THE DEATH OF RICKY HOLLAND STILL HAUNTS ME THIRTEEN YEARS LATER
Police testimony at a Feb. 7, 2006 the Court hearing painted a grim picture of Ricky Holland's life.
This Case was made public Jul 21, 2014 on the orders of Ingham County Circuit Judge Rosemarie Aquilina. The transcript of the hearing features the testimony of Det. Sgt. Roy Holliday, of the Ingham County Sheriff's Office.
According to Holliday's sworn testimony, Tim Holland told police on January 27, 2006 Lisa Holland killed their 7-year-old adoptive son with a hammer.
"During this interview, Tim Holland told Det. Sgt. Mraz that Lisa killed Ricky Holland with two blows from a hammer to his head," Holliday said during his testimony. "Tim Holland described the area of the house in which this occurred. Tim Holland also admitted to disposing the body at Lisa Holland's direction. Tim Holland admitted to staging Ricky's room to make it appear as if he had run away as in previous cases, again at Lisa Holland's direction."
Holliday said Lisa Holland had told police on Jan. 26, 2006 that Tim Holland had killed Ricky.
"...during that interview, Lisa Holland claimed that Tim Holland actually killed Ricky Holland," said Holliday. "Lisa described the site that she believed that Tim Holland disposed of Ricky's body to investigators. This was consistent with where Ricky Holland's body was found.
"Lisa Holland described how Ricky's body was bagged and moved out of the house by Tim Holland, and Lisa Holland admitted to investigators to cleaning up the murder scene after the murder."
Holliday said an inmate Lisa Holland met while she was in the Ingham County Jail told investigators Lisa admitted killing Ricky.
Details on Ricky Holland's Life Revealed
In addition to his murder, the testimony also gave insight into Ricky's life with the Hollands. Holliday said Jackson school officials did not support the Hollands' claim that Ricky suffered from several mental conditions (such as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder or ADHD), instead stating the young boy was "a bright boy with an above-average IQ."
"A background investigation which lasted approximately seven months revealed a long history of mental and physical abuse toward the Hollands' child, Ricky Holland," Holliday testified. " School personnel suspected physical and mental abuse by the parents, Tim and Lisa Holland."
"Unexplained bruises and marks consistent with physical child abuse and constant humiliations were of Ricky Holland were common themes during the investigation."
When investigators were initially called to the home for Ricky's disappearance, Holliday testified they found "door locks on the outside of the doors up high where children couldn't reach them in an apparent attempt to lock children inside their rooms."
Holliday also stated Ricky's blood was found in several areas of the home, and that the carpet in his room had been changed recently.
"There was carpet replaced in Ricky's room on at least two occasions near or around the time of his of Ricky's disappearance," Holliday testified. "There was blood found on clothes inside Ricky's room that the lab was able to tell us the blood belonged to Ricky or the DNA came back to Ricky himself."
According to Holliday, Ricky Holland's autopsy showed several fractures to his body, reported as occurring at or near the time of death. The fractures are in addition to the skull injury. Holliday said experts have not determined a cause of death, but they "agree that the manner of death in Ricky Holland's case is a homicide."
Holliday said the suspected abuse was reported to Protective Services. He then testified to evidence of abuse in the home.
"Evidence of parental interference with normal development, evidence of food deprivation, evidence of intentional and continued humiliation of Ricky Holland by his parents, Tim and Lisa Holland, became evident during the investigation," Holliday testified, "things such as diapers used in an inappropriate age of development; restraints used on the bus, which, according to bus personnel, were unnecessary; harnesses on and actually a leash used on Ricky when Lisa Holland would take him to school; Lisa Holland or Ricky Holland getting carrot sandwiches daily for his lunch when it was known that he did not like carrots.
Few of Ricky's Things Remain
Holliday was struck by how the house was so devoid of signs of Ricky -- as if Tim and Lisa weren't expecting him to return, as if he had never lived there.
There were only a handful of photos of Ricky, none recent. In a cardboard box, officers found three prescription bottles for Ricky with dates from 2004, the previous year. The bottles were mostly full, suggesting that Ricky hadn't been given the medicine for months. His psychiatrist later told investigators he hadn't seen Ricky since July 2004, though he had refilled two prescriptions after a phone call from Lisa in November when he'd asked her to bring in the boy. She never did.
The investigators collected fresh samples of small blood splatters from the baseboard in the hallway outside Ricky's bedroom and new samples of blood on a family room wall between the TV and a VHS tape cabinet. Tests would later show the family room blood could have been Ricky's but not the baseboard spots.
A Move to Remove the Other 4 Children
Two weeks earlier, on Aug. 22, Holliday had called Child Protective Services to seek more information about the Hollands' past contacts with the Department of Human Services and to try to launch an investigation to remove their four other children.
Stressing the need for secrecy, he asked CPS investigators to attend a task force meeting the next day. CPS supervisor Gail Cacciani assigned two of her best investigators, Kathleen Daugherty and Colin Parks, to the case.
The next day, they learned that detectives believed Ricky was dead and Tim and Lisa likely had killed him and hidden the body. Detectives wanted CPS to investigate possible maltreatment of the other children, but they wanted it done carefully.
They asked Daugherty and Parks to delay face-to-face contact with the Hollands until CPS got their records from the Jackson County DHS. Police and prosecutors could try to subpoena the records -- and likely face a strong legal challenge from the Hollands -- but CPS had the right to get them without a subpoena.
When she returned to her office, Daugherty met with supervisors. They agreed to hold off contacting the Hollands, a technical violation of routine procedure. During the next two weeks, Daugherty requested an array of records from the Jackson County DHS and interviewed Ricky's former foster care worker, Theresa Bronsberg, and Melissa Sewell, the children's adoption worker. They said they never suspected that any of the kids, including Ricky, were being abused.
TIMELINE OF RICKY HOLLAND
It's been 13 years since Ricky was reported missing. July 2, 2005 Missing
Tim Holland calls 911 to report Ricky missing.
July 3, 2005 - The search.
More than 100 volunteers and 30 law enforcement officers equipped with helicopters, horses and dive teams search for Ricky in the surrounding area. Ground searches continue until July 10.
July 4, 2005 - Without a trace.
Searchers and police find no trace of Ricky but treat everything found within an 18-mile radius of his Williamston home a soccer ball, candy wrappers as evidence.
Police report they believe the 7-year-old may have had a plan to run away and that he filled a backpack with 12 fruit snack pouches and a piggy bank containing between $3 and $5 in change. Police say because Ricky's biological mother led a transient lifestyle, the boy may have tried to hitchhike. The first thing I found authorities to suspect, sometimes true but like this case sometimes not.
Police drive Lisa Holland to view a surveillance tape after a possible sighting at a McDonald's restaurant. A Welch's fruit snack wrapper is considered the strongest lead yet to finding Ricky.
July 7, 2005 - False sighting.
A possible sighting at the Okemos Wal-Mart turned out to be another false alarm; Tim and Lisa again plead on camera for help in finding their son.
July 10, 2005 - Ground search ends.
Authorities end continuous ground searches. More than 65,000 fliers are mailed and faxed to surrounding areas.
October 14, 2005 - Persons of interest?
Authorities take hair samples and fingerprints from Tim and Lisa Holland, their attorney says. For the first time, police describe the Hollands as "persons of interest."
January 26, 2006 — January 27, 2006
Lisa Holland tells police her husband killed Ricky. The next day, Tim Holland tells police Lisa killed Ricky and leads police to the boy's body. I still am bothered by reports that during the investigation the Hollands buried their dog in their back yard. There even was a funeral as to this day though I love all dogs as family, I still think: "You buried your dog, but you threw away your child?"
February 7, 2006 - Murder charge.
Tim Holland and Lisa Holland are charged with murder in Ricky's death.
Lisa Holland's trial begins. A jury later convicts her of murder.
September 5, 2006 – Tim’s Guilty plea.
Tim Holland pleads guilty to second-degree murder. He was later sentenced to 30 to 60 years in prison.
November 28, 2006 - Lisa’s Sentencing
Lisa Holland is sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Ricky Holland.
October 1, 2008 — November 26, 2008 Appeals but Both Sentences Upheld!
The Michigan Supreme Court upholds the murder conviction of Tim Holland in a statement without further review. It later upholds Lisa Holland's conviction.
More Details of Ricky Holland's Life and Murder
Mike Ferency, an assistant county prosecutor at the time, tried the case. He said at least two things made it a difficult one to prosecute.
First, he said, people in "hot water" in a case such as homicide usually do their best to avoid the consequences. They lie, obscure, become difficult to find, even run away. Tim and Lisa Holland weren't like that.
"The level of deflection that the Hollands adopted was unique," Ferency said. "They were on the radio. They were on television. They were in the community, all looking for a missing Ricky. And this went on for months."
Another challenge was the time line. In most homicides, Ferency said, they're short. In this case, investigators required doctor and school records dating back to when Ricky started kindergarten in the early 2000s.
WHAT WE THE MEMBERS OF TEAM HOPE DO?
What we members of TEAM HOPE do best is share ourselves. Essentially, we are just good listeners. Though we are not trained social workers, psychiatrists, police or lawyers. We let the loved ones of the missing know, that like them, we have already gone through the same fog of despair and horror of a "Missing Loved One". As we offer them our hands/hearts and minds in support as we walk through the mist of a Missing Loved One, Together.
Hope is the motivation that we know from the time of our creation.
On through the growing pains of our families.
From the present day, toward the end of our own individual destinies.
Each of us waits eagerly for the Hope,
of what each day brings and with one or another, we all wait with Hope.
No gift is greater than to give the gift of Hope!
Without giving another Hope, what is seen is no Hope at all.
For who Hopes for what they already have?
If we Hope for what others Hope for and wait with them patiently and with Hope.
Then and only then, will we know, "WHAT HOPE FEELS LIKE".
Remember, to NEVER give up HOPE!
Written by Sir Richard...
http://bayo-hunter.blogspot.com/
NOTE: The picture above is of a cross which stands near the site where the body of Ricky Holland was found in 2006. Items such as toy guns, a hat, an Army figure and a stuffed animal are tied to the cross and weathered from time. The site is near Dansville, at Williamston and Ewers roads in rural Ingham County.
