A man wanted in connection with the murder of a pregnant mother from Alton, formerly of Litchfield, was arrested in Gillespie last Thursday, June 9.
Gillespie Police Chief Jared DePoppe said police received a report of a stolen bicycle in the 300 block of Western Street. Officers responded and found the described male riding away when they made contact with him, but the individual refused to identify himself. He was detained and transported to the Gillespie Police Department.
After becoming aggressive and uncooperative, he was placed under arrest for resisting and obstructing a peace officer, obstructing identification, and criminal damage to state-supported property. DePoppe said the man tried to bang his head against the wall. He was transferred to the Macoupin County Jail as “John Doe”, according to DePoppe, who said the theft suspect had no blood on his clothes or any other marks that would suggest he had been involved in a far worse crime.
It was at Macoupin County Jail where jail officials later identified the man as Deundrea Holloway who was wanted for questioning by Alton Police Department for a homicide investigation.
Holloway, 22 of Litchfield, was charged on Monday in Madison County with two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of intentional homicide to an unborn child, dismembering a human body, offenses relating to motor vehicles, and concealment of a homicide death.
Alton Police Chief Marcos Pulido said Liese Dodd, 22 of Alton, formerly of Litchfield, was in an on and off relationship for about two years with Holloway who he referred to as a monster. Dodd had recently moved to Alton and she was pregnant with expected delivery in July. Her mother, Heidi Noel, told KMOV the child was not Holloway’s and she had been checking on her daily because of her tumultuous relationship with Holloway. Noel discovered the gruesome murder scene after deciding to drive to Alton to check on her daughter because it had been a while since she heard from her.
“What was observed, what was learned, what was found, is absolutely terrible,” Pulido said in a video posted on Facebook. “She was decapitated by a freaking savage monster.”
Holloway’s bail has been set at $2,000,000 and is currently being held at the Alton Police Jail.
Madison County State’s Attorney Thomas Haine believes the evidence will show that Holloway’s gruesome actions killed both a young woman and the child she carried in her womb. “In the eyes of the law, both these killings are equal and he will now face justice for both,” he said.