The Cochise County man charged last week with two counts of second degree murder in the deaths of his ex-wife and another person had just filed a challenge with the Arizona Court of Appeals over a judge’s order allowing his young daughter to live out of state, Arizona Daily Independent has confirmed.
Gregory Michael Carlson remains in the Cochise County jail on a no-bond order issued shortly after his Sept. 4 arrest. He is scheduled for a bail eligibility hearing Friday at which time the Cochise County Attorney’s Office will seek a permanent no-bond order keeping Carlson in jail pending trial.
Carlson, 56, is charged with multiple felonies related to the deaths of Duong T. Nguyen, 30, and Robert Atwell, described as a friend of Nguyen’s family. The two recently flew to Arizona from Pennsylvania for a scheduled custody exchange of Nguyen and Carlson’s daughter.
Nguyen’s family reached out to various law enforcement agencies across the state after they did not hear from her after Sept. 2. Then on Sept. 4, deputies with the Cochise County Sheriff’s Office went to Carlson’s residence in Sunizona. He reportedly told deputies Nguyen never showed up to get the girl, who deputies verified was safe.
The deputies left, although detectives returned to Carlson’s home later that day and placed him under arrest. At least one search warrant was executed at the home and evidence was seized in conjunction with the murder investigation.
But detectives may not need to look far for the motive in the case.
On Sept. 1, Scottdale-based attorney Paul Nordini filed an opening brief in Carlson’s appeal of a recent ruling by a Maricopa County judge which found no fault with Nguyen’s relocation to Pennsylvania while Carlson was awaiting a decision on his request for additional parenting time.
The appeal centers on a legal issue involving a Notice of Intent To Relocate which Nguyen included in her divorce filing in October 2019. Later, a court-approved parenting plan drafted by Nguyen and her attorney was incorporated into a default dissolution decree.
The parenting plan provided limited time for Carlson to have his daughter, who would reside with Nguyen. The final court papers specified that a parent could not move the girl out of the Phoenix metropolitan area “without prior written consent of the other parent, or a court ordered parenting plan.”
Court records show that Nguyen remained in Maricopa County after filing for divorce while Carlson moved to Cochise County. A brief reconciliation occurred with Nguyen and the girl moving in with Carlson, but the appeal notes it “did not go well.”
In May 2020, Carlson filed a petition to grant him equal time with his daughter. The next month, Nguyen flew with the girl to Pennsylvania for what Carlson contends he and his family were told was a summer vacation. The appeals brief alleges Nguyen even left her vehicle, jewelry, and other personal items in Arizona. Things then went downhill between the parents.
“Once Mother had left Arizona with the child, she refused to inform Father of her or the child’s whereabouts,” the appeal brief states, adding Carlson was not told until September that Nguyen was not returning to Arizona.
“Essentially, once Father had filed for equal parenting time, Mother planned and schemed to move to Pennsylvania without any advance notice to Father or even
notifying him of her plans that the trip was permanent in nature,” the brief states.
Earlier this year the Maricopa County judge ruled against Carlson’s request for equal parenting time, finding that Nguyen’s original notice of relocation remained in effect despite the language in the subsequent dissolution order and parenting plan. Carlson filed a notice of appeal in May and on Sept. 1 his opening brief was finally submitted to the court of appeals by Nordini.
A day or two later Nguyen and her friend were killed. The cause death has not been revealed but more details are expected to be released during Friday’s bail hearing.
Carlson listed himself as self-employed when booked into jail. Public records show he worked as a building contractor.
Sunizona lies in east-central Cochise County. The community does not have its own post office, so residents have a Pearce mailing address.
