When officers from the Caledonia Town Marshal and Lowndes County Sheriff”s Office responded to the Holliman residence after a frantic 911 call on the afternoon of Oct. 25, 2008, they noticed something about Brian Holliman”s demeanor concerning his wife, Laura Lee, who lay dead from a shotgun wound in the couple”s bedroom.
He appeared to be crying, but it was hard to see if he shed few, if any, tears.
That was the testimony given Tuesday by Caledonia Town Marshal Ben Kilgore and Deputy Steve Hatcher of the LCSO, as the prosecution continued presenting its case at Holliman”s murder trial, which began Monday.
Hatcher and Kilgore both said they could not see tears in Holliman”s eyes when they were talking to him moments after their arrival to respond to a 911 call about a suicide at a residence on North Wolfe Road.
Hatcher said he and Kilgore arrived within minutes of each other. Hatcher testified when he arrived at the Holliman home, he noticed Brian Holliman standing by his truck talking on his cell phone.
“He appeared excited, hysterical, like he was crying, but it did not appear to be tears in his eyes,” Hatcher said.
Hatcher asked Brian what was going on, and Brian told him “she shot herself.” He also said Brian told him when he called 911, he was told by the dispatcher to check Laura to see if she had a pulse. Brian told Hatcher he had to move her right arm.
He said Brian said he had been in the backyard playing with the kids on the trampoline when he heard a loud noise inside. He told the deputy he went to the back bedroom and found Laura on the floor with a shotgun beside her.
During the course of Hatcher”s testimony, District Attorney Forrest Allgood entered a series of photographs as evidence, showing bloody bootprints leading from the master bedroom to the sliding doors leading to the backyard. Photos also showed blood stains on the kitchen floor, a computer desk and a shoe rack in the bedroom. Hatcher testified the photos were true and accurate reflecting the crime scene
Allgood asked if he saw any blood on the ceiling.
“No, I did not,” Hatcher replied.
Hatcher said he and Kilgore were only first responders, and were not serving as lead investigators.
“We were there to secure the crime scene,” he said.
During cross examination, defense attorney Steve Farese asked Hatcher who prepared the primary incident report and a supplemental report. Hatcher testified that Kilgore prepared the primary report and he prepared the supplemental report.
Hatcher said since the incident occurred in the city limits of Caledonia, it was under the jurisdiction of the town marshal.
Farese asked Hatcher if it made law officers mad when a suspect lies to them.
“No, it does not,” Hatcher said.
During the re-direct questioning, Allgood asked Hatcher about an item in his incident report regarding Brian Holliman”s eyes.
“His eyes weren”t red like someone who had been crying. I did not see any tears,” he said.
During Kilgore”s testimony, he said he also did not see tears in Brian”s eyes when he was talking to him.
Other testimony given during Tuesday”s session was by 911 dispatcher Dorthea Robertson. She said she received a call at 4:01 p.m. on Oct. 25 from Holliman.
“Our job when we take a call is to find out what is the emergency, where is the emergency and when did it occur,” she said.
Robertson said the name that appeared on the caller ID was that of Laura Lee Holliman. She then asked if it was Laura she was speaking to, and he said it was Brian.
Robertson said she made a compact disc recording of the call. Allgood asked that the CD be played for the jury.
Roberston testified that a CD was made when a suicide call comes in for investigative purposes.
Tuesday”s session began with Farese cross-examining Freda Stacy, Laura Lee Holliman”s grandmother. He asked her how she got along with Holliman”s parents.
“They were rude to me, particularly during the rehearsal dinner for Brian and Laura Lee”s wedding,” she said.
Leeann Bradford, who knew Laura Lee Holliman through the Caledonia pee wee cheerleader program, said that on Oct. 25, Laura told her of her plans to leave Brian. She said that morning during a pee wee football game at the park, Brian called Laura several times on her cell phone, but she refused to answer.
“He called me and wanted me to help them work things out,” she said.
Allen Baswell was previously a reporter for The Dispatch.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 35 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 35 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
