In 1999, Sherry Holtz was brutally killed. Her killer has not been caught for more than 20 years, until now.
Through better DNA tests, Holtz’s “longtime boyfriend” Gary Durrance, 73, has been arrested and charged with her murder, the Sanford Police Department said at a press conference on July 19.
Police say that someone who was picking up cans found Holtz’s body in the woods in Sanford, Florida, on December 4, 1999. Holtz was 50 years old when she died. She was discovered on her back on a concrete slab.
Her main cause of death was found to be being cut around the neck. Police said she had also been choked and hit in the head with something hard. She also had cuts on her upper body and signs of serious sexual trauma.
An officer for the Sanford Police Department named Bianca Gillett said, “There is no other way to describe it but a brutal murder.”
At the time, a sexual attack kit was used, but no DNA was found. Police said that a bloody knife found at the crime scene did not help with the case either because it was “not sufficient in size for testing at that time.”
“There weren’t as many people looking for DNA as there are now,” Chief of Police Cecil E. Smith said.
But when the cold case was brought back to life in May 2023, police found that the blood on the knife’s blade did belong to Holtz and that Durrance’s DNA was on the handle.
Police first looked into Durrance in 1999 after learning that she and Holtz fought on December 2 and Durrance had kicked her out of their shared home. This was just a few days before Holtz was killed. Also, they had a past of domestic violence going back to 1996.
Because of what witnesses said and the new physical proof, Durrance was given an arrest warrant on July 17. After being found, he was caught on July 18 and charged with second-degree murder. He is being held in the Seminole County Jail right now.
At this point, it’s not clear if Durrance has a lawyer who can speak for him.
After Durrance was arrested, police say he told detectives things that he said meant he admitted to killing Holtz.
“We are sure beyond a doubt that the right person is in jail tonight,” Gillett said. “And he will finally get what’s coming to him for his crimes.”
Police also said Holtz has an adult son, and they are still trying to get in touch with him to let him know about the arrest.
“This person, who was a longtime boyfriend, will now spend the rest of his natural life in jail,” Smith said. “We just hope that this brings some peace to the family.” “And be given the chance to be held responsible for what he promised Sherry.”