In December 1999, the body of Sherry Holtz was discovered in Sanford, Florida. Now, more than 24 years later, Sanford police have finally identified the perpetrator as Gary Durrance.
Sanford Police DepartmentSherry Holtz, the woman who was found murdered in the woods of Sanford, Florida in 1999.
On December 4, 1999, police officers in Sanford, Florida responded to a call about a woman who’d been found dead in a nearby wooded area. At the scene, investigators came face to face with the aftermath of this brutal murder.
The victim, 50-year-old Sherry Holtz, had last been seen leaving a bar in town the night before. Although police were able to get DNA evidence at the scene, technology at the time was not advanced enough to properly test it.
Now, 24 years later, the Sanford Police Department has finally solved this grisly murder.
The Brutal Murder Of Sherry Holtz In Sanford, Florida In December 1999
On December 4, 1999, a person collecting cans in the woods of Sanford called the police to report their discovery of the body.
Police officers soon discovered the woman 20 feet into the woods lying on her back on a concrete slab. She had suffered blunt force trauma to the head, sexual assault, strangulation, and a slit throat.
“This was…there’s no other way to describe it but a brutal homicide,” Sanford Police Department spokesperson Bianca Gillet stated in the department’s press release. They were able to identify the woman as 50-year-old Sherry Holtz. She had last been seen at a bar in Sanford the previous night.
“Sherry Holtz was brutally murdered and left behind in the woods as if her life had no value. This was someone’s mother, someone’s daughter,” said Sanford police chief Cecil Smith, according to CNN.
Near her body, police officers discovered a bloody knife that contained DNA from an unknown person on the handle. However, the samples were too small to test in 2000, so the Sanford Police Department tucked the evidence away.
Then, in May 2023, the Sanford Police Department tested the DNA evidence with the help of new technological developments and finally brought this case to a close.
Gary Durrance Is Identified As Sherry Holtz’s Killer
Sanford Police DepartmentThe Sanford Police Department holds a press conference to announce the recent updates in the Sherry Holtz case.
On July 19, 2024, the Sanford Police Department announced that the DNA evidence from the murder scene matched that of Sherry Holtz’s longtime boyfriend Gary Durrance.
Holtz and Durrance lived together with three other roommates at the time of her murder. Police stated that the couple’s roommates witnessed them fighting on December 2, 1999 and that Durrance had kicked Holtz out several days before her murder.
Police records also show that the two had domestic disputes going back to 1996.
Seminole County Sheriff’s OfficeGary Durrance, Sherry Holtz’s former boyfriend and the primary suspect in her murder.
With DNA evidence pointing to Durrance, the Sanford Police Department issued a warrant for his arrest on July 17, 2024. He was arrested and charged with second-degree homicide a day later.
While in custody, Durrance reportedly made statements to police that implicated him in the murder.
“We are absolutely positive that the right man is behind bars tonight,” said Bianca Gillett, a public information officer for the Sanford Police Department, according to People. “And he will finally serve justice and have to answer for his crimes.”
After reading about Sherry Holtz, dive into seven baffling cold cases that are still unsolved today. Then, learn about 11 times the television series Unsolved Mysteries helped solve cold cases.
