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October 16, 2018
Jury trial tentatively set for James Holland in capital murder of step-daughter
Fox 34 News
LUBBOCK, Texas - The Lubbock County District Court confirms a jury trial for James Holland has been tentatively set for January 14.
Holland was arrested a month after the body of his 18-year old special needs stepdaughter was found mutilated in Feb. 2016.
Debi and James Holland were both indicted on capital murder.
James Holland's bond totals $4.5 million.
http://ramar.worldnow.com/story/3929...-step-daughter
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James Holland pleads guilty in murder of special needs girl
By Staff Reports
Everything Lubbock
LUBBOCK, Texas - The office of Lubbock County Criminal District Attorney said on Tuesday that James Holland pleaded guilty to capital murder for the death of Holli Jeffcoat, 18.
Jeffcoat was found dead in a home in Northeast Lubbock County in February 2016. Jeffcoat had been described by officials as a special needs student. Prior to her murder, she made an outcry to officials at her school that she was sexually abused by Holland.
Jeffcoat was pregnant at the time of her murder.
Her mother, Debi Bryant Holland, was initially charged in the case with sexual assault -- not for directly sexually abusing the girl but rather for facilitating James Holland in abusing her. Later, Debi was charged with capital murder.
James Holland was also indicted for sexually abusing another girl in the same family.
This is a breaking news story, Please check back for updates.
The following is a statement from the Lubbock County CDA:
This afternoon James Holland pled guilty to Capital Murder in the 137th District Court of Lubbock County. He was sentenced to Capital Life in Prison Without the possibility of parole. Due to the still pending cases related to this investigation, the District Attorney's Office will be unable to answer any additional questions at this point in time.
"We are pleased that this Defendant accepted responsibility and pled guilty to the Capital Life Without Parole sentence. Justice in this case not only includes ensuring that this Defendant dies in prison, but hope that the living victim gains new life with this outcome."
K. Sunshine Stanek, Lubbock County Criminal District Attorney
https://www.everythinglubbock.com/ne...irl/1665002044
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http://www.kcbd.com/resizer/MpbTMUL2...QCUDACBT7Q.PNG
Lubbock D.A. on Holli Jeffcoat murderer: ‘He never needs to see the light of day’
By Amber Stegall
KCBD News
LUBBOCK, TX (KCBD) - A week after James Holland pleaded guilty to capital murder in the brutal death of his step daughter Holli Jeffcoat, new court documents from the Lubbock County District Attorney shed a some light into the sentencing. The statement of fact form was filled out the day after Holland was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole.
Sunshine Stanek, the Lubbock County D.A. checked the box for “I do not recommend parole.” On the form, she also offered comments saying, “This was one of the most horrific crimes I have ever seen. Please consider all cases - multiple victims. Defendant never needs to see the light of day.”
On Dec. 18, James Holland pleaded guilty to capital murder in the 137th District Court of Lubbock County. He is the man accused of sexually assaulting, stabbing, and cutting the uterus out of his step daughter Holli Jeffcoat, as well as setting the house she was in on fire. The Lubbock County District Attorney’s Office was seeking the death penalty for Holland, but because he pleaded guilty, he was sentenced to capital life in prison without the possibility of parole. He is currently still incarcerated in the Lubbock County Detention Center.
“We are pleased that this Defendant accepted responsibility and pled guilty to the Capital Life Without Parole sentence. Justice in this case not only includes ensuring that this Defendant dies in prison, but hope that the living victim gains new life with this outcome,” said K. Sunshine Stanek, Lubbock County Criminal District Attorney.
It was Feb. 10, 2016 when 18-year-old Holli Jeffcoat was found murdered in her home.
Most of the gruesome details surrounding the heinous murder have been revealed. Her mother, Debi Holland remains in jail. She is being held on a $3.5 million bond. Both Debi and James were charged with capital murder, aggravated sexual assault of a disabled person and sexual assault of a child.
James Holland is accused of a series of sexual assaults on Jeffcoat that authorities believe led to her pregnancy before her death. School officials with Lorenzo ISD reported her pregnancy and the Crosby County Sheriff along with representatives from the Child Protective Services took up a report on the incident.
Jeffcoat told a school official her mother told her not to tell people about the abuse because they relied so much on James Holland to pay bills.
Though she was enrolled in an Idalou school, she attended a special needs program at Lorenzo. She was said to have the mental capacity of a six-to-seven-year-old and was incapable of giving consent to any sexual acts, court documents state.
“She didn’t want to go home with dad because she didn’t want to have sex,” an unnamed school official said, according to court documents. “The sex hurt.”
It was a few weeks later on Feb. 10, 2016 that police found Jeffcoat in her home with multiple stab wounds, her throat cut and uterus removed. Authorities also said those who killed Jeffcoat tried to set the house on fire to cover up the murder.
It was a month later, on March 10, 2016 that James Holland was arrested, and a month after that on April 10, 2016 Debi Holland was taken into custody.
But there was a trail of abuse within the family, according to CPS. After Jeffcoat was found dead, the department released a statement that said one of the 15-year-old siblings was to be put into the foster care system and receive therapy afterward.
The statement went on to say, “The family did have prior involvement with CPS.” In 2008 Jeffcoat was diagnosed with a sexually transmitted infection and after that CPS kept up with the family for years.
Court documents also indicate she had been touched by James Holland since she was 12-year-old. Most of this was used as evidence to indict both Hollands and in July of 2016 they were formally charged with capital murder.
http://www.kcbd.com/2018/12/24/lubbo...see-light-day/
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Mother still awaiting trial, 3 years after Holli Jeffcoat murder
By Katie Main
KCBD
LUBBOCK, TX (KCBD) - Sunday marks the third anniversary of the death of Holli Jeffcoat.
Police found 18-year-old Jeffcoat in her home on February 10, 2016. She had multiple stab wounds, her throat had been cut and her uterus had been removed. Authorities said those who killed Jeffcoat tried to set the house on fire to cover it up.
Jeffcoat’s step-father, James Holland, was arrested a month later, on March 10, 2016. Jeffcoat’s mother, Debi Holland, was taken into custody a month after that, on April 10, 2016.
Both were charged with capital murder, aggravated assault of a disabled person and sexual assault of a child.
James Holland is accused of a series of sexual assaults on Jeffcoat that authorities believe led to her pregnancy before her death. CPS said the family had a history of abuse.
On December 18, 2018, James Holland pleaded guilty to capital murder in Lubbock County. The district attorney’s office was seeking the death penalty, but because Holland pleaded guilty, he was sentenced to life in prison without parole.
When recommending that punishment in court documents, District Attorney Sunshine Stanek said it was one of the most horrific crimes she had seen and that the defendant never needs to see the light of day.
Holli’s mother, Debi Holland, remains in jail awaiting trial. She is being held on a $3.5 million bond.
http://www.kcbd.com/2019/02/10/mothe...ffcoat-murder/
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Edited:
Mother sentenced to 15 years in connection to brutal murder of Holli Jeffcoat
By Amber Stegall
KCBD News
LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) - It has been nearly four years since police found 18-year-old Holli Jeffcoat dead in her home. She was found on Feb. 10, 2016 with multiple stab wounds, her throat had been cut and her uterus had been removed. Authorities said those who killed Jeffcoat tried to set the house on fire to cover it up.
Both her mother and step-father have been charged and sentenced in the case, but both took plea deals.
Today, Jeffcoat’s mother, Debi Holland, took a plea deal and pleaded guilty to injury to a child/elderly or disabled person. The state recommends a 15 year sentence.
The Lubbock County District Attorney’s Office released the following statement after her sentence:
On Friday, November 22, 2019, Debbie Holland pleaded guilty to the charge of Injury to a Child in the 137th District Court and was sentenced to 15 years TDC.
With James Holland currently serving Life Without Parole for the Capital Murder of Holly Jeffcoat and Debbie Holland today accepting responsibility for her actions, justice has been served on these cases. It is impossible to know exactly what this Defendant knew, but she was positively a parent who failed to protect her children from the evil that was occurring to them. Sometimes justice is as much about what needs to happen to a Defendant as it is what’s in the best interest of the victim. The living victim in this case has been blessed with a new found life. We are so proud of the progress she has made and the young woman she has become. We pray that today’s guilty plea will give her and her family some amount of peace and closure.
https://www.newschannel10.com/2019/1...olli-jeffcoat/
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Debi Holland, mother of Holli Jeffcoat, denied parole
By Natassia Henry
KLBK News
LUBBOCK, Texas — Debi Holland, the woman who was charged in the death of her disabled daughter in 2019, was denied parole last week.
The reason Holland’s parole was denied is in part due to the severity of the crime.
In 2016, Debi Holland’s special needs daughter, Holli Jeffcoat, was found stabbed to death in a home that someone tried to set on fire to cover up the crime.
An autopsy indicated Holli was pregnant at the time she was murdered. Not only was she pregnant, but her baby was cut out of her, court records said. Her womb and her uterus were cut out.
Holli told school officials that she was being sexually abused by her step father, James Holland. James Holland pleaded guilty to capital murder and is currently serving a life sentence.
Debi Holland will be considered for parole again in 2022.
https://www.everythinglubbock.com/ne...denied-parole/