BONUS: Brenda Dixon & Elbert Holder (Snapped: Killer Couples)

Summary

---

Snapped: Women Who Murder

BONUS: Brenda Dixon & Elbert Holder (Snapped: Killer Couples)

Release Date: December 17, 2025
Podcast by: Oxygen

---

Episode Overview

This gripping episode from Oxygen’s Killer Couples series explores the tangled, tragic murder of Carla Knowlton in Helena, Arkansas in 2001. When a supposed roadside robbery ends with Carla dead and her fiancé, Elbert Holder, wounded, investigators unravel a web of deceit, jealousy, and greed. The episode traces Carla’s life, her relationships, the investigation’s twists, and the shocking revelation of a murder plot involving Elbert, his longtime lover Brenda Dixon, and a hired gunman. Through interviews with law enforcement, family, and legal experts, the episode delves into small-town dynamics, the vulnerability of trust, and the complexities of justice.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Carla Knowlton’s Background and Relationships (01:20–10:16)

• Carla was a beloved “mother hen” figure in her family, responsible, loving, and driven.
• Family Member/Friend: “She was a happy, playful, loving kid in school. … She was president of her senior class.” (05:15)
• Carla’s commitment to her nursing career and her children was evident to all, especially after her divorce.
• After ending her marriage in 1998, she sought happiness and stability, which she thought she’d found with Elbert Holder.

2. The Night of the Murder – Initial Accounts (03:23–12:03)

• On June 23, 2001, Elbert Holder calls 911, frantic, reporting a robbery where Carla is shot dead and he is injured.
• Investigator/Reporter: “He said they shot him and then they shot his girlfriend.” (03:37)
• Initial investigation presumes a violent roadside robbery by two unidentified men in a black Cadillac with Tennessee plates.

3. Early Investigation & Doubts Surface (14:12–19:39)

• Physical evidence and eyewitness accounts begin to contradict Elbert’s story—there are no rapid getaway tire tracks, the wound on his arm is superficial, and forensic analysis of his hat is inconsistent with his account.
• Crime Analyst/Commentator: “It didn’t make sense that Elbert was shot in the hat, but the bullet missed his head.” (19:05)
• Police find Elbert’s wallet nearby, but the situation raises more questions about his involvement.

4. Elbert Holder’s Background & Motive (21:18–25:30)

• Elbert’s criminal record reveals a history of scams and insurance fraud, making him immediately suspicious.
• Carla’s family reveals she may have been asked to testify against Elbert in an insurance fraud case, providing a strong motive.
• Legal Expert/Prosecutor: “That could be a huge motive to get rid of her.” (25:33)

5. The Brenda Dixon Connection & New Evidence (27:13–28:45)

• A tip leads police to Brenda Dixon, Elbert’s ex-girlfriend and mother of his son, after a shotgun is found in a car she’d borrowed on the night of the murder.
• Brenda had allegedly never fully ended her romantic relationship with Elbert, who was living a double life.
• Family Member/Friend: “He was going from her house to Carla's house.” (29:52)

6. The Plot Unravels – Brenda Confesses (32:19–36:53)

• After their arrest, Brenda confesses, claiming Elbert was the mastermind and she agreed to help out of jealousy.
• Brenda describes a failed attempt to use a car bomb before settling on the staged robbery plot.
• Hired gunman Greg Jenkins is brought into the plan to shoot Carla on a secluded stretch of Highway 85.
• Crime Analyst/Commentator: “Brenda tells police that Elbert actually put a bullet in his own hat…” (35:11)

7. Trials & Justice (38:24–44:12)

• Brenda’s confession becomes central in Elbert’s trial, but as a co-defendant her motives are questioned.
• Forensic and circumstantial evidence (distinctive gunshot residue, no genuine car trouble) further undermine Elbert’s story.
• The gunman, Greg Jenkins, is acquitted due to lack of physical evidence; Brenda is sentenced to 10 years, Elbert to life without parole (later reduced to 40 years on appeal).
• Investigator/Reporter: “I don’t think justice was served in his being found not guilty.” (44:21)

8. Aftermath & Reflection (45:17–End)

• Carla’s family reflects on their pain, regret, and hard-learned lessons about trust and “red flags.”
• Carla's Sister: “Sometimes you can be sleeping with a snake and don't even know it. So just be careful and if you see any red flags, don't ignore them because they're there for a reason.” (45:17)
• Brenda served half her sentence, released on parole in 2007; Elbert died in prison in March 2023.

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Carla’s Sister shares the shock:
  “Sometimes people can mislead you, misguide you. Sometimes you can be sleeping with a snake and don't even know it.” (02:44)

• On Elbert’s duplicity:
  “So it was like he was living a double life, but he did it so well.” (29:58)

• On the heartbreak of trust broken:
  “She was planning a wedding, he was planning a funeral.” – Carla’s Daughter (33:21)

• On the ultimate tragedy:
  “I don't know that you could find a case more tragic than this because everybody lost. Nobody should have to lose their life, but for simple greed it's even worse.” – Investigator/Reporter (45:05)

---

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Carla's Early Life & Personality: 01:20–06:54
• Her Relationship with Elbert Holder: 08:16–10:09
• Night of the Murder – Elbert’s 911 Call: 03:23–12:03
• Early Red Flags in Investigation: 14:12–21:18
• Elbert’s Scams & Motive: 21:18–25:13
• Discovery of Brenda Dixon’s Involvement: 27:13–32:07
• Brenda's Confession: 32:27–36:53
• Trial Outcomes: 38:24–44:12
• Family Reflections & Epilogue: 45:17–End

---

Episode Tone

The episode is somber, tense, and analytical, blending forensic detail with heartfelt family loss. Emotions range from shock and rage to resignation and sorrow, as experts and loved ones recount how Carla’s search for happiness led to a trust fatally betrayed.

---

This episode offers a meticulous, moving account of small-town betrayal and the devastating consequences of unchecked manipulation and envy. Even if you missed the original broadcast, these details capture the case’s complexity and emotional weight.

Transcript

[Narrator]

The doctors will see you now.

[Carla's Sister]

Bravo's married to medicine is back.

[Investigator/Reporter]

What's up, players? What's up, players and players.

[Carla's Sister]

I'm here for all of it. All of it.

[Narrator]

Friendships are the best. Medicine.

[Carla's Sister]

We're that ride or die group. That's my sister.

[Law Enforcement Officer]

And we're gonna have a good time.

[Narrator]

But they've got drama down to a science. We all should be able to drag. I'm ready for the drag right now if you're interested. You dogs are home. Family, me, my kids.

[Carla's Daughter]

Out of your mouth.

[Narrator]

Gonna shave it for real, baby. Watch all new Married to medicine, Sundays at 9 on Bravo and streaming on Peacock.

[Legal Expert/Prosecutor]

Doctor's orders.

[Crime Analyst/Commentator]

Bravo's most iconic boss is back where it all began.

[Narrator]

Without a vibrant star, it wouldn't be sir.

[Crime Analyst/Commentator]

Now it's time for a shift.

[Narrator]

When people come to serve, they expect an energy.

[Legal Expert/Prosecutor]

It is chaos.

[Law Enforcement Officer]

Everybody wants to be models, actors, singers.

[Crime Analyst/Commentator]

So raise your glasses high.

[Law Enforcement Officer]

I'm a 10 and you have to.

[Investigator/Reporter]

Treat me like that.

[Forensic Expert]

To a new class of servers.

[Investigator/Reporter]

This is a situation we got going on. Woo Vanderpump rules.

[Crime Analyst/Commentator]

New shift begins Tuesday at 9 on Bravo and Peacock.

[Narrator]

Hi, SNAP listeners.

[Law Enforcement Officer]

We are bringing you a special bonus.

[Narrator]

Episode today from Oxygen's hit series Killer Couples.

[Law Enforcement Officer]

You can also watch full episodes live.

[Narrator]

Or on demand on the free Oxygen.

[Carla's Sister]

App or on Peacock by clicking the.

[Narrator]

Link in our description. Enjoy.

[Carla's Sister]

I remember the last time I saw my sister. She came to my house. She was very happy that day that I saw him. He had bought her a ring. They were going to get married. I remember when they got ready to leave and we just waved and waved until we couldn't see her. I think that will forever be in my mind. The next morning the phone rang and it was my mom. She said, they found Carla. I said, what do you mean they found her? And she said, they shot her. I said, they shot her.

[Carla's Daughter]

Who shot?

[Carla's Sister]

What do you mean? What are you talking about?

[Crime Analyst/Commentator]

It looked like a roadside robbery.

[Forensic Expert]

He basically said it all happened so fast he couldn't give them many details.

[Carla's Sister]

I can't remember all of the policemen and the community reacted kind of like we did. Everybody was very angry. Sometimes people can mislead you, misguide you. Sometimes you can be sleeping with a snake and don't even know it.

[Narrator]

Surrounded by rich Delta farmland, the historic port town of Helena, Arkansas is a quaint and tight knit community.

[Investigator/Reporter]

Helena, Arkansas has a population of 8,900. So it's a small area. It's a nice area. We're a Mississippi river town south of Memphis.

[Crime Analyst/Commentator]

If you didn't consider Helena the heartbeat of the blues, it certainly was a major artery. A lot of people go there for the history of it. There are great museums there, and the King Biscuit Blues festival is still there. And it's an interesting town.

[Narrator]

Late in the evening on June 23, 2001, emergency dispatchers from the Phillips county sheriff's office receive a distraught phone call from local resident, 46 year old Elbert Holder.

[Investigator/Reporter]

Elbert Holder called 911 saying that he had been robbed in the south part of Phillips County, Arkansas, on a highway in the middle of nowhere. He said they shot him and then they shot his girlfriend.

[Law Enforcement Officer]

He was frantic and pleading for help. It was very clear that his fiance was much more badly injured than he was.

[Narrator]

Medics and law enforcement are immediately dispatched to the scene. The medics are first to arrive.

[Law Enforcement Officer]

Albert actually flagged them down and they could tell that he was bleeding from one arm. But he quickly let them know that his fiance, Karla Knowlton, was in the front passenger seat and she was much worse off than he was and in desperate need of medical attention.

[Crime Analyst/Commentator]

The first thing they did was check Carly's vitals and quickly realized that she was deceased at the scene.

[Forensic Expert]

He was very upset, very distraught, and you'd expect that of any man who just had his fiance shot to death.

[Crime Analyst/Commentator]

Elbert was beside himself. He could not understand who would want to do something like this.

[Narrator]

Growing up in Helena, Arkansas, Carla Knowlton was the eldest of six siblings.

[Carla's Sister]

Carla, she was kinda like a mother hen to the rest of us. When my mom and dad would go to work and stuff, of course she would be in charge.

[Family Member/Friend]

A big sister was like mama. She was the enforcer. I mean, and she was a disciplinarian. She wasn't soft. She had to jack you up. She would jack you up.

[Carla's Sister]

She was a happy, playful, loving kid in school. She was a good student. She make good grades, make the honor roll. She was the president of her senior class.

[Family Member/Friend]

All the teachers were like, carla's gonna do this, Carla's gonna do that. I mean, so yeah, she was an excellent student.

[Narrator]

After graduating high school in 1980, Carla set her sights on college. But an unexpected pregnancy put those plans on pause.

[Family Member/Friend]

Carla, when she got pregnant, it was a shocker for all of us. He was like, what's going to happen now? So she didn't go off to college.

[Narrator]

Later that year, Carla gave birth to her daughter Kanika.

[Carla's Daughter]

We were real close. We was not really a mother or daughter. She was just like my sister, my friend versus my mom.

[Family Member/Friend]

Keanuka's father went into the Marines, so he was gone. I mean, he financially supported and took care of things.

[Narrator]

But even there, as a young single mother, Carla was dedicated to providing for her daughter.

[Carla's Daughter]

She went to nursing school, and she graduated class of 1983 from Phillips College of Helen.

[Family Member/Friend]

She always wanted to help people. That was her calling. I don't think she would have wanted to do anything else.

[Carla's Daughter]

She started working at Helm Hospital, and then after Hilton Hospital, she started working different jobs. I get the nursing home and home health, I was told, like, going to vacations and. And stuff like that. But she worked a lot. She come home, she cook, sleep.

[Carla's Sister]

She loved going to work. She loved helping people, especially the children. She would just sit there with them and talk to them.

[Family Member/Friend]

She loved her profession, what she was doing. If you want a nurse, Carla would be the one that you want.

[Narrator]

Once her career had taken off, Carla set her sights on finding lasting love.

[Carla's Daughter]

She got married and she had two more kids. Her husband, which is my stepdad, they was married, like, 17 years.

[Narrator]

Unfortunately, the marriage came to an end in 1998.

[Carla's Sister]

She's kind of private, and some things she just didn't share with the family. We just knew that they were getting a divorce.

[Carla's Daughter]

She was sad about it because she was married a long time. She tried to make it work. It didn't work.

[Family Member/Friend]

She didn't want to see it affect the kids. She kept her chin up and said, okay, let me move on and continue to do what I got to do, because it's about these kids now.

[Carla's Sister]

She's kind of trying to do everything on her own as far as working. And I think she always longed for happiness.

[Carla's Daughter]

She wanted to be happy. She wanted to have a husband and a family. She just wanted to be loved.

[Narrator]

A year after her divorce, Carla finally met the man who would change her life forever.

[Carla's Daughter]

My mom met Elbert Hurter in 1999. She met him at the West Orlando Fish Market, and he moved in with us.

[Law Enforcement Officer]

Elbert was seven years older than Carla. He grew up in Helena as well, and he had a teenage son. And he was a single parent, much like Carla. Albert was known to do quite a few odd jobs and a little bit of everything here and there. He was very focused on making money and was a bit of a hustler.

[Carla's Sister]

I think what she liked about him or what drew her to him was the fact that, you know, he would jump up in a minute and they would go shopping. She loved that they would take a trip overnight.

[Carla's Daughter]

He took her to Chicago on different trips. They Say, doing something fun, going to the casino, swimming. He was pretty much fun. You know, he kept us laughing. He showed a lot of attention and a lot of affection. He did a lot of things for her that she'd never have.

[Carla's Sister]

He was a nice looking guy. He was kind of fancy dresser, you know, and him and her could go out and go places. You know, he'd go, be dressed nice and they could do things when she hadn't had anyone to really do these things with her. So she was excited. She was a social butterfly. She liked to go places. Well, he came along and he did those things. So we started to see a different side of her and she was happy. She was actually happy.

[Narrator]

In May 2001, two years into their relationship, Albert proposed.

[Carla's Daughter]

My mom and Ever had planned on doing a cruise the last weekend of July, and they was going to get married at the Bahamas, and she was so excited.

[Narrator]

But just a month before their destination wedding, their future together is upended when.

[Investigator/Reporter]

They robbed Carla and him. They shot Carla and killed her. And they shot at him.

[Legal Expert/Prosecutor]

The sheriff's office contacted the criminal investigation division with Arkansas State Police. So the sheriff's department and the state police worked this case together.

[Narrator]

Before Albert is rushed to a local hospital, he gives investigators a brief statement.

[Investigator/Reporter]

Albert's story was that he took Carla to work that day. Carl she was a home health care nurse and she had to go see a patient down near Elaine, which is about 30 miles south of Helena, that they drove down to Elaine. He waited for her to go in and see the patient. Then they were driving back towards Helena and there was car trouble. He pulled over to check the engine. He got out of the car, opened the hood, and two men pulled over. He thought they were pulling over to help, but they pulled a gun on him.

[Legal Expert/Prosecutor]

Albert Holder reported that he had his wallet with $900 stolen from him.

[Crime Analyst/Commentator]

For investigators, it looked like the roadside robbery with Carla being killed and Elbert being injured.

[Narrator]

Elbert says that the men were armed with a shotgun. When they opened fire, he instinctively ducked out of the way.

[Investigator/Reporter]

He had a hat on, a cap on his head, and there was a bullet hole through the cap that he show the police.

[Crime Analyst/Commentator]

Elbert was extremely lucky that he wasn't killed too.

[Legal Expert/Prosecutor]

It was a very close call from Mr. Elbert.

[Crime Analyst/Commentator]

After the shooting, the two guys got back in their car and then they just sped off. Albert told investigators that it was two black men in a black Cadillac with Tennessee plates on.

[Investigator/Reporter]

Police put out an all points bulletin to the sheriff's departments to be on the lookout For a car meeting the description of a black Cadillac with Tennessee tags. We're 60 miles south of Memphis. There are probably 300 black Cadillacs in Memphis with Tennessee tags. So if that car gets back to Tennessee, it's over.

[Narrator]

Coming up, crime scene details send investigators back to square one.

[Investigator/Reporter]

They would have left the scene in a hurry, so they looked for tire tracks, but there were no tire tracks that indicated that her.

[Legal Expert/Prosecutor]

Red flags all over the place.

[Narrator]

And a tip comes in pointing to a long con and a twisted romance.

[Family Member/Friend]

I think she got caught on to that bad boy deal, you know, oh, I got a bad boy.

[Crime Analyst/Commentator]

Was this a case of if I can't have him, nobody can?

[Narrator]

Hours after a roadside robbery claimed the life of Carla knowlton and injured her fiance, Authorities in Arkansas are on the lookout for a black Cadillac with Tennessee plates.

[Investigator/Reporter]

The police start contacting law enforcement agencies over in Mississippi to see if anybody noticed a vehicle with Tennessee tags passing from Arkansas into Mississippi and then into tennessee.

[Narrator]

While investigators wait for an alert to come in, they consider the possibility that the perpetrators might have roots in their own community.

[Investigator/Reporter]

Helena, Arkansas, to me, is a nice area, but we are a declining area. Declining in population since the 1970s. Our factories moved and went overseas.

[Legal Expert/Prosecutor]

The population has declined over the years, but criminals hadn't gone anywhere. A lot of the homicides appear to be drug related homicides, Some gang related, retaliation type stuff. He did get some robberies.

[Investigator/Reporter]

We don't have descriptions of the shooters other than two black males. That could be anybody.

[Narrator]

Arkansas state police investigators begin processing the crime scene.

[Forensic Expert]

There were three shotgun shells found at the scene, so they were submitted for analysis.

[Investigator/Reporter]

You would assume that if somebody committed a robbery and shot two people and killing one, that they would have left the scene in a hur. So they looked for tire tracks that indicated that anybody would pull off quickly, but there were no tire tracks that indicated that.

[Forensic Expert]

There wasn't a whole lot at the crime scene other than the shell casings that were identified.

[Law Enforcement Officer]

There was an abandoned house not too far from the crime scene. And outside they did find Albert's empty wallet.

[Legal Expert/Prosecutor]

Elbert told them that there was a wallet stolen, so maybe they ditched it.

[Narrator]

Without much to go on. Investig search for potential witnesses.

[Law Enforcement Officer]

Although Highway 85 is very rural, There were also some residential homes not too far away.

[Legal Expert/Prosecutor]

The police canvassed the area to interview any witnesses that may have potentially saw or heard something.

[Investigator/Reporter]

There was a witness that said that she saw a car parked out there near the scene, but not a black cadillac.

[Crime Analyst/Commentator]

That person told them that they believe they Saw a lighter colored sedan.

[Legal Expert/Prosecutor]

And so the police set out to trace the whereabouts of that car. Obviously, they wanted to know where these people were.

[Narrator]

Meanwhile, investigators learned that Elbert is in stable condition.

[Forensic Expert]

Wound on Mr. Holder's arm was enough to draw blood, but it was not a significant wound. It was like a grazed wound or.

[Narrator]

By the following morning, news of Carla's death reaches her family.

[Carla's Daughter]

My grandma came and they told me, you know, we sorry your mom, you know, has been killed. And right now we don't know what happened. At that point, I just broke down. It was. It was horrible. I mean, I was devastated. I couldn't eat, sleep or anything.

[Carla's Sister]

They kept saying, she gone, you know, But I never accepted it. I was just in, like, dismay, just shocked. Like, what do you mean? What do you mean? I screamed and I hollered and some neighbors had to come and comfort me. It was really bad.

[Narrator]

After being discharged from the hospital, investigators visit Elbert at his home for a second interview.

[Forensic Expert]

His story was he had never seen this. He didn't know who was in it. People were wearing masks, and he basically said it all happened so fast. He couldn't give them many details. Investigators thought his demeanor was very calm and different than what they would expect him to be. Acting like they know the cues they're expecting to see from victims when they're recounting what happened to a loved one. And emotion, sobbing and crying is usually part of it.

[Crime Analyst/Commentator]

Investigators left that meeting with Elbert, and this is when they started to realize that things just weren't adding up.

[Narrator]

Investigators shift their focus to Carla's autopsy.

[Law Enforcement Officer]

The medical examiner found that carla was hit three times with a 12 gauge shotgun, twice to the head and once to the chest.

[Forensic Expert]

The evidence that was recovered from the actual autopsy itself were shotgun pellet, and those were submitted to the firearms section of the laboratory along with clothing from the victim's body. The 12 gauge shotgun is going to cause massive damage. I'm sure she died instantly. The crime lab can match shell casings based upon ejection scratches or patterns. And they determine that all three of those shell casings came from the same shotgun. If they find a weapon, match it.

[Narrator]

When experts analyze the hat Elbert was wearing when the shooting occurred, the report raises several questions.

[Crime Analyst/Commentator]

Albert said he was able to dive out of the way, but his hat was grazed by the spray of the shotgun.

[Forensic Expert]

The hat was examined, and it appeared to be a bigger caliber weapon than just simple shotgun pellets that are penetrating through it. And that would have been based on the soot analysis. The surroundings, the diameter of the hole itself.

[Investigator/Reporter]

They can determine by the residue on the hat how close of range the shot was. And they determined fairly quickly that the shot came from very close by. It didn't make sense that Elbert was shot in the hat, but the bullet missed his head.

[Legal Expert/Prosecutor]

There were red flags all over the place. His grazed wound to his arm was pretty much superficial, so he was relatively unharmed. But yet Snolton was shot in the head and killed.

[Investigator/Reporter]

The fact that he was grazed in the arm, although he was the one outside who confronted the two men when they came to rob him, and why they walked around to the car and shot Carla with a shotgun, that didn't make a lot of sense. It just seemed like that was not a true story. Albert became a suspect fairly quickly. It's time. Streaming now only on Peacock. How to Train youn Dragon.

[Carla's Sister]

Everything we know about dragons is wrong.

[Investigator/Reporter]

Peacock brings the adventure of dragons home.

[Carla's Sister]

Toothless, you ready?

[Investigator/Reporter]

Experience one of the biggest movies of the year.

[Law Enforcement Officer]

You have something none of us have.

[Narrator]

It's you and me, bud.

[Investigator/Reporter]

How to Train youn Dragon. Rated pg. Streaming now only on Peacock.

[Forensic Expert]

Where was she? The disappearance of Carrie Farmer was quite unlike any other, because Carrie hadn't exactly vanished, but retreated beyond the shadows to release rage in torrents of text messages.

[Narrator]

And it just went on and on and on.

[Forensic Expert]

Beyond diabolical. Beyond the macabre to murder. A story straight out of left field. I'm Keith Morrison, and this is Something About Carrie, an all new podcast from Dateline.

[Legal Expert/Prosecutor]

You're on edge as to what's going to happen next.

[Forensic Expert]

Listen now, wherever you get your podcasts.

[Narrator]

Less than a day after the roadside ambush that killed Carla Knowlton, investigators are becoming increasingly suspicious of her fiance Albert Holder's account of the shooting.

[Forensic Expert]

The loved one of the victim, the spouse or boyfriend or girlfriend, is always.

[Legal Expert/Prosecutor]

A suspect when a murder occurs. Every good police officer will tell you this. Everybody's a suspect. And then you start eliminating people that couldn't have possibly done it. So Holder was the suspect immediately.

[Narrator]

When investigators pull Elbert's criminal record, they discover he's no stranger to the law.

[Forensic Expert]

I don't recall Mr. Holder having any violent acts in his history. He did have some insurance fraud claims that went back a few years.

[Investigator/Reporter]

Holder pretty much made a career on running scams and insurance scams. And I'm not sure what he did for a living, what his honest job was, so to speak, but my understanding is every so often he would run an insurance scam and that's how he made money.

[Legal Expert/Prosecutor]

There was a lawyer down there in Louisiana. I remember talking to him on the phone, came to find out that there was a case that was filed in Louisiana over some insurance fraud that he was alleged to have committed down there. He allegedly reported some property stolen that he still had. It was a big enough of an issue that the insurance company filed suit against him.

[Narrator]

Elbert had also reportedly suffered an injury on a Mississippi riverboat job.

[Crime Analyst/Commentator]

Elbert claimed that the boat he was working on was hit by a barge and that he was injured, his back or his spine, but to the point where he could hardly walk and he couldn't even work. And that's when he filed a workman's comp claim for about $140,000.

[Narrator]

Investigators reach out to Carla's grieving family to see if they can provide any additional information on Elbert.

[Family Member/Friend]

I knew that he was into this workman's comp scam. He was a street guy, and any way to make money, the street, that's what he did. He was selling sex toys and videotaped out his trunk and doing things that the average person wouldn't do. Nothing legit. And I'm like, what is Carla doing with him? Why is she with him?

[Carla's Daughter]

He grew up poor. He started hustling and getting money through scamming and figuring how to get money. That was the lifestyle he knew.

[Family Member/Friend]

Carla went through a divorce, and so I think Everett came in. I think he came in saying nice things, buying her things, and I think she kind of, like, got caught on to that bad boy deal, you know, oh, I got a bad boy.

[Carla's Sister]

They were like oil and water. But she was so happy. And so we were like, you know what? Maybe it's not so bad after all.

[Narrator]

Carla's family tells investigators that she accidentally tipped off Elbert scamming activities to his lawyers.

[Carla's Sister]

He had used her phone and had called and talked with the lawyers. So they had this number. They called back to the house one day and asked her, where was he when she told him he was gone? Riding his motorcycle, they say. Riding a motorcycle. He can ride a motorcycle. Albert is supposed to be disabled. Couldn't work because of his bag.

[Narrator]

Her family says. A few months earlier, Albert and Carla had driven to New Orleans for Albert's deposition hearing. There, attorneys representing the insurance companies had approached Carla.

[Carla's Sister]

The attorneys had a conversation with her. Something to the fact that, hey, we know that this guy's a fraud. They had been watching him. They had asked her about testifying against him, and that way the insurance, they wouldn't have to pay all of this.

[Forensic Expert]

Money.

[Legal Expert/Prosecutor]

That could be a huge motive to get rid of her.

[Narrator]

Still, investigators have doubts that Albert was the trigger man since he was also injured in the attack.

[Legal Expert/Prosecutor]

You don't get tunnel vision. You don't focus on one person.

[Investigator/Reporter]

There was some idea that Holder was a scam artist and Carla got caught in crossfire.

[Law Enforcement Officer]

Investigators start to wonder if Carla's murder could have been connected to Albert because of some of the circles that he's been known to run in, and it could have potentially been aimed at him.

[Narrator]

According to Carla's family, there was a recent incident where Carla and Elbert may have been targeted.

[Carla's Sister]

One of her cars was set on fire.

[Family Member/Friend]

I'm like, carla, how did your car catch a fire? The reporting department said it was set. And I'm like, carla, what in the hell is going on?

[Law Enforcement Officer]

Carla felt that the fire in the car was a technical issue or a malfunction of some sort. But her family had a suspicion that it could have been something that was meant for Albert.

[Legal Expert/Prosecutor]

Albert Holder had enemies, people that he maybe ripped off or wronged in some way.

[Crime Analyst/Commentator]

The alarming thing is that Elbert didn't say anything about this, so maybe he didn't want detectives snooping into his case. But his fiance's dead, so they know he's got to be hiding something.

[Narrator]

Before investigators can confront Elbert about these claims, they receive a pivotal tip.

[Forensic Expert]

The woman called the police and said that she had loaned her car to somebody the night before.

[Law Enforcement Officer]

The local woman tells police that her friend, who had borrowed the car the night of the murder, came back the next day in her own car and told her that they would have to go pick the car up.

[Crime Analyst/Commentator]

The woman rode with her friend to get her car, which was parked at a rest stop along Highway 85, the same highway Carla was killed on. When they get to the car, it's got dirt on it, grass on it. So when she eventually does get it home, she naturally starts to clean it up. She tells police when she's in the process of cleaning her car up, she makes a very startling discovery.

[Legal Expert/Prosecutor]

She had discovered a shotgun in the trunk.

[Forensic Expert]

She said the person she loaned the car to was Brenda Dixon.

[Law Enforcement Officer]

It so happens that Brenda Dixon was the ex girlfriend of Elbert Holder and the mother of his son.

[Legal Expert/Prosecutor]

The sheriff's department immediately sent an officer out who recovered the gun from the trunk.

[Crime Analyst/Commentator]

It turns out this woman's vehicle matches the description of the vehicle a witness saw out on the highway. When authorities were initially canvassing the area, which was a lighter colored sedan, it was shocking A potential murder weapon had just fallen into their hands. Was Brenda Dixon the shooter?

[Narrator]

24 hours into the investigation of Carla Knowlton's murder, Arkansas police have recovered a shotgun from a car allegedly loaned to Brenda Dixon, the ex girlfriend of Carla's fiance, Albert Holder.

[Crime Analyst/Commentator]

While police have sent the shotgun off to the crime lab for testing, and they're trying to locate Brenda Dixon because naturally, they'd like to talk to her. Brenda wasn't at home, so police started talking to friends and family, trying to locate anybody who could help them find her.

[Narrator]

When investigators speak with Brenda's friends, they learn that Brenda and Albert's relationship hadn't necessarily ended.

[Legal Expert/Prosecutor]

Mr. Holder was dating more than one lady. Mr. Holder was in a relationship with Carla Knowlton. He was also in a relationship with Brenda Dixon at the time.

[Investigator/Reporter]

They just never stopped dating. Even though he was living with Carla.

[Family Member/Friend]

Carla found out he never broke up with Brenda. He never broke up with her.

[Carla's Sister]

He was going from her house to Carla's house.

[Carla's Daughter]

So it was like he was living a double life. But he did it so well.

[Carla's Sister]

We were very angry. He was not the guy for our sister.

[Narrator]

Investigators theorize that Brenda may have enacted a plot to get rid of her romantic rival.

[Forensic Expert]

Jealousy is a powerful motivating factor in a lot of murders.

[Investigator/Reporter]

Brendan Albert's relationship was the relationship of the woman on the side. And maybe she thought that was gonna come to an end if he married Carla. And you see this quite frequently where the woman on the side wants to eliminate the woman who is occupying the attention of who she would consider her man.

[Crime Analyst/Commentator]

Was this a case of, if I can't have him, nobody can?

[Law Enforcement Officer]

If Brenda was involved, the question is, what did Albert know? Initially, it was said there were two men at the scene.

[Crime Analyst/Commentator]

The first thought was, could Albert be protecting Brenda?

[Narrator]

The following day, investigators search for their main suspects, Elbert and Brenda. Shortly after, police receive a call from the woman who had previously loaned Brenda her vehicle.

[Legal Expert/Prosecutor]

The lady called the sheriff's office again, basically in a panic, saying that Mr. Holder, Ms. Dixon were over there. They wanted to get in the trunk of the car, and she had told them that she lost the key. She had actually tossed the keys to the trunk behind her couch.

[Law Enforcement Officer]

As soon as Brenda Dixon and Albert got out of earshot, she called the police.

[Legal Expert/Prosecutor]

She was really panicking about the whole situation.

[Narrator]

Fearful for her life, investigators race to the scene where they find their two primary suspects, Albert and Brenda, standing at the woman's car with the truck.

[Legal Expert/Prosecutor]

Holder had actually brought either a mechanic or a locksmith or somebody to try to open the trunk. He was totally surprised that the gun was no longer in the trunk.

[Investigator/Reporter]

Why is he out there retrieving the shotgun if he had no knowledge?

[Legal Expert/Prosecutor]

Gilbert Holder and Brenda Dixon were arrested on the spot by law enforcement.

[Narrator]

Brenda and Albert are transported to the sheriff's office for questioning.

[Law Enforcement Officer]

Albert refused to talk to police and immediately asked.

[Forensic Expert]

Brenda Dixon. She started talking pretty quickly. She said that this was all Mr. Holder's idea and all his plan.

[Law Enforcement Officer]

She told them about her involvement, but that Albert was really behind it all.

[Forensic Expert]

Ms. Dixon said that Mr. Holder he had approached her about killing the victim because Mr. Holder thought she was going to testify against him in an insurance fraud case.

[Narrator]

According to Brenda, Carla had set conditions on her silence.

[Law Enforcement Officer]

Karla wanted Elbert to really clean up his act and stop any scamming that he was doing, stop seeing Brenda and settle down and marry her.

[Investigator/Reporter]

Brenda said Carlin was forcing Albert to marry her.

[Crime Analyst/Commentator]

Albert agreed to Carla's conditions and then Carla was excited about moving forward with their life.

[Carla's Daughter]

And she was so excited, oh, I'm getting married, I'm getting married, we're getting married. But she was planning a wig and he was playing the funeral.

[Investigator/Reporter]

Brenda said that she was approached by Albert who said he wanted her to help. Brenda doesn't want her man to marry another woman and agrees with him to murder Carla to get her out of the way.

[Crime Analyst/Commentator]

Originally, Elbert attempted to plant some sort of a bomb in Carla's car. But she dodged that attempt.

[Narrator]

Brenda explained she refused to commit the murder herself. So Elbert enlisted the help of his friend, 43 year old Greg Jenkins.

[Investigator/Reporter]

Brenda told us Holder came to him and asked him to do it and that he would pay Grey and so he willingly agreed to do it.

[Legal Expert/Prosecutor]

I don't know if he got paid $2,000, I don't know if he got paid $10,000, but apparently he got paid money to do this.

[Investigator/Reporter]

According to Brenda, they met some several times to talk about how they were going to do. Was Friday, June 22nd of 2001 that Jenkins, Dixon and Holder finalized their plan to kill Carl.

[Law Enforcement Officer]

Albert's plan was to drive Carla to work the next night. And when he turned onto the desolate part of Highway 85, he was supposed to act as though there was car trouble. And that's when Greg Jenkins was supposed to be waiting.

[Crime Analyst/Commentator]

When Albert pulls over and then pops the hood, that's the signal to Greg Jenkins waiting nearby to come out and then shoot Carla. The plan was to make this appear like it was a robbery that had gone wrong.

[Narrator]

Brenda claims that Albert was never supposed to be injured, but he had taken steps to make his story more believable.

[Crime Analyst/Commentator]

Brenda tells police that Elbert actually put a bullet in his own hat the.

[Forensic Expert]

Day before the murder, took his cap off and shot it with a handgun. He would then just claim that he was another victim and he just got lucky and hadn't been killed himself.

[Narrator]

On the night of the murder, Brenda says she borrowed her friend's car and picked up Greg Jenkins, who was armed with a 12 gauge shotgun.

[Investigator/Reporter]

Brenda told us Greg said he could not do it unless he got drunk. Brenda's story was that they drove, drove out to the Razorback liquor store. Greg got something to drink. They then drove down to Highway 85, and she dropped off Greg at the spot where Albert told them they would meet. She then pulled up to the vacant house and stayed there and waited.

[Crime Analyst/Commentator]

As Brenda was waiting, she saw the headlights coming down the road and then stopped at that location where they had chosen to shoot Carla.

[Investigator/Reporter]

She said that she did not see Greg actually pulled the trigger and killed Carl, but that she heard four shots. There was a grazed shot on Elbert's arm, and so that would have accounted for the four blasts she heard. But nobody ever said he stood there and Jenkins shot him or whether he shot himself.

[Legal Expert/Prosecutor]

According to Brenda Dixon, Greg Jenkins ran over to the vehicle that Ms. Dixon was in, threw the gun in the truck, jumped in the car with her, and they fled to Snake.

[Crime Analyst/Commentator]

The next day, when Brenda realizes she had left the shotgun in the trunk of the car, she gets ahold of Elbert and says, we've got to get this shotgun. By that time, though, it was too late.

[Investigator/Reporter]

And I think Dixon didn't know what to do with the firearm. Afterwards, the plan was, how do we make this murder happen? But there was no plan for what happens after the murder.

[Narrator]

On August 14, 2001, authorities charged Brenda Dixon and Albert Holder with capital murder.

[Investigator/Reporter]

Capital murder is a murder that's premeditated where there are aggravating factors. Capital murder means that you face the death penalty.

[Law Enforcement Officer]

At this point, the police, they go and pick up the alleged trigger man, Greg Jenkins as well. Once Greg is in custody, he doesn't speak to police and he immediately asks for a lawyer.

[Legal Expert/Prosecutor]

Mr. Jenkins was charged with the capital murder of Carla Melton.

[Narrator]

Coming up, as the trials get underway, several issues threaten to upend the case and leave Carla, Carla's family and authorities baffled at its outcome.

[Legal Expert/Prosecutor]

She's got every motive to lie, to try to get herself a sweet deal.

[Family Member/Friend]

And I watched him walk out of Court. I was just angry.

[Investigator/Reporter]

I don't know that you could find a case more tragic than this.

[Narrator]

In Helena, Arkansas, Brenda Dixon has confessed to conspiring with her lover, Elbert Holder, to murder Elbert's fiance, Karla Knowlton.

[Legal Expert/Prosecutor]

According to Brenda, Mr. Holder patched the whole plot, planned it, the location, and the whole nine yards.

[Family Member/Friend]

I personally know Brenda. How could you even let him convince you to even do this?

[Carla's Sister]

The anger definitely kicked in with everybody and then kind of beat ourselves up because we knew he was no good.

[Narrator]

While Carla's loved ones grapple with the tragedy, authorities continue building their case.

[Investigator/Reporter]

The key piece of evidence was Brenda Dixon's testimony, but she was a co defendant. For that testimony to be given any weight or credibility at all, it has to be corroborated or substantiated by independent evidence.

[Crime Analyst/Commentator]

The vehicle that Carlo was killed in was exactly examined. There was no evidence that the car had any kind of engine trouble. So the story that Elbert gave that they pulled over for car trouble, clearly fabricated.

[Law Enforcement Officer]

Police were also able to confirm that Albert did own a.38 caliber revolver. And they found that revolver not too far from the crime scene.

[Legal Expert/Prosecutor]

His hat's got a bullet hole. The crime lab determined that the hole in the hat was consistent with a.38 caliber revolver.

[Narrator]

The crime lab confirms that the shotgun found in the trunk is in fact the murder weapon.

[Crime Analyst/Commentator]

There was no DNA or any other kind of physical evidence that linked Greg Jenkins or anybody else to the weapon. Greg Jenkins never confessed to a crime. And the only thing investigators actually had against him was Brenda's story.

[Narrator]

As news of the arrest sweeps across Helena, a witness comes forward alleging Greg Jenkins had confessed to shooting Carla Knowlton.

[Investigator/Reporter]

He told me flat out that Jenkins had come to him afterwards, sad, and said, I should not have let Holder get me to kill Carl. I should not have done it. So we had that. The trial of Albert Holder started the morning of May 20, 2002, in the Phillips County Courthouse in Helena, Arkansas. We were very confident going into this trial.

[Narrator]

Prosecutors assert that Albert had a clear motive for wanting Carla dead.

[Legal Expert/Prosecutor]

Carla Knowlton was scheduled to be a witness against Elbert Holder down in Louisiana. Turned out that was a big part of the motive. Elbert Holder had asked several people to get rid of Ms. Knowlton, and he needed her gone by a certain date, which was just prior to when he was scheduled to go to trial on the insurance fraud case down in Louisiana.

[Narrator]

The state's star witness is Brenda Dixon, who directly implicates her lover in the plot to kill Carla. Albert's defense, however, attempts to pin the murder entirely on Brenda.

[Legal Expert/Prosecutor]

Brenda Dixon couldn't be believed, according to the defense, because she's a co defendant and she's charged herself. She's got every motive to lie, to try to get herself a sweet deal.

[Crime Analyst/Commentator]

You could look at the motive as being jealousy and that Brenda had a larger role than she let on, or you could look at it as a man selfishly trying to protect himself. Or maybe it was a combination of the two.

[Narrator]

After hearing the testimony, the jurors retired to deliberate.

[Investigator/Reporter]

The jury returned a verdict of guilty to capital murder.

[Legal Expert/Prosecutor]

I think he narrowly escaped receiving the death penalty from the jury that he received a sentence of life in prison without parole.

[Carla's Sister]

He did appeal it, and then they went back and just gave him 40 years. And I said, either way, he'll die in prison. So we're okay with the judgment.

[Narrator]

Greg Jenkins trial gets underway four months later.

[Legal Expert/Prosecutor]

Ms. Dixon's testimony was a big part of the evidence against Mr. Jenkins, but there was other evidence against him as well.

[Investigator/Reporter]

One of the proprietors of the Razorback liquor store verified that Greg came into the liquor store that night and bought liquor. And there was a person who lived at the south beach apartments who testified that he saw Brenda drop off Greg that night at some time after the murder occurred.

[Narrator]

Another key witness for prosecutors is the man who claimed Greg Jenkins had confessed that he regretted killing Carla.

[Investigator/Reporter]

I was the person who examined him, put him on the witness stand. He said, no, that's not true. That didn't happen. And so I asked him five different ways, you know, isn't it true that you told me this? Isn't it true that he came to you? No. No, that's not what happened. That was disappointing for me.

[Narrator]

The witness's testimony, along with the lack of physical evidence tying Greg to the murder result in a frustrating outcome for prosecutors.

[Investigator/Reporter]

He was found not guilty.

[Legal Expert/Prosecutor]

Mr. Jenkins was acquitted. He's a free man as we sit here today. The investigators were very thorough, very solid case on Mr. Jenkins, but the jury just didn't see it that way.

[Family Member/Friend]

When they said not guilty, and how he cheered, his mother cheered. And I watched him walk out of court. I was just angry.

[Investigator/Reporter]

I don't think justice was served in his being found not guilty.

[Narrator]

For her role in Carla's murder. Brenda Dixon is sentenced to 10 years in prison.

[Law Enforcement Officer]

Albert definitely needed help to execute. He couldn't necessarily have done it alone. So Brenda was a very important part of the plan.

[Legal Expert/Prosecutor]

Mr. Holder got her involved in this game that he hatched in his head. I personally talked to Ms. Dixon several times over the course of these two trials, appeared to feel a lot of remorse that she'd made a horrible mistake and she wished it hadn't happened.

[Investigator/Reporter]

I don't know that you could find a case more tragic than this because everybody lost. Nobody should have to lose their life, but for simple greed it's even worse.

[Carla's Sister]

Sometimes you can be sleeping with a snake and don't even know it. So just be careful and if you see any red flags, don't ignore them because they're there for a reason.

[Narrator]

Brenda Dixon served half of her 10.

[Carla's Sister]

Year sentence and was released on parole in 2007.

[Narrator]

Albert Holder died in prison in March 2023, just weeks before his parole hearing.

[Law Enforcement Officer]

VRBO makes it easy to claim your dream summer spot with early booking deals from homes with pools to poolside loungers. When you book a vrbo, you don't have to reserve any loungers, they're all yours. Get that early booking [e-mail].