Ricky Holland Vanished

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