Revisiting the Sylvia Holt murder case, eight years later

Back in 2010, just two days before Christmas, wife and mother Sylvia Holt was found dead from strangulation in her South Austin home. Police's prime suspect? Her husband...

“Jonathan essentially confessed that he committed the offense of murder to his wife, like seven different ways, none of which were correct or proven out by the autopsy or the coroner,” said Charlie Baird, former district judge and attorney for Jonathan Holt.

At the time, Jonathan Holt told police he injected his wife with too much insulin, and even tied a rope around her neck. It sounded like a case that would be open and shut quickly, but Holt's lawyer says, his client was not in the right state of mind.

“When individuals confess, like Jonathan, they're very, very stressed, they have suffered the loss of a loved one, and they feel the whole world is crumbling on them and they're trying to do everything they can to help law enforcement, even if the information they are providing law enforcement turns out to be false,” said Baird.

Ultimately, Baird says science cleared his client of the crime.

“This is now a cold case, but there was sufficient DNA recovered from the decedent, which would indicate it's going to go into a database, and if an individual ever has that DNA fingerprint then they can be called and prosecuted at a later time,” said Baird.

“I hope authorities one day find the perpetrator or perpetrators who caused her death,” said Baird.