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A man has been arrested and charged in connection with the murder of his girlfriend that occurred 24 years ago. She was found partially naked lying on a concrete slab with horrific injuries.
Gary Durrance, 73, the “longtime boyfriend” of Sherry Holtz, who was brutally murdered in 1999, has been charged with second-degree homicide, the Sanford Police Department announced in a press conference on Friday.
"We are absolutely positive that the right man is behind bars tonight,” said Bianca Gillet, a public information officer for the police department. “And he will finally serve justice and have to answer for his crimes.”
Holtz’s body was found on December 4, 1999, in a wooded area in Sanford, Florida, while someone was out collecting cans, the police explained.
The 50-year-old woman was lying on her back on a concrete slab; her next cut – which was thought to be the primary cause of her death – had suffered blunt force trauma to the head and had been strangled, the police said.
On top of the grisly state her body had been left in, police added that she also had lacerations on her upper body and evidence of sexual battery.
Holtz’s clothing was pulled off, exposing most of her body, Gillet explained.
Gillet said that there was no other way to describe the woman’s death but as a “brutal homicide.”
While a sexual assault kit was used when her body was first discovered, no DNA evidence was found.
A bloodstained knife was also found at the scene of the murder, but even this was not useful in finding how committed this horrific act, as authorities said the weapon samples were “not sufficient in size for testing” at that time, the police explained, adding that looking for DNA evidence was not as prolific as it is today.
Due to these initial failings in trying to name the perpetrator, the case went cold, and the person who was behind Holtz’s brutal killing was left unidentified for almost a quarter of a century.
As time passed and technology and DNA testing advanced, the cold case was reopened in May 2023.
It was at this time that investigators learned that the blood on the blade of the knife found did belong to Holtz.
Then, they found that additional DNA on the handle also belonged to Durrance – a key piece of evidence that has led to his arrest over 20 years later.
Durrance was a suspect in the initial 1999 investigation after Holtz’s body was found. Police found out that Holtz and Durrnace had argued, with Durrance kicking his girlfriend out of their shared home two days before she would be found dead.
The couple also had a history of domestic violence incidents that dated back to 1996.
Due to this new evidence, along with witness statements, an arrest warrant was issued on July 17.
The man was tracked down and arrested on July 18 before being charged with second-degree homicide and is currently being held in the Seminole County Jail.
The police claimed at the press conference that Durrance “to some extent admitted his involvement in the homicide.”
"We just kind of hope that this brings some peace to the family knowing that this individual who was a longtime boyfriend will now spend the rest of his natural life in jail,” said the chief of police Cecil E Smith. “And have the opportunity to face justice for the things that he has committed to Sherry.”
Police added that Holtz has an adult son, who they are still working to try and find and contact to notify him about the arrest.
