According to the court documents, the 27-year-old woman was sentenced to 50 years in prison for the 2019 murder of her pregnant roommate. She was sentenced on Friday. The victim was six weeks pregnant and that she was the victim of an extreme beating. An autopsy determined that her death was a homicide caused by blunt force trauma to her torso and asphyxiation. The defendants reportedly told investigators that they killed the victim and her unborn child because they blamed her for a miscarriage their other housemate suffered earlier in the year.
The 27-year-old woman from Texas, Casey Kennedy, reportedly killed the 24-year-old Kelly Holder and her unborn child in August 2019. Prosecutors said she committed the murder with two other housemates because they wanted the mother-to-be to feel the pain of a miscarriage.
According to the court documents, the 27-year-old defendant and her housemates, Courtney Dawn Whitley and Alexander Christopher Lopez, all entered into open plea agreements to one count of murder in August. Whitley was sentenced to 50 years in prison on Oct. 29, court records say.
During an interview, the defendants reportedly told investigators that they killed Holder and her unborn child because they blamed her for a miscarriage Whitley suffered earlier in the year. They also said that the victim was reportedly letting men into the house at night to sexually assault Kennedy and Whitley.
On Aug. 3, 2019, the responding officers and EMS personnel found the victim unresponsive. EMS personnel rushed her to the hospital, where she and her unborn child were pronounced dead.
The medical personnel told investigators that Holder was six weeks pregnant and that she was the victim of an extreme beating. An autopsy determined that her death was a homicide caused by blunt force trauma to her torso and asphyxiation.
During an interview, all three defendants initially told investigators that they did not know how Holder could have sustained her injuries, but their stories were contradictory.
Eventually, all three suspects confessed to the murder and admitted they were angry with Holder because they believed she had caused Whitley to suffer a recent miscarriage. They also told investigators that the victim was allowing men to enter the house while everyone was sleeping so they could rape Courtney and Casey, according to reports.
The defendants also told police that they attacked the victim on Aug. 2 after she refused to admit that she was responsible for causing Whitley’s miscarriage. They reportedly kicked and punched the pregnant woman in the chest, pelvis, and torso multiple times. They also all admitted to strangling Holder. Whitley reportedly told investigators that she bounced up and down on the victim’s stomach, according to reports.
Featured Image – 24-year-old Kelly Holder