saltlakerino
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MISSOURI-- 35-year-old Grace Holland died last year [2020] in Creve Coeur with a single gunshot wound to her head. Her fiance is the only witness and says she shot herself. Grace's family claims there was a coverup to protect her fiance (the local Fire Captain).
Case was highlighted on the local news last night (11/2/2021):
Suicide or something more? News 4 Investigates after fiancée of local first responder dies from gunshot wound
Additional info-
Grace's identical twin sister's open letter on the case:
Below is the rundown of issues with the case.
An Open letter to Creve Coeur Police Department:
My identical twin sister was a police wife. She had this profound respect for law enforcement, had been a police explorer as a teen and held a degree in criminal justice. She supported Gun and Hoses, Stair Climbs, and was an active member of the Community.
On the morning of July 22, 2020, I woke up to a Facebook message:
“Is it true your sister is dead?”
The SRO officer of my niece’s school had texted the principal who then texted the teachers. That is how I found out my twin, Grace, was gone.
Creve Coeur police have failed us at every level since Grace’s death and the failure to collect evidence means we will likely never get answers.
For example:
1. They failed to correctly identify an entry vs exit wound; which also means these wounds do not correlate with the position of the body.
2. They misinformed the medical examiners' office as to the location and position of Robert Daus at the moment of her death. He was, by his own admission, standing next to her.
3. They failed to call crimes against persons.
4. They failed to remove friends of Captain Daus, from the police investigation.
5. They closed the crime scene before reaching out to our family.
6. They failed to investigate her stolen property and lied about not investigating it.
7. They allowed Captain Daus to be present when picking up her property despite saying otherwise to the family.
8. They failed to collect and bag evidence properly - such as bagging her hands, testing Captain Daus’ hands for residue, and collecting his clothing.
9. They failed to address the large pool of blood on the right side of her head and identify the cause of that injury.
10. They failed to address the bruises on her body shown in the autopsy photographs.
11. They managed to “lose” multiple video recordings.
12. Personal police cellphones were used and not recorded. One officer refused to supply his phone records as part of a sunshine law request.
13. They failed to collect Captain Daus’ phones stating: “he needed them for work”.
14. I was told by a Creve Coeur Police detective that if I wanted answers I needed to hire a lawyer.
15. They extended “professional courtesy“ to Captain Daus well beyond what any other citizen would be given.
16. They failed to verify her handwriting in a suicide note written with language outside her recursive writing patterns.
17. They failed to question Captain Daus at the time and have yet to question him 14 months later.
18. They failed to contact her therapist.
19. Creve Coeur detectives took almost 2 hours to arrive at the crime scene.
20. In light of these failings, our family was forced to hire a private investigator for an unbiased review of the case.
Here are facts we know about Captain Daus of Maryland Heights Fire Department; my sister Grace, and their relationship:
1. Captain Daus was in an arms reach of her when she died and made no attempts to revive her, despite being a trained first responder.
2. He calmly identified himself to 911 as a Fire Captain with Maryland Heights.
3. He immediately, (prior to submitting his written statement ), lawyered up using the attorney from Maryland Heights Fire district, Neil Bruntrager.
4. Neil Bruntrager called my parents two days later in response to my father's phone call with the Fire Chief, and never disclosed he was representing Captain Daus.
5. Captain Daus was having multiple affairs with men and women by his own statement given to the police.
6. Captain Daus never reached out to any family member or ask to be a part of her burial; he simply cut ties with his four future stepdaughters, our family, and hired an attorney.
7. Prior to her death, Grace had contacted the Maryland Heights Fire’s Medical Officer Russell out of concern for Rob’s behavior because he was blowing up at home; the video she sent me prior to her death is quite compelling - I would be happy to share it.
8. Grace sought counseling for her and Rob in the weeks leading up to her death
9. Grace was covered in bruises and sent me videos demonstrating the escalation in his behavior. One video in particular is mentioned in the redacted text messages.
10. Rob Daus controlled every aspect of her life and how she spent her time. He controlled how much gas money she was given, who she could see, and when she could see her children.
11. He forced her to quit her job and instead work for him at his family’s business: Liberty Art Works.
12. Captain Daus had his staff pay him for her work. Furthermore, she was never added to Liberty Art Works payroll; instead he was paid for her work directly and “under-the-table”.
Final thoughts:
How many adult friends showed up at her funeral? Zero. She was no longer allowed to have friendships. Members of the Creve Coeur Fire Department were directed not to contact the family.
Her best friend (K.T) severed ties with her after having dinner with Daus.
Examples of domestic abuse are provided in text messages from Captain Daus (even after extensive screening by his attorney), the video Grace sent to me, and the numerous post-mortem injuries detailed in the autopsy report.
We're asking for help to shine some light on my sister's case.
We have a PI and attorneys at Rosenblum Schwartz & Fry. Greg Wittner
Case was highlighted on the local news last night (11/2/2021):
Suicide or something more? News 4 Investigates after fiancée of local first responder dies from gunshot wound
Additional info-
Grace's identical twin sister's open letter on the case:
Below is the rundown of issues with the case.
An Open letter to Creve Coeur Police Department:
My identical twin sister was a police wife. She had this profound respect for law enforcement, had been a police explorer as a teen and held a degree in criminal justice. She supported Gun and Hoses, Stair Climbs, and was an active member of the Community.
On the morning of July 22, 2020, I woke up to a Facebook message:
“Is it true your sister is dead?”
The SRO officer of my niece’s school had texted the principal who then texted the teachers. That is how I found out my twin, Grace, was gone.
Creve Coeur police have failed us at every level since Grace’s death and the failure to collect evidence means we will likely never get answers.
For example:
1. They failed to correctly identify an entry vs exit wound; which also means these wounds do not correlate with the position of the body.
2. They misinformed the medical examiners' office as to the location and position of Robert Daus at the moment of her death. He was, by his own admission, standing next to her.
3. They failed to call crimes against persons.
4. They failed to remove friends of Captain Daus, from the police investigation.
5. They closed the crime scene before reaching out to our family.
6. They failed to investigate her stolen property and lied about not investigating it.
7. They allowed Captain Daus to be present when picking up her property despite saying otherwise to the family.
8. They failed to collect and bag evidence properly - such as bagging her hands, testing Captain Daus’ hands for residue, and collecting his clothing.
9. They failed to address the large pool of blood on the right side of her head and identify the cause of that injury.
10. They failed to address the bruises on her body shown in the autopsy photographs.
11. They managed to “lose” multiple video recordings.
12. Personal police cellphones were used and not recorded. One officer refused to supply his phone records as part of a sunshine law request.
13. They failed to collect Captain Daus’ phones stating: “he needed them for work”.
14. I was told by a Creve Coeur Police detective that if I wanted answers I needed to hire a lawyer.
15. They extended “professional courtesy“ to Captain Daus well beyond what any other citizen would be given.
16. They failed to verify her handwriting in a suicide note written with language outside her recursive writing patterns.
17. They failed to question Captain Daus at the time and have yet to question him 14 months later.
18. They failed to contact her therapist.
19. Creve Coeur detectives took almost 2 hours to arrive at the crime scene.
20. In light of these failings, our family was forced to hire a private investigator for an unbiased review of the case.
Here are facts we know about Captain Daus of Maryland Heights Fire Department; my sister Grace, and their relationship:
1. Captain Daus was in an arms reach of her when she died and made no attempts to revive her, despite being a trained first responder.
2. He calmly identified himself to 911 as a Fire Captain with Maryland Heights.
3. He immediately, (prior to submitting his written statement ), lawyered up using the attorney from Maryland Heights Fire district, Neil Bruntrager.
4. Neil Bruntrager called my parents two days later in response to my father's phone call with the Fire Chief, and never disclosed he was representing Captain Daus.
5. Captain Daus was having multiple affairs with men and women by his own statement given to the police.
6. Captain Daus never reached out to any family member or ask to be a part of her burial; he simply cut ties with his four future stepdaughters, our family, and hired an attorney.
7. Prior to her death, Grace had contacted the Maryland Heights Fire’s Medical Officer Russell out of concern for Rob’s behavior because he was blowing up at home; the video she sent me prior to her death is quite compelling - I would be happy to share it.
8. Grace sought counseling for her and Rob in the weeks leading up to her death
9. Grace was covered in bruises and sent me videos demonstrating the escalation in his behavior. One video in particular is mentioned in the redacted text messages.
10. Rob Daus controlled every aspect of her life and how she spent her time. He controlled how much gas money she was given, who she could see, and when she could see her children.
11. He forced her to quit her job and instead work for him at his family’s business: Liberty Art Works.
12. Captain Daus had his staff pay him for her work. Furthermore, she was never added to Liberty Art Works payroll; instead he was paid for her work directly and “under-the-table”.
Final thoughts:
How many adult friends showed up at her funeral? Zero. She was no longer allowed to have friendships. Members of the Creve Coeur Fire Department were directed not to contact the family.
Her best friend (K.T) severed ties with her after having dinner with Daus.
Examples of domestic abuse are provided in text messages from Captain Daus (even after extensive screening by his attorney), the video Grace sent to me, and the numerous post-mortem injuries detailed in the autopsy report.
We're asking for help to shine some light on my sister's case.
We have a PI and attorneys at Rosenblum Schwartz & Fry. Greg Wittner
