EP. 192: TENNESSEE - The Confession: A Massive Update In The April Holt Case

Summary

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Murder In America – EP. 192: TENNESSEE – The Confession: A Massive Update In The April Holt Case

Date: March 7, 2025
Hosts: Courtney Shannon & Colin Browen

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Overview

This episode delivers a significant update on the tragic April Holt case out of Tennessee, previously covered in episodes 177–179. After months of awaiting justice, hosts Colin and Courtney return with distressing news: Donovan Holt, April’s estranged husband who confessed to her murder, received a sentence widely viewed as shockingly lenient. The episode explores the failures of the justice system, includes emotional interviews with April’s mother, Jamie Dickerson, and her husband Jeremiah, plays Donovan’s chilling confession, and reflects the family’s efforts to find healing and advocate for change.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Case Recap and Developments ([04:34]–[11:16])

• Background: April Holt, a 29-year-old mother of two, was working as a lash artist in Nashville while in a failing marriage with Donovan Holt.
• Timeline of Events:
  • Financial troubles and infidelity surfaced; April decided to leave Donovan in July 2023.
  • Days before her death, April was sexually assaulted, a trauma she recorded in her journal.
  • On July 28, 2023, Donovan sent their son Denzel to “check on” April and he discovered her unconscious in the bathroom, a plastic bag taped around her head.
  • Initially, police accepted Donovan’s story that April died by suicide—no thorough investigation or scene examination followed until hours later.
  • Frustrated by inaction, April’s mother Jamie conducted her own investigation, eventually recording a FaceTime confession from Donovan.
• Arrest and Sentencing: Donovan was arrested a full year later and ultimately sentenced to just 2 years in jail and 8 years in community corrections—with time served, he'll be in a less restrictive program in just 18 months.

“This is the same man who strangled his wife to death, staged her suicide, sent their son in to find her body, and then lied to the police and the family about it for an entire year.” – Colin Brown [11:04]

Critique of Investigation and System Failure ([11:16]–[13:44])

• Investigative Failures: Flaws highlighted include delayed scene response, reliance on Donovan’s narrative, and a lack of forensic diligence—key evidence was overlooked or misinterpreted.
• Dismissal of Evidence: Despite Jamie’s efforts and clear inconsistencies, authorities did not revisit the case until the confession was supplied.

“Their investigation from the very beginning was one of the most flawed investigations I have ever seen.” – Colin Brown [11:16]

Donovan Holt’s Confession (FaceTime Recording) ([15:20]–[35:36])

• Confession Details:
  • Donovan discusses the couple’s marital issues, April’s relationships outside the marriage, and their struggles.
  • He claims April asked for rough sex, which resulted in accidental strangulation.
  • Describes panicking, staging the scene to appear as a suicide, and calling in their son.

“She was so… she was, she was so, you know, that's—we were doing that, and she was like, harder. And I'm like, no. And she hits, she punched me… I was on top, and I was doing it harder, and she didn’t make it out of that situation. And I, I'm telling you now, I panic.” – Donovan Holt [33:44]

• Host Rebuttal: Colin cautions listeners not to accept Donovan’s narrative, casting doubt on his reliability and intentions.

Family Interview: Jamie & Jeremiah’s Perspective ([37:28]–[54:10])

• Sentencing Disappointment:
  • Jamie describes difficult legal choices presented to her—choose between a plea deal that guaranteed some punishment (with little risk to Donovan’s record) or gamble on a potential harsher, yet riskier, sentence.
  • She chose the former to protect Denzel’s custody.

“They were like, well, you chose this. I was like, no, I didn't choose it. I didn't have a choice, right?” – Jamie Dickerson [38:10]

• Perception of Systemic Injustice:
  • The family expresses disbelief and anger at the judicial outcome and continued lack of accountability for both Donovan and the authorities.

“People get longer sentences for drug charges, and this guy took someone’s life… We are incredibly disheartened by this sentencing.” – Courtney Brown [13:44]

• Custody Concerns: Jamie shares relief at securing clauses preventing Donovan from pursuing custody until his sentence is fully served.

“Until he’s fulfilled all legal obligations, he can’t take me to court.” – Jamie Dickerson [42:19]

Police Accountability & Reform ([44:32]–[53:56])

• Immunity from Reprimand: Jamie discusses the tort act letter she received, informing her the department can't be held liable for negligence or mishandling of the case.
• Advocacy and Change: She’s now active in pushing for procedural changes, such as ensuring medical examiner autonomy in future homicide investigations and creating centralized medical examiner offices.
• Medical Examiner Issues: Inadequate resources and improper police influence tainted the cause-of-death determination.

“Let it be a medical evaluation only first. Yes. And then put all the pieces. But don’t add their opinion to your report.” – Jamie Dickerson [53:28]

Impact Statement & Family Healing ([54:27]–[65:54])

• Victim Impact Statement: Jamie’s poignant words, originally meant for Donovan and the court, are read aloud, capturing her devastation and plea for systemic change.

“The justice system was intended to protect and serve. And I tell my grandkids that there are two justices, one on earth and one in heaven. ... When you hear the name April Holt from this point forward, hear an echo of the change that is to come.” – Jamie Dickerson [61:30]

• Children’s Coping:
  • Denzel and Serenity have differing reactions to their father’s limited outreach from jail. Jamie answers their questions with honesty while trying to shield them from ongoing trauma.
• Nonprofit Transformation:
  • The initial grief center Jamie opened had to close due to lack of community support, but she now sends customized comfort packages nationwide to children who lose a parent.

“I don't want any kid to feel like, they don't have someone that loves them. So I was like, this is just our way of reaching out and just giving them a hug through a box.” – Jamie Dickerson [65:41]

Hosts’ Reflections & Closing Thoughts ([65:54]–end)

• Frustration and Motivation: The hosts stress the importance of sharing April’s story, not just for justice denied but to help drive policy and accountability reforms nationwide.
• Call to Listeners: They encourage support for victims, reforms in law enforcement, and continued awareness-raising for cases like April’s.

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Notable Quotes & Moments (w/ Timestamps)

• On Failings of the Investigation and Justice System:
  • “If April’s case would have had a more competent department handling things, we are confident that this outcome would have been different.” – Narrator/Host [65:54]
  • “It's their way of, like, not having to admit that they were wrong all the way... so this is how we're going to pay her back.” – Jamie Dickerson [39:00]
• On Jamie’s Relentless Advocacy:
  • “Jamie Dickerson is the sole reason that there’s any semblance of justice here, for lack of a better word.” – Colin Brown [35:36]
• On the Broader Impact:
  • “When you hear the name April Holt from this point forward, hear an echo of the change that is to come.” – Jamie Dickerson [61:30]
• Perspective on Sentencing:
  • “They give people with DUIs more time than a murderer.” – Courtney Brown [40:30]
• On Emotional Toll:
  • “We have experienced every parent’s worst nightmare. We live with this pain for the rest of our lives in a hole in our hearts that can never be filled.” – Jamie Dickerson’s Statement [58:20]
• On Systemic Calls to Action:
  • “I'm trying to get it where the investigator isn't allowed to have any say or be in the autopsy until it's been done completely.” – Jamie Dickerson [53:35]

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Important Timestamps

• Case Recap & Setup: [02:00]–[11:16]
• Sentencing Details: [11:16]–[13:44]
• Donovan Holt’s Confession: [15:20]–[35:36]
• Interview w/ April’s Family: [37:28]–[54:10]
• Victim Impact Statement: [54:31]–[61:30]
• Family Healing & Nonprofit: [63:46]–[65:44]
• Systemic Reform Efforts: [51:17]–[53:56]
• Closing Reflections: [65:54]–[66:48]

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Tone and Style

The episode is intimate, frank, and emotionally charged. Hosts Colin and Courtney blend investigative rigor with deep empathy, giving the victims’ family ample space to share their pain and efforts at healing. The approach is critical of the justice system, frequently advocating for listeners to demand better and to support reforms and accountability efforts.

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Takeaway

This episode is a call to recognize the failures in our legal and investigative systems, to support families who must become their own advocates, and to honor April Holt’s legacy by striving for meaningful change. Jamie Dickerson’s voice stands as a testament to maternal resolve and community action in the face of overwhelming injustice.

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Transcript

[Colin Brown]

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[Courtney Brown]

Today in McDonaldland news. Mount McDonaldland is experiencing thick volcanic shake activity. So try the new Mount McDonaldland shake when you order the McDonaldland meal with your very own character souvenir kit. A McDonald's, a McDonaldland.

[Colin Brown]

Get the McDonaldland meal in McDonaldland bada ba ba ba.

[Sydney Sweeney]

Hey, it's Sydney Sweeney.

[Jamie Dickerson]

I'm not here to tell you to.

[Sydney Sweeney]

Buy American Eagle jeans, and I definitely won't say that they're the most comfortable jeans I've ever worn or that they.

[Jamie Dickerson]

Make your butt look amazing. Why would I need to do that? But if you said that you want.

[Sydney Sweeney]

To buy the jeans, I'm not going to stop you.

[Jamie Dickerson]

But just so we're clear, this is.

[Sydney Sweeney]

Not me telling you to buy American Eagle jeans.

[Courtney Brown]

Cities.

[Sydney Sweeney]

You see what I did there, right?

[Colin Brown]

Warning the following podcast is not suitable for all audiences. We go into great detail with every case that we cover and do our best to bring viewers even deeper into the stories by utilizing disturbing audio and sound effects.

[Narrator/Host]

Trigger warnings from the stories we cover may include violence, rape, murder, and offenses against children.

[Colin Brown]

This podcast is not for everyone. You have been warned.

[Narrator/Host]

Hello everyone. Today's episode is an update episode and sadly, it's not the kind of update we want to give you now. If you haven't listened to our episodes about the murder of April Holt, which were episodes 177 through 179, you have to go back now and give those a listen or you will be very confused here. But in them we worked with April Holt's mother, Jamie Dickerson, to tell you the story about how a mother of two was strangled to death by her estranged husband in 2023. The man in question is Donovan Holt, and he admitted to killing April that day. He also admitted to staging her death to make it look like a suicide. In the last episode about this case, we left you with the news of Donovan's arrest and for months we have been patiently waiting for his sentencing, which just took place on February 18, 2025. But unfortunately his sentence was anything but justice. So in this episode we are going to tell you about Donovan's slap on the wrist sentence. We also sat down with Jamie and her husband Jeremiah to hear their thoughts on everything. And lastly, we are going to play for you the never before heard confession that Jamie herself got from her daughter's killer. So this is the update on the murder of April Holt. I'm Courtney Brown.

[Colin Brown]

And I'm Colin Brown and you're listening.

[Narrator/Host]

To Murder in America.

[Courtney Brown]

Sam, you.

[Narrator/Host]

Before we get into this episode, I'm going to give you an overview about this case. I know we already gave you a three part series on it, but it was many months ago. So just as a refresher, April Lynn Holt was a 29 year old living in Nashville, Tennessee. In 2023, she was building her career as a lash artist. She was a mother of two beautiful children named Serenity and Denzel. And she was also married to a man named Donovan Holt, who was Denzel's father. Now, at this point, everything in April's life was going well for her. Everything except her marriage. For years, April and Donovan had had one reoccurring problem and it had to do with their finances. Now, Donovan was a cook, but he had a hard time holding down a job. And In July of 2023, April Holt got a call from her apartment complex letting her know that she was being evicted because their rent wasn't paid. In that moment, April found out that Donovan had lied to her. He had told her that he had covered his portion of the rent and that it was taken care of when it wasn't. And it was at this very moment where April had had enough. She told Donovan that she wanted a divorce. Now, they were still living together at the time, but April was done with him. She told all of her friends and family that she was moving on for good. She had even reconnected with an old boyfriend of hers. But tragedy was right around the corner in more ways than one. Tragically, in the days before April's death, she had met up with this man in Tennessee for a work obligation. And while there, he sexually assaulted her. Following the assault, she wrote in her journal, I feel so ashamed, dirty, hurt, I'm physically hurting, end quote. April was clearly in a tough spot in her life. She was divorcing her husband and she had just been sexually assaulted. But the worst was yet to come. On July 28, 2023, Donovan Holt told his 7 year old son Denzel to go check on his mom who was in the bathroom of their apartment. And when Denzel walked into the bathroom, he found his mother unconscious in the shower with a bag taped over her head. From there, 911 was called, and April was rushed to the hospital, where she sadly succumbed to her injuries. And for the detectives in this case, their job was easy. After briefly speaking with Donovan, he told them about how April had just been sexually assaulted. He also lied and said that she had been drinking and doing a lot of drugs and that she killed herself that day. And surprisingly, they took his word for it. Investigators didn't even step foot in April's apartment until hours after she was brought to the hospital. To them, this was an open and shut case without hardly investigating. The lead detective even went into the medical examiner and told her that this was a suicide. And without a proper investigation, that's exactly what they ruled April's death. They said that she had died by suicide by taping that plastic bag around her head. But from the very beginning, April's mother, Jamie, knew that that wasn't the case. She knew that her daughter had been murdered. However, despite her efforts, no one believed her. For months and months, Jamie pleaded with investigators to take another look at the case. And she was especially worried because April's son Denzel was still in the custody of his father, the very man that she knew murdered her daughter. But again, no one was listening. So finally, Jamie decided to take matters into her own hands. One day, she FaceTimed Donovan, and she had a secret camera that was recording their entire conversation. And surprisingly, it's on that FaceTime where Donovan admitted to strangling April. Finally, Jamie had the evidence she needed. And after handing that video over to the police, Donovan was finally arrested a whole year after April's death. Now Jamie was happy that he was finally behind bars and that Denzel was now in her custody. But it wasn't all good news. You see, when Donovan sat down with investigators a year after April's death, he admitted that he had lied to them. April hadn't died by suicide. He said he had strangled her, but he said that it was an accident this time. Donovan claimed that they were having sex and getting a little rough. He said he started choking her, and at some point he looked down and April was unconscious. Donovan said that from there, he completely staged her suicide. He put her in the shower, grabbed a plastic bag and some tape, and then wrapped the bag around her head. From there, he went out into the kitchen and he made his seven year old son Denzel some lunch. After eating that lunch, he then told his Son. Hey, go check on your mom. And Denzel did what he was told. Donovan Holt not only strangled April to death and staged her suicide, but he made his own son find her body. Now, once again, when he told the police this story about choking her during sex, they believed him. And that's when they charged him with reckless homicide. But if you listen to our coverage of the episode, you'd know that we don't believe this was an accident at all. And neither does anyone who knew and loved April. According to all of April's friends, she was done with Donovan. They were estranged, and she had moved on. Her loved ones all said that April wouldn't have been having sex with him that day. And to prove that even further, April had actually written in her journal that she and Donovan were not having sex anymore. Another reason we believe that April was not killed during sex with Donovan has to do with the sexual assault she experienced before her death. Being sexually assaulted is an incredibly traumatic situation for. For anyone, and April made that very apparent in her journal entries. For most people, they don't even want to be touched afterward, let alone have violent, choking sex, especially when that person is their estranged husband. But despite all of this, investigators believe Donovan's story, and they charged him with reckless homicide. Or maybe they didn't believe him, maybe because of their lousy investigation. That was the best they could do.

[Colin Brown]

Their investigation from the very beginning was one of the most flawed investigations I have ever seen. And I think that they know that. We, of course, went into more detail on that throughout our coverage of the case. But maybe a reckless homicide charge was just the easiest way to put this all behind them. So that's exactly what they charged him with. For months, Jamie Dickerson has been on edge, waiting to find out the fate of Donovan Holt, her daughter's killer. And on February 18, 2025, that day finally came. But it was not at all what anyone wanted. Horrifically, Donovan was sentenced to two years in jail and eight years in community corrections. Now, we didn't really know what community corrections was, but it's essentially a place where prisoners go after prison, where they're supervised, but they can still work, they can still go out into the community, and it's pretty much like they're on parole. Sadly, Donovan's sentence also included time served. So he will be out in community corrections in just 18 months. Keep in mind, this is the same man who strangled his wife to death, staged her suicide, sent their son in to find her body, and then lied to the police and the family about it for an entire year. Now, let's just hypothesize for a second and say that April's death was an accident. Courtney and I personally don't believe that it was.

[Courtney Brown]

Or.

[Colin Brown]

But for storytelling purposes, let's just say that he did kill her during sex. In our opinion. It's crazy that he got two years even for everything he did afterwards. Tampering with evidence, child endangerment for sending Denzel in there that day, lying to the police. There were so many crimes committed trying to cover up what was done. And at the end of the day, Donovan only got two years. Hey, everybody. Courtney and I have a favor to ask of you. If you love Murder in America, you love our show, please leave us a five star review wherever you listen to your podcasts, whether that's Apple Podcasts, Spotify. If you love our show and you want to help us grow, definitely consider leaving us a five star review. Also, it helps the show so much when people share out links to our program. So if you're listening and you're loving what we're doing here, share us on your Instagram story, shout us out on X, post one of our shows on your Facebook, and let the world, your friends, your family know that you're listening to Murder in America. It seriously helps us so much, helps us grow the show. We couldn't do this without all of you listening at home. Seriously. Thank y'.

[Courtney Brown]

All.

[Colin Brown]

But let's get back to the story.

[Narrator/Host]

People get longer sentences for drug charges, and this guy took someone's life, whether it was an accident or not. We are incredibly disheartened by this sentencing, and we decided to set up an interview with April's mom, Jamie, and her husband Jeremiah, to hear their thoughts on everything. But before we play that, we are going to play the never before heard footage of that FaceTime call where Jamie recorded Donovan's confession, the one that ultimately got him arrested. Now, last year, when we were working on our coverage of this case, I had asked Jamie if we could use it in the episode. But because Donovan's trial was still pending, Jamie wasn't allowed to share it with anyone. But now that it's over, she wanted to give it to us. She was so overwhelmed by all of the support that our listeners gave her when we released these episodes. You were all so kind and supportive, and we truly do have the best listeners in the world. So she wanted you guys to hear it first. Now, in it, you're going to hear Donovan talking about his marriage with April, and he doesn't paint her in the Best light. But I want you guys to take everything he says with a grain of salt. After all, this is the same guy who staged an entire suicide and lied to the police's faces for an entire year. So he's proven himself to be a liar. Someone who will say anything to keep himself out of trouble. We don't believe a word that comes out of his mouth. But without further ado, here is Donovan Holt's confession.

[Courtney Brown]

Once again, you know, being up front, I do want to have this talk. Yeah, I do. I'm. I'm very nervous, but I do want. Because it's gonna. You're gonna put a lot of stuff out there by April that I. I promised her I would never put out there that she's never put out there. And I don't know that she ever planned to put out there. But it's gonna. I know a certain stuff in order to understand.

[Jamie Dickerson]

Yeah. And maybe I know some of it.

[Courtney Brown]

See, she was a very involved person.

[Jamie Dickerson]

Yeah.

[Courtney Brown]

And it's. The thing is, it was never an issue between us, like, way more than I ever thought it would. And there was certain stuff that I don't want. I don't want anybody to judge me. She couldn't be satisfied by one person. Person. She had to have multiple.

[Jamie Dickerson]

You know, that's not.

[Courtney Brown]

And that kind of stuff is nuts. Not something I want. People looking at her like this. I always used to tell her. I was like, you're. I was like. When I first saw you, I was like, I thought you were gonna be uptight. And I said, but when you get to know you, I said, it's. You're like one of the homies. And it's like, that's a rare thing out here to find somebody that's beautiful and down to earth, I guess, you know, but that it. It made its. I don't want to say it became a problem, but it. It affected a lot of other stuff. Like, it kept to the point of. People I introduced her to, now they want to. They're finding out information from me so that they can go behind my back and try to have a relationship and build a relationship. So if I. Like I said that there was a lot of stuff that I didn't know.

[Jamie Dickerson]

I know you guys had an open relationship at times, but then it just. It was just trickling out of control. And I think once you went to the boat and then you came back, I think then she had that freedom for a minute.

[Courtney Brown]

So. Yeah. So in the. So in our. In our relationship, every. I mean, it started early, really. It started in our. In our first year. She had went back and messed around with Anthony and went back and messed around with Dion, and that's. That's when it hurts. But we got. I got through it. I was like, you know. You know, we'll get through it. And we did get through it, but then there was this guy, coincidentally enough, his name was Anthony as well. And. Well, I don't. If you looked at her messages, his. His name was.

[Jamie Dickerson]

His.

[Courtney Brown]

It was either ant or aw. And he was somebody that was introduced. Put it like this. In our nine years of being together or whatever, he had been messing around with him for seven. He was introduced as a friend, as a homeboy, and that was kind of her go to guy.

[Jamie Dickerson]

Where'd she meet him? I never. I don't even know this guy.

[Courtney Brown]

Riverdale. Yeah, she. I guess. Yeah. At Riverdale. And. But apparently that was her go to guy. And eventually I found out, and it kind of became one of those things I just had to. I had to do. She was like, I'm either gonna have both of y' all or I'm gonna have him. Because there were certain things that I have to be able to speak freely. Yeah, there's. There are certain things that she liked sexually that I was not willing to do or willing to participate in.

[Jamie Dickerson]

I understand.

[Courtney Brown]

So she had somebody who could and would. And like I said, I mean, that was.

[Jamie Dickerson]

But that's hurtful.

[Courtney Brown]

It is hurtful. And it. Over the years, like, yeah, there were more people. There were different people. We had talked about it, and she. From what she would tell me is she enjoyed it too much and stuff she didn't want. So, I mean, like I said, we went through years like this.

[Jamie Dickerson]

That's horrible.

[Courtney Brown]

But. And like I said, this is all stuff I've kept.

[Jamie Dickerson]

Yeah, but, you know, she was. Then, you know, it's good. But when you're telling me at least I can almost also then see, like, that's a lot on her head as well, because when you walk around and, you know, you're doing something that everybody else is not going to be favorable for, and yet you're trying. Because I know in her heart she wanted to walk this Christian path, but then it's like having a. A good and a bad, you know, on your shoulders, and it's like a constant, like, wait, I want to do this, but this isn't my year over here. And this. And that's really hard. And I know she loved you. I know she loves you.

[Courtney Brown]

That's the thing that was My. I tell people to this day, even if we weren't in a relationship, April was my best friend. Like, I.

[Jamie Dickerson]

But she would say the same about you. She would literally say, donovan is my best friend. So even though I don't know that we should be married, she said, he's my best friend. And I said, I get that. But it's okay to co parent. Like. Like people co parent. But at the same time, I know that your love for her, that level of love is hard to give up.

[Courtney Brown]

Yeah. So I think the thing is, with all the things that we had went through and especially. So. So the thing with her and the aunt got, like, it got worse. She had. She always said it got worse when she. I'm be honest, it really got bad when she got into the. When she kind of put church and God on the back burner and started looking into, like, spiritual.

[Jamie Dickerson]

Yeah.

[Courtney Brown]

More on that. And.

[Jamie Dickerson]

Because you're tearing.

[Courtney Brown]

Yeah. And she got into the mindset of, like, I'm a goddess, and a goddess can have, you know, as many people as they want because you have this energy and you can give it to more than one person. And so it was a lot of times she referred to me, and this was an in the house thing. She referred to me as her bottom. Her bottom. B word. I'll say that, because I was the guy who was always at the house and, you know, took care of things or whatever. But when she wanted to go out and about, she felt like she should have the freedom to do so. And I wasn't. I was never the one to be like, oh, I'm paying all the bills. You got to do this. It's kind of like, okay, well, I'll be here when you get back. But it was hard. I mean, it was hard. It wasn't easy. I'm not gonna sit there. I'll never sit there and say it was.

[Jamie Dickerson]

Yeah.

[Courtney Brown]

So, you know, we had went through all that, and then it was all. It was a lot of lies as well. You know, just in the sense of it. So let me reference something that was brought up and the whole thing about the people that people didn't know. And I told A I would keep it with what she wanted to go with. I never cheated on April. April, of course, with all this going on, I entertained a conversation with somebody online, somebody I never met before. But it was just like daily check ins and I had sent them up to. I think it's over a course of a couple months. It was like a hundred dollars and the span of like, $20 for lunch or gas or whatever. And, you know, to me, I was like, well, she's doing this, then she shouldn't have no issue with me talking to somebody else. And heaven. And for her, her thing was, well, if you're making money, you're my dude. That's my money. It should be going into our household.

[Jamie Dickerson]

Right.

[Courtney Brown]

That's what that. That. That happened. I don't know if you're. Well, I know you remember, but when we lived in Atlanta and we came back and look, and we're living at Nana's house.

[Jamie Dickerson]

Yeah. No, I remember all that going down. And here's. And she told me that it was just an online thing with you, some kind of phone relationship or whatever is. She did tell me that. She did tell me that it was a phone thing, because I had asked her. I was like, well, were they ever physically, you know, sexual? Did they do. And she said no. She was honest about that. She just said that she was so mad, but she didn't. You know, I didn't know about her end of anything. I just knew about. Right, your end, you know, so, like.

[Courtney Brown]

And that was my thing. I just. I never wanted to make her look bad at all. Even when things were going on to me, it was like, okay, we can handle this in house. And it was hard to. You know, it's hard to bring that. Even now. It's hard to bring that kind of stuff, you know, to somebody's mom or somebody's family or people who see her a certain way. I didn't want. I didn't want to be the person that changed the way she looked to people. She. Because at the end of the day, it's not putting on the front. She is the great. She was a great person. Like, I know outside of those things that she needed. But when I went to the. Both me and her were not. We were not in a relationship. And at that time, she had got with and.

[Narrator/Host]

Yeah, but it was more than.

[Courtney Brown]

It was Zach, and it was this other guy named Ross. So he. He lived in Clarksville. Zach was in Murphy'sboro. And then she had me. So she had her people for different stuff. Apparently, Ross had bought her a house.

[Jamie Dickerson]

What?

[Courtney Brown]

Yeah.

[Jamie Dickerson]

Oh, my God.

[Courtney Brown]

You know, I'm on the boat trying to have this relationship with my wife and my son, and I'm being told, hey, this guy bought that. It's the same guy that we bought the. We ended up buying the dog from, actually.

[Jamie Dickerson]

Oh, my gosh.

[Courtney Brown]

Yeah. So, you know, he's giving all these promises and Doing all these things. And then she had Zach there with her, and it was.

[Jamie Dickerson]

Did Zach know?

[Courtney Brown]

No, Zach did not know about Rock.

[Jamie Dickerson]

I was gonna say. He. He wouldn't have. Probably. Zach's kind of more temperamental, I would say, like.

[Courtney Brown]

Yeah. And. Yeah. So.

[Jamie Dickerson]

Mocha, come here. Leave Marvin alone. Sorry.

[Courtney Brown]

No, no, you're all right. So. So she had that going on, and it was just like I said, I'm on the boat. Just kind of getting all this information, then sitting with it all day. Like, it was a lot on my mental. So, you know, of course, everybody knows April had her been. But she was very big on. Like, if I'm working, you got to bring money into. And our issue with me being on the boat, it wasn't an issue with me being on the boat. It was. Well, the first part was me being on the boat and Denzel having his issues at the house.

[Jeremiah Dickerson]

Right.

[Courtney Brown]

And she, you know, she was very big on. Like, yeah, exact. You're over here, but you're not his father. Like, there is no disciplining. Like, there is no. Like, that's his dad's done.

[Jamie Dickerson]

Right.

[Courtney Brown]

At the same time, it was video calls and phone calls between me and Denzel for two months, three months at a time, because I'm trying to make the money for the house. So coming. Coming out of the ball that, you know, April, she had. She had cut. She had cut back off, but she still had, mind you, to talk off. She still had ant. She still had the dude that she was going to be with. And I know. I don't think Zach knew about that.

[Jamie Dickerson]

He probably didn't.

[Courtney Brown]

But so she still had all that going on and even that fight. So that's why. That's why I would say, like, she had a lot of other stuff going on that people don't know about. Like, because that. That by itself was messing with her mental. Because she didn't really know what direction to go. And then on top of that, you're talking. You're taking relationship out of it, and then you have friends who all because of who you are as this last spiritual person. And great advice versus pulling on you. Pulling on you, pulling on your knees and stuff. It was a lot being taken, and I didn't have enough feel that she needed by myself. I could give as much as I needed to. But the issue was coming off the boat. What happened with us was coming off the boat. I had a job set up.

[Jamie Dickerson]

Yeah.

[Courtney Brown]

Talked it out. I knew April was not gonna take. No. I could not come off that boat. And not be working. So, you know, I mean, that's how it was. You know, we had the situation with the car where I couldn't keep up the payment. So I was big on like, I need this, my money to be right. So I talked to this restaurant owner that had promised me a thousand dollars a week. And this, this was actually a family member promised me a thousand dollars a week. I'm like, are you depositing? Yes, I got you. When you come in, just come do your interview. So I went and did my interview. I quit my job on the boat and came back home thinking, you know, this is all taken care of and that's me, man. So it was so with that. April was very the. She never got in any fights in school, but she said she was, she was dangerous with her words.

[Jamie Dickerson]

I, I am too. I get it. I know it's a problem.

[Courtney Brown]

So that was a big issue. That was a huge issue in our house. You know, she was saying what she wanted to say and I, I took it. No, I'm, I'm, I'm. I can take it. And. But it really got bad when I couldn't make any money. I was doing what I could to maintain what I could with my business. But being gone those months, you know, my clientele had went elsewhere and I was like, I was really trying. I was trying and it wasn't enough for her. And so there was one point she, she had kicked me out and it was fine. You know, I would walk two hours every day back to the apartment to wash the clothes and cook door and then I'd have to be back out the house. And that was about a three month period. And then I got back in the house and I got my job with the, with the security company and things were kind of getting better. And then she found out that, you know, she might be losing her business. And when I tell you, she, because she's dealing with that, I'm just now getting a decent job where I can make a little bit of money. And I had offered her before she went and met with the. Before she would have met with the dude because the problem with that was they had had her and the older guy had had a dinner before and I guess he had rubbed her leg and she didn't like that. So she had cut that business off. But when she had felt like she was done a little something, her business, I know she kind of freaked out and she ran back to that because she knew, I guess with certain things she would get the money. Now she told me it was Airbnb. And they was going let her be her assistant for like 500 a week. And I'm like, okay, if that's what you feel like you need to do. But I told her I had picked up another shift, my security job to cover what she was going to be making.

[Jamie Dickerson]

Yeah.

[Courtney Brown]

And she. But she was very. I mean, she was a. He was working towards being independent, which I got. So I was like, you know, if that's what you feel like you need to do, go do that. And the thing with our divorce is we had come. It was a pastor scale sermon, actually. It was. He had talked about. We had agreed upon it because that's the biggest thing. It was a message. He preached that I hold to my heart to this day. And it was. It was a series. It was me versus me and how you have to be. You both have to be great me's in order to be a great week. And I knew I had financial stuff, I needed to get together in order to be able to support her how she needed. She knew she had other stuff she needed to figure out if she was going to be with anybody at all.

[Jamie Dickerson]

Right.

[Courtney Brown]

And so, you know, it. We had. That was not. That wasn't an issue between us at that point. The first time we talked about the worst. Of course, no, I didn't want to divorce. I'm begging him, please. This time I understood it. And we knew we were going to do our thing together. With Denzel, I do feel like maybe they had agreed to something, but I. I do feel like there was some type of. I don't know if you can call it right. I mean, that's what she came and told me. And I mean, Denzel was there when it had. When she came in like that, but it was because the way she stood in front of the mirror and have. I mean, she had bruises all down her breast. She had bruises on her thighs, she had bruises on her chest, on her neck. And I do think that at some point something happened where she wasn't aware of what was going on. Everything, you know, I told you it was straightforward as far as, like, you know, she. She shut down, she went to the doctor. She just wasn't herself. And when that day came, the, Like a weird perk up. But it was. It felt good because she was kind of back to herself from being. Because after it happened, like all, like I said, all she wanted to do was go back to work. That's all she could focus on. Like, I gotta go to work. I gotta go to work. Like you need to go to the hospital. No, I gotta go to work. I have to work.

[Jamie Dickerson]

Yeah.

[Courtney Brown]

And so I know she had talked to. I know she had talked to exact. I know she had talked to the. The ant guy. And so the day. The day that everything went down, you know, like I said, I went to. I went to go doordash. She was like, where you at? Came home. She wanted some alcohol, got her some alcohol. She drank way more than she usually. I don't know how. There's not alcohol on her thing, but she drank a whole bottle. 1.75 liters of defense. She downed it that day. I fed her. And so we were get. We were getting. We were getting ready for Jamie. Do you promise you're just listening?

[Sydney Sweeney]

I promise.

[Jamie Dickerson]

I promise.

[Courtney Brown]

We were getting ready. We were getting. We were getting ready for the football game. And I. I put her towel in the bathroom, and the door to the room was shut because she was naked and getting her. She was dressed. I'm getting her clothes out of the drawer, and I put her towel to the bathroom, started her shower like I always do. And she was like. I'm not gonna use the word she used, but she was like, no. She's like, have sex with me. Like, no. Because in my mind, you just went through this situation like, no, have sex. You're my husband. I said, all right, so we have sex on the floor. In that process. She's like, okay. Just being honest. It wasn't unusual for April to want to be choked during sex. Was one of her things. And, Steve, she was so, you know, that's. We were doing that, and she was like, harder. And I'm like, no. And she hits. She punched me. Like, it was like, in my chest. She was like, harder. And I was like, okay. So I was on top, and I was doing it harder, and I was doing it harder, and she didn't make it out of that situation. And I, I'm telling you now, I panic. I took it to the shower. I'm like. I put her in the water. I'm like, wake up. You didn't wake up. Not gonna lie to you, Jamie. I panicked, and I didn't know what to do. I didn't know how to explain it. I didn't know what to tell. So I, I. I put the bag on her head and wrapped. And wrapped it up to make it look like she did it to herself.

[Jamie Dickerson]

I'm so glad you're telling me the truth. That's not who I was.

[Courtney Brown]

That's not something I did with her. That wasn't my. That's something she did elsewhere, and I'm trying to satisfy her need.

[Colin Brown]

So there it is, the confession that ultimately got Donovan Holt arrested. After recording it, Jamie immediately handed it over to the police. And thankfully she did, or Donovan Holt probably never would have been behind bars in the first place for killing his wife. Jamie Dickerson is the sole reason that there's any semblance of justice here, for lack of a better word. But like we mentioned, the outcome of this case is not what anybody wanted. If you love Murder in America, you love mysteries, you love true crime, you love murder stories and the unknown, then I have a new show for you. It's called the Conspiracy Files, and it's hosted by me, Colin Brown, from Murder in America and the Paranormal Files. On the Conspiracy Files, we explore everything from bizarre deaths to freak paranormal events, pedophile rings, government corruption, ritual sacrifice. No topic is untouched on this show. Everything that we talk about on the Conspiracy Files is backed up with fact. I release reference sheets with every single episode that we do. So you guys know, everything we're talking about is confirmed to have happened. And be real. It's a completely different type of show than anything else you've ever seen about conspiracy theories. Instead of a bunch of conjecture and theories representing you, people with facts, telling you the story, walking you through the story just as detailed as we do with Murder in America, and then letting the listener decide what they think anyways, you should definitely give it a listen. It's called the Conspiracy Files. The links are in the description of this show, and you can find it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. And now let's get back to our story. Following Donovan's sentence, Courtney and I called Jamie and her husband Jeremiah on Zoom to discuss everything. So here are some parts of that interview.

[Jamie Dickerson]

They told me that it was going to be the two years and one month is what they told me. They were like. So you can agree this is what I had to do. They were like, you can agree to the two years, one month, and eight years probation, which added up to Denzel being 18 because he couldn't get off the eight years early. Or I could take the chance and bring it before the judge. He might get an extra one year in jail, but that judge could have taken it off of his record and he wouldn't have had a felony. And in addition to that, the eight years could have been less and I could have. That would have been like me playing, you know, a game of, hey, I would Lose Denzel. And I was like, I'm not willing to lose Denzel. So, no.

[Jeremiah Dickerson]

No.

[Jamie Dickerson]

So they're like, well, you chose this. I was like, no, I didn't choose it. I didn't have a choice, Right?

[Jeremiah Dickerson]

No. So they let you. They kind of gave you the two options and they said, which one would you rather do? And that was just.

[Jamie Dickerson]

And I asked him, I said, is that judge, you know, how is this judge? Is she pretty hard on these type of cases? And they're like, well, there's a likelihood that she'll take it off of his record. And I said, absolutely not. Why would this ever be taken off of a record?

[Narrator/Host]

No.

[Jamie Dickerson]

I'm just so confused by it all.

[Colin Brown]

The whole thing is insane.

[Jamie Dickerson]

It is insane.

[Jeremiah Dickerson]

And we. We posted about it just like a little snippet on our Instagram, just like the results. And everyone, like hundreds of comments of people saying, like, I am so shocked, but at the same time, I'm not. Because of how they handled it from the very beginning. I was.

[Jamie Dickerson]

I think it's their way of, like, not having to admit that they were wrong all the way. Because if they would have done, like, first or second degree murder, then it would have looked like they didn't do their job at all, you know, and it would have proved them completely incompetent, whereby this. It's like, well, we have to do something, because she did get a confession, so. And she's been calling us out on our wrongdoings all the time. So this is how we're going to pay her back. Yeah. I'm like, what are you paying back? You're going to let somebody back out into society that shouldn't be. It doesn't make any sense.

[Colin Brown]

No, none of it makes sense. I can't.

[Jamie Dickerson]

No.

[Colin Brown]

I can't understand why they have such a hard time seeing the truth, especially.

[Jamie Dickerson]

Like, when it's all there.

[Colin Brown]

Yeah.

[Courtney Brown]

And right in front of them. It's right. It's right in front of him.

[Colin Brown]

Like, the way that you guys spelled it out, the way that we spelled it out in the podcast, it's like very, very obvious what actually happened. So it's one of those things where for us, it's like sitting and actually analyzing what they said and what they've done. It just makes no sense at all whatsoever.

[Jamie Dickerson]

It's like they're just. They've been up against us this whole time, but, like, almost like on his side, like on Donovan's side, like, you would think he knew somebody in there with the way that it's went. And I was like, there's no way that this judge or any of these detectives would have. This would not have been this way if it was their family. Is this only because it's us? Like, they would have never done this.

[Courtney Brown]

They give people with DUIs more time.

[Jeremiah Dickerson]

That's.

[Courtney Brown]

Than a murderer.

[Jeremiah Dickerson]

Yes. People get like, drug, like weed charges.

[Jamie Dickerson]

Yeah. You could have pot and you get more.

[Jeremiah Dickerson]

Yes. It is insane. It's insane. Not believe it. So he will be spending two years in prison.

[Jamie Dickerson]

Well, he only has 18 more months.

[Jeremiah Dickerson]

Oh, yeah. Because it's with time served. Right. So 18 months, and then he's going to be moving to. I had never even heard of what.

[Jamie Dickerson]

That other Community Corrections, I think. Is that what it's called, Community Corrections? I think that's the name.

[Jeremiah Dickerson]

Yes.

[Jamie Dickerson]

Yeah. I don't know what that is, but somebody explained to me was that it's almost like he's then protected because he's in a place that they place him. And now he's still going to be protected from society because now his face is a bit everywhere living the life. Because he's not in a prison. He's just in the local jail. And they said that they're not moving him because he'll be out in 18 months.

[Jeremiah Dickerson]

That's crazy.

[Jamie Dickerson]

So he's not actually having to, like, go to, like, one of those really hard places. Right. He's just. He was actually on a video game that Denzel was on. And Denzel's like, look, my dad is logged in here. I was like. So I had went and told the DCS Attorney. I was like, how come they're allowed to play video games in there and reach out to the outside world? And she's like, they are. They're allowed to do that. What?

[Courtney Brown]

He used to play video games?

[Jamie Dickerson]

Yes, they play. He was playing video. Yep. Video games. They're allowed to accept. They're. They have Internet so they can reach the outside world that is in.

[Jeremiah Dickerson]

There's no possible way that he could ever get custody of Denzel with the sentence he's under. Okay.

[Jamie Dickerson]

Only because dcs, we had it added to our side this. So the sheriff's department, like his criminal case has. They wouldn't help us at all with custody. So we had to have that added on our custody hearing. And we had a portion added on there that says until he's fulfilled all legal obligations, he can't take me to court. Take us to court. And so he has to fulfill all of those eight years, which then Denzel will be 18 if I wouldn't have had that added. Who knows if he could have got him back?

[Jeremiah Dickerson]

Oh, I know. And with how things have gone, he probably could have.

[Jamie Dickerson]

Probably would have.

[Colin Brown]

This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Do you ever find yourself playing the budgeting game? Shifting a little money here, a little there, and hoping it all works out? Well, with the name your price tool from Progressive, you can be a better budgeter and potentially lower your insurance bill too. You tell Progressive what you want to pay for car insurance and they'll help you find options within your budget. Try it [e-mail] Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates Price and coverage match limited by state law. Not available in all states. And now let's get back to our show.

[Jamie Dickerson]

Are you ready for this?

[Courtney Brown]

Eenie meenie.

[Colin Brown]

A Hulu original now streaming.

[Courtney Brown]

Any meanie there's a casino job in just a few days. $3 million.

[Jamie Dickerson]

You get right to it.

[Courtney Brown]

From the guys who wrote Deadpool. Your boy's a liability X. Is he though? Let's get this money.

[Jeremiah Dickerson]

Can we think this through for a second?

[Jamie Dickerson]

Yeah. Cuz that's who strong suit thinking things through.

[Courtney Brown]

A Hulu original.

[Colin Brown]

Rated R. Now streaming on Hulu and Hulu on Disney. Bastante practicas el nuevo volks bag en tae andos mil veinticinco confuciones premium como.

[Courtney Brown]

Los hacientos de lanternos con masaje disponivles solo parece extravagante.

[Colin Brown]

In this next part, Jaime talks about a paper that the police department sent her and attached was something called a tort act where it essentially says that the police department can't be held liable for their mistakes in the investigation.

[Jamie Dickerson]

And then I got that paper this morning saying that they're immune from even being reprimanded for the actions that these police have had. Like that they're immune to it because I had placed a claim with like their legal department and I placed three claims and every time they keep kicking it back and I was like, no, I want to know why. Why is this allowed? And finally they sent me this thing saying, well, they're immune to it. How are you immune to. So you can just say and do whatever you feel like and they're protect. Pretty much.

[Jeremiah Dickerson]

Pretty much that that's something that Colin really wants to talk about too. Like in his the documentary that he's gonna be working on soon. He like the way that the whole entire case was handled from beginning to end.

[Colin Brown]

I hate corruption.

[Jeremiah Dickerson]

Yeah.

[Colin Brown]

More than anything. Especially from these people that are supposed to protect you.

[Jeremiah Dickerson]

Yeah.

[Courtney Brown]

And. Yeah. Themselves.

[Colin Brown]

It's just.

[Courtney Brown]

Yeah. They say protect and serve. Who are they protecting?

[Jamie Dickerson]

Yeah.

[Colin Brown]

It really makes me wonder why. Like, why?

[Jamie Dickerson]

I don't know. I don't know. It's very. I'm just so confused. I don't. I don't understand any of it to be. I mean, I'm just baffled by the entire thing. I've never thought in a million years if you had to live such a nightmare, that then you would have to have this kind of outcome. Corrupt justice system. At least if you had to go through a child that was murdered, you would think that the system would be on your side trying to get that person off the street and get justice. And they've been completely up against us the entire time up until still from the very beginning.

[Jeremiah Dickerson]

Yeah.

[Jamie Dickerson]

Yeah. There's nothing I can do. That's the frustrating part is, like, I've exhausted every outcome. Now all I can do is call them out. Now all I can do is point the finger and let people know, hey, this is what you. This is what you guys are relying on to support, to protect your family. And so that's why I was like, I'll keep calling them out. It doesn't bother me. They didn't do anything for me.

[Jeremiah Dickerson]

No, exactly. And also, you wouldn't even let anyone see that video because you were trying to protect the outcome of this case.

[Jamie Dickerson]

Yeah.

[Jeremiah Dickerson]

You know, like, when we covered the story months ago, like, I was like, can I hear Donovan in that face?

[Jamie Dickerson]

I can't.

[Narrator/Host]

Which totally said.

[Jamie Dickerson]

But now I've never released it up until now. And that's why I told you. I was like, if I'm going to release it, then I want you guys to have it. And I think he doesn't start to confess until like, 20 something minutes in. So first you have to listen to him go on and on about nothingness. Right.

[Jeremiah Dickerson]

Trying to cut. Trying to talk with you all nice and.

[Courtney Brown]

Yeah. Beat around it.

[Jamie Dickerson]

Yeah. And then tell me that you kill my kid. Like it's a normal conversation to have with somebody. And then I'm supposed to sit there calmly and just not react because I knew Denzel was still there. So I was like, okay, now you just. Just sit here, call me, and act like you're not. Because he was looking at my face, and I'm like, what if he does something? What if he snaps again?

[Courtney Brown]

So it took me a couple minutes for something that it took them weeks to do.

[Jamie Dickerson]

Yeah. At the. It took him literally a couple minutes. And they. They wanted to. Like, they kept saying, they needed April's phone for so long because they took everything off her phone. And so then he wouldn't even give.

[Courtney Brown]

Us the phone back.

[Jamie Dickerson]

After we gave it to him, they gave it back to Donovan. Then he used it as his own phone until he was arrested. He just. He turned it into his phone.

[Colin Brown]

I just don't even get how he can't be charged and, like, given a longer sentence just based on the lying to police.

[Jamie Dickerson]

Yes.

[Courtney Brown]

Yeah, yeah, that part right there. Just tampering with the body and everything.

[Jamie Dickerson]

Yeah. I guess I don't understand how you can. Like, somebody can actually confess to a murder. Like, they actually. If this isn't something that they're trying to prove, he's actually said he did it. And then they're like, well, you can have two years.

[Courtney Brown]

It was an accident.

[Jamie Dickerson]

And it was an accident. And then they want to believe him after he lied and one of his charges is actually lying. And now you want to believe him again. I'm like, oh, that makes a lot of sense. It was falsifying a report. And yet you want to believe him that he unaccidently did this after he.

[Jeremiah Dickerson]

Lied about it to your faces for months.

[Courtney Brown]

Twice.

[Jamie Dickerson]

Twice.

[Courtney Brown]

Twice.

[Jamie Dickerson]

Yeah.

[Courtney Brown]

Interviews.

[Jamie Dickerson]

Yeah.

[Courtney Brown]

Two interviews. He lied about it and said that, no, he didn't do it.

[Jamie Dickerson]

No. And I told them, like, when I even placed my claim, I was like, you guys should. The police should be liable for putting Denzel for 10 months in danger. Anything could have happened to him, not to mention the mental health, like, deterioration that had happened in that 10 months that we had to try to. Now he's on medicine and he's in know his trauma therapy and a psychiatrist and. But, like, how much more damage was caused because of that 10 months and he didn't get immediate help.

[Jeremiah Dickerson]

Yeah.

[Jamie Dickerson]

And I'm like, they don't take response. They're immune to it all. They don't have to. There's nothing. They don't have to do anything.

[Jeremiah Dickerson]

And, like, not only did Denzel have to be around it, but then the mental games that Donovan was playing with him, being like, you're talking to people. And he told him it was his.

[Courtney Brown]

Fault we had to move. Yeah.

[Jeremiah Dickerson]

Sane. And then the police are like, that's not.

[Jamie Dickerson]

Yeah, whatever. Not our problem.

[Jeremiah Dickerson]

Oh, my God.

[Jamie Dickerson]

They didn't care at all. They're like, custody is a. Something completely different. I'm like, craziness. Gosh.

[Jeremiah Dickerson]

Well, that's. Again, I'm Colin. He gets way more views on his stuff than the podcast even does.

[Jamie Dickerson]

We just appreciate you Guys, we were like, it's not even as much about views. It's that you guys get it and you guys get the frustration that's behind this system. And that's why I was like, I mean, Jeremiah hasn't even talked to anybody but you guys. Like, he doesn't even talk to anybody. For him to even get on here. Like, he doesn't talk to nobody. He's like, so, you know, he likes you guys because otherwise he'd be downstairs playing his video game right now. We appreciate you, Jeremiah.

[Jeremiah Dickerson]

We're so excited to share the story with even more people, especially now that we have more. It's more of a conclusion, for lack of. You know, I think that.

[Jamie Dickerson]

Oh, sorry.

[Jeremiah Dickerson]

I think that. Yeah, I just. Colin has so many people on his YouTube that will be just as outraged as we are and our listeners were. And I think now that we have the conclusion and it's so incredibly disappointing. It's like, we are gonna put these people on blast, and we're going to make sure.

[Jamie Dickerson]

Well, the more people that can start pointing fingers, the more they're going to have to start to think about, hey, I'm going to do my job a little better because I'm going to be called out. And so the more people that will start to have a backbone and actually call them out, they're going to have to change their ways. Because people don't just keep putting up with it. It's that people are scared of them and they don't want to upset them. And probably for the kind of outcome we got of the two years, they don't want to risk that. But to let them get away with it. Absolutely not. I'm like, I'm not. I'm not going to let that happen either. I do go to a commissioner meeting in March to help try to get a medical examiner office closer to where we are, because then we. It's like the fourth biggest county, and they don't have one. And where April's body was sent, 66 counties send their bodies there. And so they're not getting enough attention per case. And so I'm helping them try to get one. And they're using April's case as their case study, and they're hoping to use it for training nationwide, so. Good. So that's actually a positive.

[Jeremiah Dickerson]

That's such great news, especially because I think, like, the. The medical examiner part of April's story is such another just huge fail in the system. Like, how not see what happened to her, the bruises.

[Jamie Dickerson]

It's because the detective Went in there and put it in their head ahead of time.

[Jeremiah Dickerson]

Exactly.

[Jamie Dickerson]

And then with all the false things with throughout the report of like websites, things like that, I'm like, they planted seeds the whole time. So anybody that read that automatically thought, well, she was looking up suicide sites when she wasn't, that she was on drugs and alcohol, which she wasn't. And you're just like, they kept making. They painted a picture of her that was so wrong and it wasn't who she was. And they just all believed it from the very get go. And so that's why I'm trying to get it where the investigator isn't allowed to have any say or be in the autopsy until it's been done completely. Let it be a medical evaluation only first. Yes. And then put all the pieces. But don't add their opinion to your report.

[Jeremiah Dickerson]

No. And I can't believe that's not protocol already like that. It's not crazy. I. Yeah.

[Jamie Dickerson]

And so I don't get it. So those are some of the changes that I'm working with them. So the death investigation team in Rutherford county, that's who I'm working with. And so I'm really just hoping that those are changes that we can get made and if they can use her as a case study nationwide, then go for it. I said, I'm all for that now.

[Colin Brown]

Jamie didn't end up going to Donovan's sentencing. Trial was too disappointing of a day and she was afraid of how Donovan would react. She said that one look in her direction, one facial expression might have set her off, so she decided not to.

[Jeremiah Dickerson]

So if you would have gone to the hearing, you would have been able to read your impact statement, correct or no, you just didn't.

[Jamie Dickerson]

I could have. And they actually said they would read it for me, but I told them no. I told them they can't. They can't read my words. So I just posted it publicly.

[Colin Brown]

Here's the video that Jamie posted of her victim impact statement.

[Sydney Sweeney]

July 29, 2023 was a day I will never forget.

[Jamie Dickerson]

A piece of my soul was taken.

[Sydney Sweeney]

From this earth, from her children, from her family and friends, and from her future plans. I didn't get to look in April's eyes that day to see her pain. I didn't get to rescue her. The questions of did she suffer?

[Jamie Dickerson]

Was she scared?

[Sydney Sweeney]

Her last moments of life, did she fight for her life and did she cry? Will always haunt my mind. Her eyes last vision was looking into the eyes of the man who took her hand in marriage and promised to protect her and love her. The man she loved in the hands that she held, feeling comforted in the end with the same hands that wrapped around her neck, taking her life away. The courts like to see this as an act of reckless homicide. After her breath was taken from her, she was treated as a piece of garbage. And that's what destroys me to the core. She was drugged to the shower and a garbage bag was placed over her head and then taped. Donovan then proceeded to go into the next room and eat lunch with her seven year old son, who he then sent in the bathroom to find his mother dead lying there on the floor. The mindset is that of someone who has a mental illness. The mindset is not of reckless homicide, but rather a premeditated act of murder. This was not an accidental death. The actions that took place after April was no longer breathing were intentional and deliberate. He staged April's death as a suicide. He had a bag and tape ready and prepared where no person would think to wrap up their spouse's head and take the bag. If their partner, who they claimed to love, was not breathing in a sexual act, a partner would make all attempts to rescue their spouse. The lies began the second the 911 call was made and the procedures that followed were nothing short of erratical. April was born into this world as a gift from God to me, her mother. I watched her grow up into the beautiful, amazing, loving woman she had become. She loved and adored her two children and often talked about how excited she was for her, their futures. She spoke about how she was looking forward to buying a home within the next year, opening a training studio to teach others to do lashes, foster children and continue to grow in youth ministry leadership roles. April was as soft as a feather, floating to the ground with such ease and calmness. April was a friend to all and even wore her smile when I knew she didn't want to. April was the first of what our family calls the first six, which are the first six grandkids who were raised so close together that they were like siblings. All of that was taken from her and from us. She didn't ask to die. She did not take her own life like Donovan told many people, including her children. This lie was thought to be true by so many people for almost a year. So many people thought April was that sad and none of us even were aware. I knew in my heart that is not what happened. And Donovan met me each week with months to exchange Denzel and looked me in my eyes, knowing what he had done to my daughter. Knowing that I was fighting for justice. Knowing he sent his seven year old son in that bathroom that day to find his mom dead on the floor. We have experienced every parent's worst nightmare. We live with this pain for the rest of our lives in a hole in our hearts that can never be filled. There will always be an empty chair at the table and at all of life's milestones that her children reach. This was all taken by the hands of another human being who has been given charges as if he simply made a mistake. It was not a mistake mistake to lie about what happened. It was not a mistake to treat April like a piece of garbage. It was not a mistake to send Denzel in the bathroom, traumatizing him forever. It was not a mistake to tamper with evidence. It was not a mistake to falsify a report. This was intentional homicide of an innocent person. I am a Christian woman with faith that I didn't even know I had. Through this tragedy in my life, I have found that I am much stronger than I ever thought. I won't walk around with an anger that strips me of the person I've been created to be. I will walk in the spirit and not the flesh, raising April's two children, Serenity and Denzel, to have loving hearts. They will carry their memories of their mom and them always. And we will channel our energy of missing her into giving back, just like she would want us to. We have a grief, a grief center opened, which now we don't. But we have. Grieve with me still the nonprofit I pray that Donovan asks for true forgiveness for his actions. I pray for eternity with Christ because I can't imagine the alternative as I read this statement. There are simply just words. These are simply just words to everybody. This is part of a procedure for sentencing and considered to be a privilege to read a letter. You allow me to say a few last words to the courts and the murderer of my daughter. To me, this was my flesh and blood. This was not just a file for your filing cabinet like it has been treated since day one. This was my child. This is not just another number in the log of how many homicides happened this past year. This was the mother of my grandchildren. April Holt was a person. April Holt was a case that I pray makes an impact to the entire justice system of all the wrongs that happened in her investigation and that through these mistakes changes are made. I will make it my mission as her mother to get policies and procedures changed so that no family has to endure grieving while investigating their own child's case because the system failed them and refused to listen or see the facts presented to them. Numerous times. When you hear the name April Holt from this point forward, forward, hear an echo of the change that is to come. We all stand before God one day and take account for our actions and lack thereof. The justice system was intended to protect and serve. And I tell my grandkids that there are two justices, one on earth and one in heaven. So just know that whatever is seen or heard here is seen and heard there as well. And each person in uniform will stand on this side of the podium answering to a much higher calling.

[Colin Brown]

One day, Jamie said that although she didn't get to confront him in court, she has written to him several times since he's been in jail. Donovan also has written Serenity and Denzel.

[Jamie Dickerson]

Now he's written Denzel and Serenity on the holidays. He'll send them, like, something, and he'll, like, draw them a picture. Serenity throws it away and doesn't read it. She's like, I don't want to have anything to do with him. And Denzel reads his. So.

[Jeremiah Dickerson]

Right.

[Jamie Dickerson]

And, you know, I kind of just tell the kids they're entitled to their opinions. I don't think Denzel quite gets what happened to him.

[Jeremiah Dickerson]

Yeah.

[Jamie Dickerson]

Yet. I think it's gonna take till he's older, and I think it's gonna be waves of like, oh, my gosh. My dad actually sent me in there. I don't think he gets it right now.

[Jeremiah Dickerson]

I mean. Yeah. So hard to grow.

[Jamie Dickerson]

Yeah. So we kind of just like. Instead of, like, we don't really bring it up much. It's kind of just when we found out about the sentencing, we told the kids. And Denzel's like, well, I'm happy because my dad will be back out. And he's like, people should get second chances. I said, you don't get a second chance at killing people. Like, I'm very blunt about it.

[Courtney Brown]

Right.

[Jamie Dickerson]

And then Serenity is like, well, you know, she's pissed. Like, she's like, total opposite. She's. She's my feisty little fireball. She's like, oh, no. This is unacceptable. So she's very mad. So I tried to tell them. I was like. Because we have a difference of opinion in our house. Because he asked me how I felt, and I told him. I said, do you really want to know? And he said, yeah. And I was like, I'm mad. I was like, mommy's gone forever. Daddy should not get to be out in this world just walking around. And so I did kind of like, I told them the honest truth, but I also just said, in our home, we have to respect each other and what we feel. And if you're at a family function, because my family's ticked, you know, like, everybody's ticked. Our families are not okay with this. But I said, I told everybody, don't talk about it around the kids. And if they do, the kids can walk in any room and say, can we please change the subject? Because it makes me uncomfortable giving them a way out, because it's just so much for them to process.

[Jeremiah Dickerson]

What about. So the grief center, that's. That was. It didn't end up working out, you.

[Jamie Dickerson]

Know, it was just costing us more and more money.

[Courtney Brown]

We didn't like the help in the community like we thought we were going to get.

[Jamie Dickerson]

We put so much in it. And it was. And it's so sad because it was like, we put so much in it, and there was, like, no community support. So we just redesigned it. And I now send out comfort packages to kids that lose parents. So our packages from home have, like, a teddy bear and a blanket and a grief book and coloring pencils and then a handwritten card, and then we wrap it all in gold because that was April's favorite color, and we put a gold dragonfly on it, and we just are sending those out for free to kids that lose a parent. So makes me happy. And we've. We've already sent. We've already have kids that are signing up. And I haven't even really posted about it yet, because I wanted to have supplies. I don't want to, like, have a bunch of kids sign up, and then I don't have supplies. But it still lets us keep the nonprofit open. And we just feel like maybe God just had us do it in a different way. I mean, it's. It's sad because we, like the kids and me, liked the grief center, but to spend that much money a month, it was like a little over 3,000amonth with all the bills, and to spend that. And then I'd have to go and sit there, and nobody was coming in. And we were just like, is this really beneficial for us as a family? Or if the community's not using it, then it's not a need, or nobody wants to use it as a need. So I was like, okay, well, kids are 850 kids in a day. Lose a parent in the United States. And so that's a need. And I don't want any kid to feel like, they don't have someone that loves them. So I was like, this is just our way of reaching out and just giving them a hug through a box. I love that.

[Jeremiah Dickerson]

And I think that that's. You can have a wider reach with that.

[Jamie Dickerson]

Yeah, we're doing it. We're doing the whole United States.

[Jeremiah Dickerson]

That's beautiful. I think that is so good. And I. And, you know, a door closing like that is just. It means that another one's going to open for you. And it wasn't meant to. It wasn't meant to be.

[Narrator/Host]

So this is the final episode of our April Holt series. And like we mentioned, it's not the outcome that any of us wanted, but it's also the outcome that we all expected. After all, you can't really convict someone of murder. When the police department in charge of the investigation didn't do a proper investigation, in our opinion, Donovan Holt got incredibly lucky. If April's case would have had a more competent department handling things, we are confident that this outcome would have been different. But you can't turn back time. So all we can hope going forward is that April's case can make a difference in future cases, that the police department will realize their mistakes and they'll do better next time so that no other family has to go through what April's family went through, and that next time, maybe justice will actually be served.

[Colin Brown]

If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, the national domestic violence Hotline number is 1-800-799-7233. If you are in a situation where you can't call, you can also text them to get help. All you have to do is text the word start to 88788. Hey, everybody, it's Colin here. Thank you for listening to this week's episode of Murder in America. I know this wasn't like a typical episode of our show, but we were incredibly involved with telling this story. And, you know, but when we first decided to cover the April Holt story, we dove headfirst into everything. And now at this point, we're very good friends with Jamie, her husband Jeremiah, their family, and we felt that an update like this was definitely warranted because if there's one word I can use to describe this entire case and affair, I would choose the word injustice. It is absolutely crazy to me to see how this case turned out with all the evidence, everything that was found and discovered, but it's inspired Courtney and I to continue fighting, and I hope that Jamie's words can inspire you guys at home as well. If you want to join us on Patreon, just head to patreon.com and search for murder and AB America. You can get access to bonus episodes of the show on there, plus ad free early access to all of our main feed episodes. So if you don't like the ads, consider joining us on Patreon. If you haven't followed us on Instagram yet, make sure to follow us at Murder in America to see photos from every single case that we cover. And also be sure to leave us a five star review. Wherever you listen to this show, it really helps us out a lot. Anyways y', all, we will be back next week with the regular episode of the show, but next week is that story that I've wanted to share for a long time that I definitely feel needs more awareness raised around it. Anyways, y' all have a great weekend. I'll catch you all on the next one. This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Do you ever find yourself playing playing the budgeting game, Shifting a little money here, a little there and hoping it all works out well? With the name your price tool from Progressive, you can be a better budgeter and potentially lower your insurance bill too. You tell Progressive what you want to pay for car insurance and they'll help you find options within your budget. Try it [e-mail] progressive casualty insurance company and affiliates price and coverage match limited by state law not available in all states and now let's get back to our show.