Ricky Holland Vanished

The Lansing State Journal reported today that the murder trial for Tim and Lisa Holland is expected to begin on September 25, 2006; Ricky’s date of birth is September 8th. I find it kind of ironic that the murder trial coincides with Ricky’s birth month. The trial judge is Ingham County Circuit Judge Paula Manderfield. Tim and Lisa Holland will be tried together, they will have separate juries.

This according to Stuart Dunnings III, Ingham County Prosecutor:

“…The best way to assure a fair process is to try the cases at the same time…Most of the evidence against one is evidence against the other…”

This is clearly a he-said, she-said case:

“…During the Hollands’ 14-day preliminary hearing that spanned three months, it was revealed that Tim Holland told his mother that Lisa violently pulled Ricky out of his room and “just went nuts” after Tim suggested he wanted Ricky to stay at his mother’s house for a few weeks. He said Lisa hit the boy with a hammer.

In a Jan. 26 police interview, Lisa Holland said her husband’s moods could swing like a pendulum and that he may have strangled or suffocated Ricky, who was reported missing July 2. Ricky’s body was found nearly seven months later…”

I recall the trial of Erik and Lyle Menendez in Los Angeles, California. They were accused of murdering their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez. Their first trial, in which they were tried together using separate juries, resulted in a hung jury. The reasoning for trying the brothers together and using separate juries:

“…On May 14, 1993, Judge Weissberg ruled that the cases of Lyle and Erik Menendez would be tried together in the interests of time, cost and convenience. Weissberg saw that there would be an almost complete duplication of witnesses and arguments if separate trials were held for each brother. Weissberg ruled that each brother would have a separate jury. This meant that if evidence that pertained only to Lyle was being heard, Erick’s jury would be excluded and vice versa…”

Years later the brothers were retried together. That trial resulted in a guilty conviction for both brothers.

“…In April 1995, Judge Weissberg ruled that the brothers would be retried together, in front of a single jury. Weissberg ruled that the advantages of a “single trial greatly outweigh the potential prejudice…”

I wonder how difficult it will be to select double the number of jurors for this case; people who are not familiar with the case or have not already formed an opinion as to Tim and Lisa Holland’s guilt or innocence. Certainly finding the jurors who are impartial is going to be a daunting task. Also, I believe that there will be many people unwilling to serve on the jury because it is both painful and high-profile.

I am thinking of the people of Ingham County Michigan. I may be wrong, but I have the impression that the residents of Ingham County are private people who do not like media attention. I may be wrong, but I believe the citizens of Ingham County feel that Tim and Lisa Holland have blemished their good reputation as a safe and friendly place to raise children by their actions and they would rather not have the media blitz that is sure to descend upon their county. Having said that, I also believe that the people of Ingham County will rise to the occasion and be more than willing to seek justice for Ricky Holland.

• Source: The Trial of Eric and Lyle Menendez
• Source: The Lansing State Journal – September 25 Trial Date Set Holland’s

The picture to the left contains three pairs of accused murderers currently facing trials in the state of Michigan.

The first pair, 19-year-old Samantha Bachynski and 20-year-old Patrick Selepak stand accused of the brutal murder of three people, one a pregnant woman.

Below is a quote from a story written by Detroit Free Press Staff Writer Steve Neavling:

“…According to police, in her confession, Bachynski said she helped torture Scott Berels and strangle his pregnant wife Melissa on Feb. 15 in the victims’ New Baltimore home

The 19-year-old woman, who had no history of violence, played an equal role in the killings, police said. “He was the one who made the plans, and she went along with what he wanted her to do,” Stevens said. “And if it was to participate in the killings, then she would. She was in love with him. She believed that he was going to provide for her.”

Bachynski’s role in the murders is the latest detail to emerge from last week’s confessions, which police say were made with little emotion and no bargains.

“They were not distraught,” Stevens said. “Their concern was that they were going to spend the rest of their lives in jail, and she was concerned about what her family thought about her.”

Police say Selepak was the first to confess.[...]”

Samantha met Patrick on the internet last summer. They became engaged in January of this year; it did not take too long after the engagement for their crime spree to begin. Police believe they stole a gun the day of their engagement from Gibraltar Trade Center in Mt. Clemens. They then went on to rob an individual at gunpoint and a sporting goods store.

According to the article people have said that prior to meeting Patrick, Samantha was a shy girl who slept with teddy bears. She had no history of violence.

Samantha and Patrick face life in prison for the charges relating to the confession and additional charges are pending for the murder of a man in Genesee County. It is believed that man was shot to death because he realized the two were wanted for the murder of the married couple. That man’s body was found frozen in the bed of his pickup truck.

The second pair of accused murderers pictured to the right of Samantha and Patrick is 19-year-old Nicole Dupure and her former fiancé 20-year-old William T. Blevins, III. William was tried and convicted for his part in the crime last October. He was sentenced to 20 – 50 years in prison. Blevins is currently testifying for the Prosecution against his former fiancée in her trial.

The description below of the crime they are accused from a story in the Detroit Free Press by Staff Writer BY John Masson:

“…Dupure is charged with first-degree murder in the death of 89-year-old Shirley Perry of St. Clair Shores, who was strangled, beaten and stabbed in April 2004.[...]”

“…Prosecutors dismissed murder charges against Dupure of Eastpointe because they worried they didn’t have enough to convict her, but when Blevins pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in exchange for his testimony against Dupure, the charges were reinstated.[...]”

The murder victim was a long-time family friend of Dupure’s. The motive for the murder was robbery; the two had been living in motels and they were running out of money so the plot was hatched to rob and murder Dupure’s elderly friend.

The last couple pictured on the bottom is Tim and Lisa Holland. They are both charged with open murder for the murder of their adoptive son Ricky Holland from Williamston, Michigan.

Their preliminary hearing is set for tomorrow, February 28th to see if the current evidence against them will be enough to hold them over for trial.

I chose to write about the above cases because they all share some common features.

• All are accused of murder
• they were at the time of the commission of the alleged murders either engaged to be married or already married
• In each case the male partner was the first to confess to the crime.

The only exception is Tim Holland. He only confessed to hiding Ricky’s body and covering up the crime, accusing his wife of the murder. She in turn accused him of the murder and only claimed to clean up the murder scene.

I find it interesting that the younger couples were more willing to accept responsibility for their crimes than the older Holland’s. This fact does not make the other couples less guilty, I think it shows how little Tim and Lisa are willing to take responsibility for their actions.

I believe that these six people deserve to serve the rest of their lives in prison without the possibility of parole.

Reading the stories, I can see that the younger couples’ motives for the murders seemed to be love and financial gain. I am still at a loss to figure out what the motive could have been for the Holland’s to murder their adoptive son.

I hope the citizens of the nearby communities will show up at the courthouse tomorrow; even if they cannot get inside. I think it is important to this case for people to show up to let the court know that all of Michigan is watching, all of Michigan wants justice for Ricky Holland and his remaining siblings who were abused by the Holland’s as well as Ricky.

Let’s all say a prayer tonight to put the right words in the prosecutor’s mouth tomorrow when he plead’s the state’s case.

Sources

Teen helped with killing, police say

Teen’s murder trial set to resume

Lansing State Journal Coverage of the Disappearance and Murder of Ricky Holland