Robert Nelson III was found guilty of the lesser charge of second-degree murder with a deadly weapon on July 11, 2024. He will be sentenced on Aug. 22, 2024.

This followed about a day of deliberation after the jury began deliberations on the afternoon of July 10. As of July 23, Nelson is at King County Correctional Facility.

The state alleges that Nelson, with premeditation, killed Uso Hale at the Mobil gas station in the city limits of Federal Way at 32003 Military Road South in Auburn on Nov. 11, 2021. The state alleges that Nelson drove about five minutes away from the gas station to a residential rural area and then dumped Hale’s body in a ditch, where Hale was found about 15 hours later by locals on a walk.