Brynn Rainey (27) Thanks to the great work of researchers Adam and Andrew Gray we now have more information about Joseph Stephen Holt and the murders of Brynn Rainey (27) in 1977 and Carol Ann Andersen (16) in 1979, who both lived in South Lake Tahoe. What we don't yet know is whether Joseph Stephen Holt had ever visited or vacationed in the region prior to moving there in 1974. If he was prepared to move to South Lake Tahoe and begin a career in the real estate business, one would have thought he was already accustomed with this area and liked it enough to move there. How many people are prepared to move house and relocate without knowing anything about the destination they are moving to? Visit the previous introductory article on this subject.
At the time Joseph Stephen Holt murdered Brynn Rainey in 1977 he was living at 1390 Keller Road, just 4,400 feet from the once address of Donna Lass at 3893 Pioneer Trail Road in 1970. Had he visited this specific area of South Lake Tahoe in 1970 and thought it was a good place to live? Every residence associated with Joseph Stephen Holt is situated on the south side of the lake, with four of them within a 4.3 mile radius of 3893 Pioneer Trail Road. If he was responsible for the disappearance and murder of Donna Lass in 1970, did he consider this area the ideal hunting ground for his depravity and choose to set up base here in 1974? But this isn't where the coincidences stop?
At the time Joseph Stephen Holt murdered Brynn Rainey in 1977 he was living at 1390 Keller Road, just 4,400 feet from the once address of Donna Lass at 3893 Pioneer Trail Road in 1970. Had he visited this specific area of South Lake Tahoe in 1970 and thought it was a good place to live? Every residence associated with Joseph Stephen Holt is situated on the south side of the lake, with four of them within a 4.3 mile radius of 3893 Pioneer Trail Road. If he was responsible for the disappearance and murder of Donna Lass in 1970, did he consider this area the ideal hunting ground for his depravity and choose to set up base here in 1974? But this isn't where the coincidences stop?
CLICK IMAGE ABOVE TO ENTER GOOGLE MAPS
Donna Ann Lass (25) In an episode of Bloodline Detectives with Nancy Grace entitled "The South Lake Tahoe Strangler", Joe Alexander, the Deputy District Attorney of El Dorado County stated "One of the interesting facts in this case is that an unidentified male called Brynn Rainey's employer and informed them that she would not be showing up for her shift at the casino where she worked. We certainly don't know for sure who that was that made the call, but under the circumstances, and the fact that Brynn at that time was likely already dead, it would strongly suggest that the killer made that call in order to buy more time before people knew she was missing".
If this is correct, it means that Joseph Stephen Holt rang the Sahara Tahoe Hotel to delay any investigation into Brynn Rainey's murder (She was carrying her casino ID). This is the exact playbook used by the murderer of Donna Lass, who phoned the Sahara Tahoe Hotel and stated that Donna Lass wouldn't be turning up to work at the casino because of a family illness. Nowhere in this documentary did it mention Donna Lass or reference her case whatsoever. This could mean that both Brynn Rainey and Donna Lass both went missing traveling to and from their 2:00am shift at the Sahara Tahoe Hotel, followed by a phone call from the killer excusing their absence. This information is difficult to ignore.
Joseph Stephen Holt moved to South Lake Tahoe to begin a career in real estate, so had he shown any interest in the property under construction at Incline Village in 1971, that featured in the mailing of the Pines card on March 22nd 1971. A newspaper article stated that 'the site depicted on the 'Pines Card' was from an advertisement published last Sunday by several newspapers. It was an artist's rendition of houses among the trees at a Boise Cascade Company project at Incline Village, where construction has just begun on the development. While much of the Sierra area is under several feet of snow, Incline Village has only two feet on the ground. Police went to the area to determine if a search is possible'. Chief Lauritzen, who was involved in the search for Donna Lass, remarked that "there's no point to a search at this time. It's unlikely a victim would be uncovered before spring". Is it conceivable that Joseph Stephen Holt, an intelligent individual, mailed this postcard to shift the attention of Donna's murder onto the Zodiac Killer?
Thanks again to Adam and Andrew Gray for the information used in this article.
Further reading: The 1970s, One Road, Three Murders
If this is correct, it means that Joseph Stephen Holt rang the Sahara Tahoe Hotel to delay any investigation into Brynn Rainey's murder (She was carrying her casino ID). This is the exact playbook used by the murderer of Donna Lass, who phoned the Sahara Tahoe Hotel and stated that Donna Lass wouldn't be turning up to work at the casino because of a family illness. Nowhere in this documentary did it mention Donna Lass or reference her case whatsoever. This could mean that both Brynn Rainey and Donna Lass both went missing traveling to and from their 2:00am shift at the Sahara Tahoe Hotel, followed by a phone call from the killer excusing their absence. This information is difficult to ignore.
Joseph Stephen Holt moved to South Lake Tahoe to begin a career in real estate, so had he shown any interest in the property under construction at Incline Village in 1971, that featured in the mailing of the Pines card on March 22nd 1971. A newspaper article stated that 'the site depicted on the 'Pines Card' was from an advertisement published last Sunday by several newspapers. It was an artist's rendition of houses among the trees at a Boise Cascade Company project at Incline Village, where construction has just begun on the development. While much of the Sierra area is under several feet of snow, Incline Village has only two feet on the ground. Police went to the area to determine if a search is possible'. Chief Lauritzen, who was involved in the search for Donna Lass, remarked that "there's no point to a search at this time. It's unlikely a victim would be uncovered before spring". Is it conceivable that Joseph Stephen Holt, an intelligent individual, mailed this postcard to shift the attention of Donna's murder onto the Zodiac Killer?
Thanks again to Adam and Andrew Gray for the information used in this article.
Further reading: The 1970s, One Road, Three Murders
ID found in her purse close to her shallow grave at Sunrise Sunset Stables by Van Sickle Park
RSS Feed
