CA CA - El Dorado County asking public to help identify poss.victims (1976&1977) of Joseph Holt

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El Dorado County D.A. Asking For Clues Tying Cold Case Murder Suspect To Other Crimes
"Using a public DNA database, the El Dorado Cold Case Task Force constructed a family tree from a blood stain collected from the shirts of one of the victims and DNA recovered from another victim. The previously unidentified DNA led investigators to Joseph Holt, who had passed away in 2014, according to a statement from the D.A.’s office.

Holt was born in 1947 in San Jose and and graduated from Cupertino High School and UC Berkeley. He went on to become a real estate agent in South Lake Tahoe.

Anyone with information about Holt is asked to contact the El Dorado County Cold Case Homicide Task Force Tip Line at (530) 621-4590."

 

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El Dorado County District Attorney
1 hr ·
*****Press Release Update*****
El Dorado County D.A. Asking For Clues Tying Cold Case Murder Suspect To Other Crimes
This is an update to the press release from February 25, 2019. The Cold Case Task Force is continuing to investigate whether Joseph Holt is responsible for other unsolved crimes. Attached is a series of photographs depicting the evolving appearance of Joseph Holt over several years. The Cold Case Task Force is asking for the assistance of the public in identifying any crimes they may have witnessed or been victims of that may be associated with Joseph Holt.

Twenty seven year old Brynn Rainey was killed in 1977. Her body was found in a shallow grave by passing horseback riders near Stateline Stables in South Lake Tahoe. 16 year old Carol Andersen was killed in 1979. Her battered body was found on the side of a road, also in South Lake Tahoe.

Their murders went unsolved for 41 and 39 years, respectively, until the El Dorado Cold Case Task Force employed Parabon Nanolabs to construct a “family tree” from DNA recovered from a blood stain on Brynn Rainey’s shirt and DNA recovered from Carol Andersen’s body during her autopsy. Using a public DNA database, Parabon was able to build a family tree
around the previously unidentified DNA, leading investigators to three deceased brothers who might be the source of the DNA recovered from the crime scenes.

The Task Force collected DNA from the child of Joseph Holt, as well as DNA from a toothbrush that belonged to Joseph Holt. Further DNA testing confirmed that Joseph Holt’s DNA is a match to the DNA found on Brynn Rainey’s shirt and Carol Andersen’s body.

Joseph Holt was born in 1947 and grew up in San Jose. He graduated Cupertino High School and UC Berkley. Holt moved to South Lake Tahoe in 1974 and began a career in real estate. He died in 2014 and was not identified as a suspect until 2018. Holt’s surviving family members had no idea he was a killer, and fully cooperated with law enforcement during this investigation.

If you have any information concerning Joseph Holt, or any information concerning any unsolved crime in El Dorado County, please contact the El Dorado County Cold Case Homicide Task Force Tip Line at (530) 621-4590.