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RICHARD GRINELL, COVENTRY, ENGLAND
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AN ATTEMPTED DOUBLE MURDER JUST FOUR MINUTES DRIVE FROM 1390 KELLER ROAD IN 1969

7/10/2024

 
PictureCarol Andersen (16)
Investigators believed that Joseph Stephen Holt was responsible for other acts of violence, aside from his two known murders of Brynn Rainey (1977) and Carol Andersen (1979), finding a newspaper clipping in his property with the date of January 30th 1975 written by Holt in the margin. The newspaper article entitled "Pair Grapple With Suspect, One Shot" was referencing an attempted vehicle burglary in Los Gatos where one of the victims suffered a gunshot wound. The composite of the suspect looked just like Joseph Stephen Holt, giving detectives the belief he was the likely responsible. His propensity to use firearms was brought into focus during a search of his belongings, with investigators finding numerous weapons, including a sawed-off shotgun, stun guns and handcuffs. 

On the night of June 30th 1979, Carol Andersen (16) had attended a party on Regina Road before leaving at approximately 11:30pm. Joseph Stephen Holt's residence when he murdered Brynn Rainey two years earlier was at 1390 Keller Road. This location is only 350 feet from Regina Road, so it's possible Joseph Stephen Holt attended this party, or had noticed Carol Andersen walking away from the residence and offered her a lift home. It's equally possible she could have been forced into his vehicle. All we do know for certain, is the close proximity of his 1390 Keller Road home to the last place Carol Andersen was seen alive. Through the diligent research of several individuals, it has been shown that his parents purchased the 1390 Keller Road residence in 1967. This would have given him access to this address had he visited the South Lake Tahoe region in the years prior to him moving there on a permanent basis in 1974.  

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WEAPONS ATTRIBUTED TO JOSEPH STEPHEN HOLT
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There is a distinct possibility he targeted Carol Anderson in 1979 when she left the party on Regina Road, Brynn Rainey was last seen on July 24th 1977 in the Bittercreek Saloon by Sandy Way and Takela Drive at approximately 10:00pm. Her route to the Sahara Tahoe Hotel from this establishment would have taken her past the northern tip of Ski Run Boulevard, extremely close to Regina Road. It's possible that both Brynn Rainey and Carol Andersen entered his vehicle either willingly or unwillingly in this area.

But could Joseph Stephen Holt have been responsible for any other serious crimes close to the 1390 Keller Road address between 1967 and 1979, possibly involving a pistol or shotgun? He would have been aged between 20 and 32 during these years. I have found the attempted murder of two individuals sitting next to their vehicle on Saddle Road by Heavenly Valley Ski Resort in 1969, just 20 minutes walking distance from the 1390 Keller Road home (4 minutes by car), and 13 minutes on foot from Regina Road where Carol Andersen left the party. Joseph Stephen Holt would have been 22 years of age at the time of these attempted murders. 

On Saturday, December 13th 1969 at 9:45pm, an unknown individual carrying a flashlight and shotgun approached a young couple, Heidi Hoffman (16) and Lenny Parsons (19), who had parked their vehicle at the end of Saddle Road by Heavenly Valley. They were sitting on nearby rocks close to their vehicle, when the gunman from about 25 yards away extinguished his flashlight and began shooting.In a completely unprovoked attack, Heidi Hoffman was struck by 40 pellets, with Lenny Parsons hit 7 times. Officers would later retrieve 12-guage shells from the road. Both victims would survive the attack, but were unable to offer a reason why they may have been targeted. The couple made no mention of hearing or seeing a vehicle belonging to the shooter, so had the assailant parked a distance away, or had he arrived to the location on foot with the shotgun concealed under his clothing. As stated above, the location of the shooting is only 20 minutes on foot from the 1390 Keller Road residence. The last 10 minutes of which can be traversed through the woods alongside Saddle Road to create cover and concealment. This would achieve an element of surprise when approaching the victims, who were sitting on rocks at the western edge of the road. Many of the properties located in this area had not been built in 1969, so the killer could have arrived by vehicle, parked up in a nearby clearing up the road and walked the remaining few hundred feet through the woods before re-emerging.  View newspaper article from the Sacramento Bee on December 15th 1969. 

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Joseph
7/9/2024 04:27:58 pm

Joseph Holt was most likely the shotgun assailant. I wonder if the two victims have been interviewed since the death and revelation about what Holt was. I did a quick search of the two victims names and could not find anything matching for Lenny Parsons but a possible for Heidi Hoffman with age and California residence fitting. Although this particular Heidi Hoffman passed away in December 2021.

Richard
7/9/2024 04:43:48 pm

My guess is investigators haven't even considered Holt as the potential shooter because they are maybe under the impression he wasn't in Lake Tahoe until 1974. Even though the address was. I also doubt a crime that didn't result in murder from 50 years ago is on their high priority list, They may have primarily focused on murders between 1974 and the current day to seek a resolution with DNA. Very rarely are cold cases solved without DNA. They may be totally unaware of this case.

Richard
7/10/2024 03:01:57 am

I've had to amend the distances slightly Joseph, the attack was slightly west of my initial analysis. See new map.

Joseph
7/10/2024 04:31:15 am

Thank you for the amendment of the distances Richard. I was just visiting the South Lake Tahoe police website. They have a listing of cold cases with Donna Lass at the top of the list showing a partial solved. There is a listing for a Kathleen Keohane from 1976 found murdered under a bridge. Not sure if you have seen the site yet.

Richard
7/10/2024 04:55:20 am

Wow, that is really interesting Joseph, I may delve into this. Carrows Restaurant where she was last seen with her boyfriend was only 2400 feet from the Sahara Tahoe Hotel, She was then found under the Upper Truckee River bridge. Thanks for mentioning this.


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