The Case of Liese Dodd

Liese Dodd, 22, was nearly eight months pregnant when she was murdered by her on-and-off boyfriend, Deundrea Holloway, at her Alton, Illinois apartment on 9 June 2022. Her mother discovered her body after becoming concerned when she could not reach her. Holloway later pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 60 years in prison.

Liese Anne Dodd was a 22-year-old woman formerly from Jerseyville, Illinois, who had recently moved into an apartment on Bolivar Street in Alton. She was nearly eight months pregnant with her first child, a baby girl due in July 2022 whom she affectionately referred to as “Baby Bean.” Her family was preparing for a baby shower later that month. Dodd had been involved in an on-and-off relationship with 22-year-old Deundrea S. Holloway for approximately two years. Holloway was not the father of her unborn child. The relationship had been troubled, and Dodd's mother later characterised it as involving domestic violence. On 9 June 2022, Holloway went to Dodd's apartment in Alton. During the encounter, he murdered Dodd and her unborn daughter before attempting to conceal aspects of the crime. When Dodd's mother, Heidi Noel, became concerned because she had been unable to contact her daughter, she went to the apartment to check on her. There she discovered her daughter's body and authorities were contacted.

Police responded to Dodd's apartment on Bolivar Street and immediately recognised that they were dealing with an exceptionally violent homicide. Dodd had been decapitated. Her body remained inside the apartment while her severed head had been placed in an outdoor garbage bin near the property. She and her unborn daughter were both deceased. The apartment was secured and processed by investigators from Alton Police and assisting forensic agencies. Dodd's mother had been the person to make the devastating discovery after becoming concerned that her daughter had stopped responding to attempts to contact her.

Alton Police quickly identified Deundrea Holloway as a suspect. Only hours after Dodd was discovered, police in Gillespie, approximately 30 miles away, encountered Holloway while investigating an unrelated theft. He was taken into custody, allowing investigators to begin connecting him with Dodd's murder. On 13 June 2022, Holloway was charged with two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of intentional homicide of an unborn child, dismembering a human body, concealment of a homicidal death and a motor vehicle offence. A Madison County grand jury subsequently indicted him on the charges. The criminal proceedings were delayed by questions surrounding Holloway's competency to stand trial. In February 2023, he was found unfit and transferred to an Illinois Department of Human Services facility for treatment. He was later determined to have regained competency and was returned to Madison County to face prosecution. Rather than proceeding to trial, Holloway pleaded guilty in December 2024 to first-degree murder, intentional homicide of an unborn child and concealment of a homicidal death.

On 17 January 2025, Deundrea Holloway was sentenced to a total of 60 years in prison. The sentence consisted of 30 years for the first-degree murder of Liese Dodd, 20 years for the intentional homicide of her unborn daughter and 10 years for concealing a homicidal death, with the sentences ordered to run consecutively. The resolution spared Dodd's family from having to endure a murder trial. Her mother delivered a victim impact statement describing the lifelong consequences of losing both her daughter and granddaughter. Madison County State's Attorney Tom Haine praised Dodd's family for their strength throughout the proceedings and expressed hope that the conviction and sentence would provide some measure of resolution.