Managing Editor  10/13/2002

Note: This is the conclusion of a two-part story on the unsolved case of Tracy Holloway.

On her desk at the Searcy Police Department, CID Sergeant Stephanie Inman keeps a number of photos, such as of her husband, her children, and other family members. Also on her desk is a photo of Tracy Altom Holloway.

Inman never knew Holloway. Their paths never crossed during Holloway's 30 years, but Inman has come to know her well, almost as well as her own family. It is Inman's responsibility to find Holloway's killer.

"Two names that will stay with me as long as I live are Jarrod Green and Tracy Holloway," Inman said. Green vanished in 1994 and Holloway was beaten to death in her North Cross Street home on June 27, 1997. Neither case has been solved.

A beautician, Holloway had celebrated her birthday the night before her death, and was killed sometime after she arrived home in the early morning hours of June 27. Police surmise that she knew her killer. Her mother, Donna May, discovered Holloway's body when she went to the house to check on her daughter after she failed to show up for work.

In the first months after the murder, detectives, including Randall Story of the Searcy Police Department and J.R. Howard of the Arkansas State Police, worked the case relentlessly, following a seemingly endless trail of evidence.

"Every detective worked on that non-stop in the beginning," said Captain Kyle Osborne, who was a CID lieutenant when Holloway was murdered. "We followed up every lead and we are still following leads. I can't even imagine how Mrs. May must feel. I would do anything to solve this case and see someone spend the rest of their life in prison for this."

As the years have passed with no arrests, and seemingly no progress, the primary players have begun to be rearranged. Story retired from the police force, and other detectives have been put on the case, mainly in hopes that different eyes would see different aspects of the case.

Sergeant Tom McGee has been on the case for about a year. He was initially put on the case because of his extensive training in homicide investigations and because he is a certified crime scene investigator.

Donnie Manues was placed on the case just a week ago, both because of his work in the crimes against women unit, as well as his criminal profiling training at the Criminal Justice Institute. However, Manues is familiar with the case, as are all of the detectives. All have been encouraged to look through the case file and to give their input.

"It's pretty much to have another set of eyes in this thing," Manues said. "Just an effort to bring in another point of view."

The case, while still active, is not as intensively investigated as in the beginning, but Inman said every lead is checked out, and something is done on the case on a daily basis.

"I make sure this case stays active and that we do something toward finding Tracy's killer every day," she said. "It may not be anything more than just opening the file and cross-checking another piece of information, but we never know when we'll hit upon that crucial piece of evidence that will bring about an arrest."

Also, Inman said, advances in technology and training may one day give the detectives the key they need to open the final door to an arrest.

"Chief Thomas is very supportive of continuing training," she said. "Both he and Captain Osborne want the detectives to have any advanced training that is available. That's why we have detectives who are specialized in so many different areas of criminal investigation."

Among the specialties brought to bear in the case, Inman and McGee are both certified crime scene investigators, Chad Crabill has been trained and certified as a blood spatter technician, and is also trained in advanced crime scene photography analysis.

"This is definitely a team effort," Inman said. "We are taking everybody's strengths and pouring it into this investigation. Every advance in training we get, we bring in another person with more expertise to look at this."

A DNA databank that did not exist five years ago, and advances in computerized voice stress analysis (CVSA) also bring new hope to an investigation that has sometimes seemed to reach a dead end.

"We hope it develops that we can re-interview some subjects using the CVSA machine as a tool," Manues said.

"It's a matter of getting that one piece of evidence that opens the door for us," McGee said. "It's there. It's just a matter of finding it."

Both Inman and Osborne noted that the case is far from hopeless and that the break they are looking for could come at any time. But both noted that the break could come today, tomorrow, next week, next month, or 20 years from now. They pointed to the murder of Beebe police officer Abe Pipkin, which occurred over 20 years ago,and was a cold case until a suspect was identified and arrested earlier this year. Cases like that give investigators hope.

"We do have suspects in this case and none of them have been eliminated," Osborne said. "I've been here the length of this case. I've met with Chief Thomas and Chris Raff numerous times. I've reassigned this case to try and get fresh perspectives and everyone has reached the same conclusions."

Those conclusions are that the same suspects who cannot be concretely tied to the crime also cannot be eliminated as suspects.

"I can't begin to describe how frustrating this has been," Osborne said.

Although all of the detectives involved have different specialties, different personalities, different outlooks, they all say they have one thing in common on this case. They want to see it brought to a close, an arrest made, and someone in jail for the crime.

"Cops in general, and investigators in particular, will tell you they don't take this stuff home with them," McGee said. "But they do. I do. I take this home with me, I live with it. I'll bet the forefathers of this case still live this case. Just like we do now."

Manues agreed.

"We take this case home, we take it to the store, we take it out to eat, it goes everywhere," he said. "Everything I do, I can just imagine what Donna May lost when she lost Tracy."

Inman said that not only has the crime been a source of heartbreak for Holloway's family, and frustration for the detectives who have sought the killer, it shook the population of Searcy because it was so out of character for the city.

"This is the kind of city where you can go out and walk at night and not worry," she said. "Your kids can go to Berryhill Park and play and not worry. All of that sort of changed one morning in June. It can happen here. It did happen here."