MA MA - Karina Holmer, 20, Boston, 21 June 1996
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UK Sarah Cunningham, 31 - last seen in Camden, London at around 3am, Saturday 3 Nov 2024
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Observations:
Herb Whitten, a 49-year-old man from Andover who would drive to the city on weekends, did have the speeding ticket alibi. But what time was the ticket? How far was he from the crime scene? Of course, he was seen in the alley with the victim so I doubt it was him . . . just doesn't make sense. I would like to know more about him, and why he committed suicide, or if he had a history of depression, etc., or if he simply was unable to deal with something (maybe what he did?).
Fire in a dumpster near the Rapp home in Dover? Odd, but c'mon, if he or his wife were involved do you think they'd be that reckless or careless. Why not simply dispose of whatever incriminating evidence in other ways. As for her art, while odd / disturbing, if they weren't involved it still had an impact upon them and their family since she was their nanny. I'd imagine that would leave an impression, that would show up in her creative-side, , either consciously or subconsciously.
Were her employers helpful? Was the loft searched? I read they were not talking about the crime while it was an ongoing realtionship, but I did not read that they - like Whitten - had "lawyered up".
In the original article posted in this thread it noted that video evidence simply did not exist. But another poster, who is apparently very familiar with the area, insists there was no way she couldn't have been on video. I wonder if the BPD have something they are not revealing. As we all know, sometimes video evidence can be helpful but not solve the crime. I think of that girl in FL who disappeared, where the video only took "snapshots" periodically. And the quality of some video, compared to others, may be low and poor.
I still need to read about this band member. Maybe more thoughts to come.
Herb Whitten, a 49-year-old man from Andover who would drive to the city on weekends, did have the speeding ticket alibi. But what time was the ticket? How far was he from the crime scene? Of course, he was seen in the alley with the victim so I doubt it was him . . . just doesn't make sense. I would like to know more about him, and why he committed suicide, or if he had a history of depression, etc., or if he simply was unable to deal with something (maybe what he did?).
Fire in a dumpster near the Rapp home in Dover? Odd, but c'mon, if he or his wife were involved do you think they'd be that reckless or careless. Why not simply dispose of whatever incriminating evidence in other ways. As for her art, while odd / disturbing, if they weren't involved it still had an impact upon them and their family since she was their nanny. I'd imagine that would leave an impression, that would show up in her creative-side, , either consciously or subconsciously.
Were her employers helpful? Was the loft searched? I read they were not talking about the crime while it was an ongoing realtionship, but I did not read that they - like Whitten - had "lawyered up".
In the original article posted in this thread it noted that video evidence simply did not exist. But another poster, who is apparently very familiar with the area, insists there was no way she couldn't have been on video. I wonder if the BPD have something they are not revealing. As we all know, sometimes video evidence can be helpful but not solve the crime. I think of that girl in FL who disappeared, where the video only took "snapshots" periodically. And the quality of some video, compared to others, may be low and poor.
I still need to read about this band member. Maybe more thoughts to come.
BostonSu
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They were, in fact very uncooperative, and hostile to the police at the time of the murder investigation. LAWYER was, in fact, one of the first words out of their mouths.
I'm also curious about the timeline. We know she left the club and entered the alley shortly after 3 a.m. I'm sure police have witnesses to that fact.
Do we know what time her remains were discovered? From what I've read, it was less than 12 hours later. And not far from where she was last seen.
Apparently, her body was cleaned . . . all make-up removed. Also, the cut was precise. Of course, I would have no idea how long it takes to carefully cut someone in half. But the point I'm making is the killer had some time, and took some time, to clean, carefully cut, and dispose of the remains.
I'd guess the suspect had some access to a local, secluded area. This clearly wasn't done on the streets or in a car.
Being highly intoxicated, and maybe even familar with the killer, I'd guess she put up little resistance when her hands were bound.
Do we know what time her remains were discovered? From what I've read, it was less than 12 hours later. And not far from where she was last seen.
Apparently, her body was cleaned . . . all make-up removed. Also, the cut was precise. Of course, I would have no idea how long it takes to carefully cut someone in half. But the point I'm making is the killer had some time, and took some time, to clean, carefully cut, and dispose of the remains.
I'd guess the suspect had some access to a local, secluded area. This clearly wasn't done on the streets or in a car.
Being highly intoxicated, and maybe even familar with the killer, I'd guess she put up little resistance when her hands were bound.
insatiable
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I know someone who dated her in the weeks/months prior to her murder. He was never talked to by police. He lived minutes from where they found her. I'm not saying that I think he did it but shouldn't he of been at least questioned?
insatiable
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It will be 15 years this June. I can't find any updates from BPD on the status of the case. They removed a page they had for her on their website years ago and have not posted any new info. I just want to post some info-timeline from articles etc. about it here in the hopes of bringing new attention to it.
Karina E. Holmer
-Started working in Dover, Ma. for the Rapp family in March 1996.
-Between March and June Karina would spend some weekends at her employers photography studio/loft on A St. in South Boston.
-Sometime between March and June Karina dated a Boston police officer.
-Sometime between March and June Karina dated a man from South Boston.
- In a letter home Karina wrote in May she said "Something terrible has happened. I can not tell you right now what it is."
-Friday, June 21, 1996 Karina went to club Zanzibar off Boylston Street in Boston with some friends. She was wearing a black or gray tshirt with tight silver shiny pants.
-While in the club she became highly intoxicated and a male bartender says he started serving her water instead of alcohol.
-A female bartender in the club also noticed she was intoxicated and requested that the male bartender stop serving her, which he had already done. The female bartender says Karina was wearing a necklace that said "B*tch" .
-She was last seen alive early Saturday morning, leaving the trendy Zanzibar nightclub with "an older man," her friends said. Another Swedish nanny who had been at the club said Holmer and the man were "going to an after-hours party."
-In the early moring hours of Saturday, June 22, Karina exited the club alone into the alley outside.
-She tried to re-enter the club to look for her friends but it was past closing time so she was no allowed to go back in.
-She was seen talking/singing with a homeless man in the alley. His name is J. Polo. He was interviewed by the police and is said to not be a person of interest in the case.
-She was seen in the alley talking with a man who had a large white great pyraness dog, both wore superman shirts. This man is Mr. Whitten.....the one who later commited suicide. He was interviewed by police and it was said that he was no longer a person of interest.
-Witness said she was seen on Boylston St. talking to 4 men in a silver car (possibly a Mitsubishi) trying to convince her to go to an after hours party.
-Witness said she was seen in a car on Boylston St. (I can not find a description of this car or of anyone in it. I am also not sure if it is the same car as the silver one with 4 men inside.)
-Witness said she was seen walking up Tremont St. (the section between Boylston & Park St., this is north/east of the alley.)
-Witness said she was seen around 3am walking away from the alley with a man and small light colored dog. The man is descibed to be a "construction worker type" in his 40's. (possibly grayish wavy/curly hair)
-Witnesses after her body was found reported to police that Karina was seen in front of a Store-24 located at Massachusetts Ave. & Haviland St. between 3:30-4:00am on Saturday, June 22. This is only a block or so from where her body was found. I think this is about a mile or so from the club.
-On Sunday, June 23, over 30 hours after she was last seen, the top half of Karinas body was found by a homeless man in a dumpster behind 1091 Boylston Street. She was in black garbage bags. Police said she was sawed at the waist and was strangled with a rope.
Her body was cleaned and her make-up removed. They did not say if she was clothed or not. They found a partial finger print on the bag. I think this dumpster is about a mile or so from Zanzibar.
-Police later report that she may have been alive 24 hours after she was last seen.
-Police said that the BPD officer that Karina dated was not a suspect.
-John Zewizz lived nearby where they found her body. He was questioned by police. I believe he is no longer a person of interest.
-Eugene McCollum was investigated. He plead guilty to 2nd degree manslaughter in 2 other seperate cases where the victim was decapitated.
-I read that someone named R. Kodikian who lived in the building where she was found may of been of interest at one time
Please add or correct any details you can think of.
Karina E. Holmer
-Started working in Dover, Ma. for the Rapp family in March 1996.
-Between March and June Karina would spend some weekends at her employers photography studio/loft on A St. in South Boston.
-Sometime between March and June Karina dated a Boston police officer.
-Sometime between March and June Karina dated a man from South Boston.
- In a letter home Karina wrote in May she said "Something terrible has happened. I can not tell you right now what it is."
-Friday, June 21, 1996 Karina went to club Zanzibar off Boylston Street in Boston with some friends. She was wearing a black or gray tshirt with tight silver shiny pants.
-While in the club she became highly intoxicated and a male bartender says he started serving her water instead of alcohol.
-A female bartender in the club also noticed she was intoxicated and requested that the male bartender stop serving her, which he had already done. The female bartender says Karina was wearing a necklace that said "B*tch" .
-She was last seen alive early Saturday morning, leaving the trendy Zanzibar nightclub with "an older man," her friends said. Another Swedish nanny who had been at the club said Holmer and the man were "going to an after-hours party."
-In the early moring hours of Saturday, June 22, Karina exited the club alone into the alley outside.
-She tried to re-enter the club to look for her friends but it was past closing time so she was no allowed to go back in.
-She was seen talking/singing with a homeless man in the alley. His name is J. Polo. He was interviewed by the police and is said to not be a person of interest in the case.
-She was seen in the alley talking with a man who had a large white great pyraness dog, both wore superman shirts. This man is Mr. Whitten.....the one who later commited suicide. He was interviewed by police and it was said that he was no longer a person of interest.
-Witness said she was seen on Boylston St. talking to 4 men in a silver car (possibly a Mitsubishi) trying to convince her to go to an after hours party.
-Witness said she was seen in a car on Boylston St. (I can not find a description of this car or of anyone in it. I am also not sure if it is the same car as the silver one with 4 men inside.)
-Witness said she was seen walking up Tremont St. (the section between Boylston & Park St., this is north/east of the alley.)
-Witness said she was seen around 3am walking away from the alley with a man and small light colored dog. The man is descibed to be a "construction worker type" in his 40's. (possibly grayish wavy/curly hair)
-Witnesses after her body was found reported to police that Karina was seen in front of a Store-24 located at Massachusetts Ave. & Haviland St. between 3:30-4:00am on Saturday, June 22. This is only a block or so from where her body was found. I think this is about a mile or so from the club.
-On Sunday, June 23, over 30 hours after she was last seen, the top half of Karinas body was found by a homeless man in a dumpster behind 1091 Boylston Street. She was in black garbage bags. Police said she was sawed at the waist and was strangled with a rope.
Her body was cleaned and her make-up removed. They did not say if she was clothed or not. They found a partial finger print on the bag. I think this dumpster is about a mile or so from Zanzibar.
-Police later report that she may have been alive 24 hours after she was last seen.
-Police said that the BPD officer that Karina dated was not a suspect.
-John Zewizz lived nearby where they found her body. He was questioned by police. I believe he is no longer a person of interest.
-Eugene McCollum was investigated. He plead guilty to 2nd degree manslaughter in 2 other seperate cases where the victim was decapitated.
-I read that someone named R. Kodikian who lived in the building where she was found may of been of interest at one time
Please add or correct any details you can think of.
insatiable
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I forgot to add :
-A friend said she left the nightclub with "an older man," Another Swedish nanny who had been at the club said Holmer and the man were "going to an after-hours party."
-A male friend who went to the club with Karina said she was in a gray mitsubishi with two men. He asked her to come with him but the 2 men told him to go away.
-A friend said she left the nightclub with "an older man," Another Swedish nanny who had been at the club said Holmer and the man were "going to an after-hours party."
-A male friend who went to the club with Karina said she was in a gray mitsubishi with two men. He asked her to come with him but the 2 men told him to go away.
insatiable
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I don't know where else in the forum to ask this but can anyone tell me if there is a way to look up the history of vehicles a person previously owned with just their name?
insatiable
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This is not related to this case but I thought it was interesting.
They found Karina on June 23, 1996 at 1091 Boylston St., 10 years earlier on June 24, 1986 they found a man, David McCarthy, strangled at 1091 Boylston St. Apt. 28.
It's probably pretty rare for two stangulation victims to be found at the same address 10 years apart but only 1 day shy of the same date.
They found Karina on June 23, 1996 at 1091 Boylston St., 10 years earlier on June 24, 1986 they found a man, David McCarthy, strangled at 1091 Boylston St. Apt. 28.
It's probably pretty rare for two stangulation victims to be found at the same address 10 years apart but only 1 day shy of the same date.
Sleuthie_lu
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This is an very old thread but for some reason I was thinking about this case today. When this happened I immediately thought of a man I knew who frequented these areas. He lived not too far from Landsdown Street and I used to see him almost every time I went clubbing. He always ended the night very very drunk and the bar owners let it slide because he was stinking rich and dropped a bundle every night. Truth be told, I had dated him for a VERY short period of time and he was violent, a pathological liar and stalker. The short time I dated him I was convinced her was from a different country. He spoke with an accent and had fake business cards to show he worked in show business. When the murder happened, I gave the BPD my information and thoughts. BUT this guys father was an incredibly wealthy famous lawyer and this guy got away with murder. My girlfriend and I were assaulted by him on night at a club and took him to court. The lawyer "dismissed" the case. Several years ago, I googled him only to find he had passed away. To let you know how rich and influencial his family was, there is a section of the Museum of Fine Arts named in his memory. Any way, that's my thought for the day!
Its curious how her lower half was never found. I'm wondering if it was put in a different dumpster and hauled off. Why not just dump all at the same time and place? It's also a little ironic that two months before this a pair of legs in a garbage bag washed up a couple hundred miles south on fire island NY. AFAIK her torso was never found, her skull was later found and she is still unidentified.
sobreebriedad
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Hi everyone. Longtime lurker, first time poster here.
I've only lived in Boston a few years and I was a child when Karina disappeared, so I'd never heard the name Karina Holmer until I found this thread. I'm surprised that it seems to have gone cold so quickly and that we never learned much else about what happened the night she disappeared. I've seen sleuthers on here do some excellent brainstorming on other cases, so I'm hoping to spur some more discussion. Karina deserves that!
Google Maps has come a long way since this thread was started in 2005. I made a map showing all of the locations of interest that we know of. MAP - KARINA HOLMER I used the *very* helpful timeline that insatiable posted here a few years (!) ago.
I did some sleuthing to see if I could figure out the exact location of the condominium complex in Dover, MA where Frank Rapp and Susan Nichter lived (and where Karina lived/worked as an au pair). I used an address linked to both Rapp and Nichter's names, which is in a condo complex, but it may not be where they lived in 1996. If it is, this is where the trash can fire occurred, 200 feet from the home on Monday, June 24.
I have set the permissions so that anyone with the link can edit the map, but if you have a location to add and don't feel like/know how to add it, I'll happily do so!
ETA: Karina was spotted along Boylston St. the night she disappeared, but it's not specified exactly where. However, as you can see from the map, Boylston runs directly between the club Zanzibar and the location where her torso were found.
I've only lived in Boston a few years and I was a child when Karina disappeared, so I'd never heard the name Karina Holmer until I found this thread. I'm surprised that it seems to have gone cold so quickly and that we never learned much else about what happened the night she disappeared. I've seen sleuthers on here do some excellent brainstorming on other cases, so I'm hoping to spur some more discussion. Karina deserves that!
Google Maps has come a long way since this thread was started in 2005. I made a map showing all of the locations of interest that we know of. MAP - KARINA HOLMER I used the *very* helpful timeline that insatiable posted here a few years (!) ago.
I did some sleuthing to see if I could figure out the exact location of the condominium complex in Dover, MA where Frank Rapp and Susan Nichter lived (and where Karina lived/worked as an au pair). I used an address linked to both Rapp and Nichter's names, which is in a condo complex, but it may not be where they lived in 1996. If it is, this is where the trash can fire occurred, 200 feet from the home on Monday, June 24.
I have set the permissions so that anyone with the link can edit the map, but if you have a location to add and don't feel like/know how to add it, I'll happily do so!
ETA: Karina was spotted along Boylston St. the night she disappeared, but it's not specified exactly where. However, as you can see from the map, Boylston runs directly between the club Zanzibar and the location where her torso were found.
scriptgirl
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Since she was Swedish, was the Swedish government involved in investigating her death?
buffetoflies
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was it ever figured out how she got the job? reading thru the thread, it seems like many different nanny programs were checked and Karina wasn't affiliated with any of them.
For whatever reason, I was thinking of this case today. I lived in Boston for many years and in 1996 when this happened. My Swedish friends and I were horrified, to say the least -we still are. I always suspected the reason her pelvis area and lower was eliminated was to hide a pregnancy. Theory: Her killer was the baby daddy and if it got out he impregnated her, through rape or otherwise, it would ruin his life. So he planned to dispose of her. Getting rid of the lower half would hide any DNA in the fetus that could be linked to him.
Who knows if it was the officer boyfriend, the host father, or someone else. -maybe even a nanny friend's host father?
Before today, I had never read that Karina sent a letter to her friend in Sweden the month prior saying that something horrible had happened. Could she have found out she was pregnant? Both? She was going to cut her stay in Boston short. Why? But, I believe if that were the case, then she would have confided in at least one of her nanny friends, as they all stick together when abroad... What was the horrible thing that happened in May? Someone knows.
Any thoughts? My heart still goes out to her and her family.
Who knows if it was the officer boyfriend, the host father, or someone else. -maybe even a nanny friend's host father?
Before today, I had never read that Karina sent a letter to her friend in Sweden the month prior saying that something horrible had happened. Could she have found out she was pregnant? Both? She was going to cut her stay in Boston short. Why? But, I believe if that were the case, then she would have confided in at least one of her nanny friends, as they all stick together when abroad... What was the horrible thing that happened in May? Someone knows.
Any thoughts? My heart still goes out to her and her family.
scriptgirl
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Whatever happened to the family that employed her?
Steleheart
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Mystery remains 20 years after Swedish nanny murdered in Boston
http://www.fox25boston.com/news/new-englands-unsolved-the-swedish-nanny-in-the-dumpster/359504461
http://www.fox25boston.com/news/new-englands-unsolved-the-swedish-nanny-in-the-dumpster/359504461
Ninahaskell
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I'm with you on this...he very conveniently stated he was at his parents elsewhere the night this happened?? and if I'm recalling correctly they couldn't account for when he arrived there.....Karina also eluded to folks back home that there was something she needed to tell them. and the bottom half of her was never found...I say do the math...
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