercedes that Linton was speeding in after the crash

The mangled wreck of the Mercedes that Linton was speeding in after the crash

Last month, prosecutors detailed how Linton’s bizarre and unhinged behavior worsened in the days before the deadly collision, and provided a bizarre timeline of the hours before the wreck.

‘In the days and hours leading up to the events of August 4, Nicole’s behavior became increasingly frightening,’ Linton’s lawyers wrote.

The filing showed that before the wreck the nurse had been continually telling her sister that coworkers were acting ‘weird.’

On the day of the accident she drove home from work to have lunch and spoke to her sister completely naked on FaceTime.

Then she returned to work, and at 1.24pm – minutes before the accident – Linton called her sister to say she was leaving again.

‘She told her sister that she was flying out to meet her in Houston the next day so she could do her niece’s hair,’ the filing read, ‘She also said that she would be getting married and that her sister should meet her at the altar.’

According to the court documents Linton’s mental struggles became apparent in May 2018 while she was a nursing student at the University of Houston.

‘The stress was too much for her and it ‘broke’ her,’ Nicole’s sister, Camille Linton, wrote, ‘Thus beginning the journey of Nicole’s 4-year struggle with mental illness.’

That May, Linton fled from her apartment in the midst of a panic attack. When police approached to help she leapt on the hood of their squad car and was arrested for disorderly conduct. While at the station she then called her family concerned about her pet turtle, the documents showed.

Days later Linton began telling her family about being possessed by her deceased grandmother.

Then the next day while checked into the Ben Taub psychiatric hospital Linton received stitches after she pounded her head against a pane of glass while ranting about the supreme court and police. The documents said she sang Bob Marley songs while she was stitched up.

It was during her stay at Ben Taub that Linton was diagnosed with bi-polar and prescribed medication to mitigate it.

But over a year later she was involuntarily committed to a psychiatric ward by her family when neighbors complained she was running around the apartment building naked.

Then during the pandemic she stopped taking her medication when a therapist told her she only had anxiety.

Linton told her sister over FaceTime right before the car crash that she was going to fly out to meet her in Houston, where she lived, the next day so she could do her niece's hair on August 4

Linton told her sister over FaceTime right before the car crash that she was going to fly out to meet her in Houston, where she lived, the next day so she could do her niece's hair on August 4

Linton told her sister over FaceTime right before the car crash that she was going to fly out to meet her in Houston, where she lived, the next day so she could do her niece’s hair on August 4

From there her health began a steep decline – she stopped sleeping, became obsessive about cleaning, accused family members from stealing, and ranted at them.

Linton’s defense argued her long history of mental health and ‘apparently bizarre’ behavior did not mean she should be locked up in prison, but that she should instead be released for treatment and monitoring at a mental health institution.

‘Ms. Linton would be most appropriately housed in a mental health treatment facility where she can be monitored and treated for her illness,’ her attorneys wrote, requesting she be allowed to wear an ankle monitor and be tested at UCLA Resnick Neuropsychiatric Hospital.

The defense also filed character statements from her family vouching for Linton.

‘She is a Godly person who put her trust in him,’ Linton’s mother Beverly Harrison wrote, ‘She is a person that if she says or do anything she regrets, she will come back to say that she is sorry and ask you for forgiveness. My sweet baby I love her but God loves her best.’

And another of her sisters, Kimberly, talked about how Nicole had planned to enroll in medical school next year.

‘Nicole is about saving lives and she always has both empathy and sympathy for any life that’s loss and the family no matter how many time one can see that sort of thing in that field,’ she wrote.


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