Four years after being convicted of murdering his wife, Brian Holliman will once again face a jury Monday.
Jury selection begins Monday before Judge Lee Howard at the Oktibbeha County Circuit Court after Holliman’s attorney was granted a change of venue.
Holliman was found guilty in 2009 of the slaying of his wife, Laura Lee Godfrey Holliman, on Oct. 25, 2008.
However, on appeal, the Mississippi Supreme Court ruled District Attorney Forrest Allgood violated the Golden Rule Act when he asked jurors on four separate occasions how they would feel with a gun pointed in their faces. Holliman’s lawyer, Steve Farese Sr., repeatedly objected but Howard allowed the questioning. As a result, the high court overturned the conviction and ordered a new trial.
Now, nearly five years after the event, jurors will decide-for the second time if Brian Holliman is responsible for his wife’s death.
On Oct. 25, 2008, deputies with the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Department responded to the Holliman home at 700 Wolfe Road in Caledonia for a reported suicide. According to telephone records, Brian Holliman called his parents before calling E-911.
Caledonia town marshal Ben Kilgore was the first to respond to the scene, followed by Lowndes County Deputy Steve Hatcher.
They discovered Laura Lee’s body in the couple’s bedroom closet. Brian Holliman said he moved Laura Lee’s right arm to check her pulse at the urging of 911 operator, Dorthea Robertson.
In the 2009 trial, Hatcher testified Holliman was outside talking on the cell phone when he arrived.
“He appeared excited, hysterical, like he was crying, but it did not appear to be tears in his eyes,” Hatcher said.
Holliman initially told investigators that he was in the backyard with his children, playing on the trampoline, when he heard a shot inside the house. He claimed he went inside and discovered his wife on the floor with a 12-gauge shotgun beside her.
During the first trial, photos of a blood splattered shoe rack in the closet, a blood-stained computer desk and bloody boot prints trailing from the master bedroom to the back door were entered into evidence on behalf of the prosecution. Hatcher testified there were no bloodstains on the closet ceiling or bedroom ceiling.
Lowndes County Coroner Greg Merchant was out of town at the time of the shooting and the sheriff’s department originally treated the case as a suicide. However, when Merchant arrived at the scene the following day and viewed the body, he ruled the death a homicide.
Holliman was taken into custody for questioning. Law enforcement officials said Holliman confessed to accidentally shooting Laura Lee during an argument. After his confession, Holliman was allowed to return home to spend time with his family. He was arrested on Oct. 29 and on Oct. 30, his bond was set at $1-million by the late Judge Phillip Robertson. However, former sheriff Butch Howard let Holliman bond out of jail on a $20,000 signature bond.
When Laura Lee’s family and friends learned of Holliman’s release, they picketed in front of the Lowndes County Adult Detention Center. Holliman was arrested again the following day.
In November 2008, Howard lowered Holliman’s bond to $200,000 citing the fact that the accused had no prior felony convictions. Holliman posted bail and was free on bond until he was convicted in December 2009.
In August 2009, before the December trial, several local politicians and officials made requests for a change of venue on Holliman’s behalf.
Sen. Terry Brown, R-Columbus; Rep. Jeff Smith, D-Columbus, who also served as Caledonia town attorney at the time; East Mississippi Community College Entrepreneurial Development Facilitator Bruce Hanson and then-Caledonia mayor George Gerhart all signed papers requesting a change of venue.
Farese filed the requests citing excessive media coverage.
Howard denied the change of venue.
During the trial, the defense argued that Laura Lee was depressed at the time of her death and called witnesses, including Holliman’s mother, who testified the young mother had often mentioned suicide.
The prosecution’s star witness, Dr. Lisa Funte, a medical examiner with the Shelby County Regional Forensics Center in Memphis, testified Laura Lee’s death was a murder, not a suicide.
The prosecution also put witnesses on the stand who disputed the defense claim that Laura Lee was suicidal, including former co-workers and the victim’s grandmother. In addition to speaking of her mental state, prosecution witnesses testified Laura Lee was planning to leave her husband.
After four days of testimony, it took the jury 90 minutes to return a guilty verdict. Holliman was later sentenced to life in prison.
After his conviction was overturned in 2011, Holliman was released on bond. Since his release, he has remarried and is currently living in Caledonia.
Sarah Fowler covered crime, education and community related events for The Dispatch.
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