Whitey Ford
02-19-2025, 01:02 PM
Tenn. Woman's Death Was Initially Ruled a Suicide. Then Her Mom Allegedly Got Killer to Confess (https://people.com/april-holt-killing-mother-helps-solve-homicide-8717547)
The moment Jamie Dickerson saw her daughter in the hospital on life support — with bruises on her neck and ankles and broken blood vessels on her cheeks — she says she knew the 29-year-old had been victimized by another person.
“I knew it was foul play,” Dickerson tells PEOPLE about her daughter, April Holt, a mother of two from Antioch, Tenn.
Dickerson, however, had been told that her daughter had tried to take her own life on July 29, 2023, after April’s husband said he found her unresponsive in the shower with a bag taped to her head.
https://i.ibb.co/DfFQgsRS/mudsharkmixaloid.jpg
25992
Insisting that her daughter did not die by suicide, Dickerson, 45, of Bell Buckle, embarked on a year-long investigation that included bringing important evidence to light and in June, allegedly drawing out a confession from Donovan herself.
In July, Metro Nashville Police Department Cold Case Unit detectives allegedly obtained an official confession from Donovan, who, authorities claim, admitted “he was responsible for strangling his wife,” according to a statement from the department.
VIDEO: Mudshark speaks of her grief (https://v16m.tiktokcdn-us.com/03e369a79bc1a6b70e4fa2f68e10e630/67b662b2/video/tos/useast5/tos-useast5-ve-0068c001-tx/o8I4b2r5GI96oXtvAALhkejLBCe9NKHQIPAfIV/?a=1233&bti=NDU3ZjAwOg%3D%3D&ch=0&cr=3&dr=0&lr=tiktok_m&cd=0%7C0%7C1%7C&cv=1&br=2288&bt=1144&cs=0&ds=3&ft=4KLxRMzm8Zmo0dnAfb4jVuuOdpWrKsd.&mime_type=video_mp4&qs=0&rc=Nzo1N2U3NmQ2Nmk1ZDw3PEBpMzNqOnU5cnN1dDMzZzczNEA 2YjYtYDNjXy4xMTBeMF8tYSNuLXNjMmRjX2lgLS1kMS9zcw%3D %3D&vvpl=1&l=2025021916564174C3A2B1C47AD807DBB7&btag=e00098000)
The moment Jamie Dickerson saw her daughter in the hospital on life support — with bruises on her neck and ankles and broken blood vessels on her cheeks — she says she knew the 29-year-old had been victimized by another person.
“I knew it was foul play,” Dickerson tells PEOPLE about her daughter, April Holt, a mother of two from Antioch, Tenn.
Dickerson, however, had been told that her daughter had tried to take her own life on July 29, 2023, after April’s husband said he found her unresponsive in the shower with a bag taped to her head.
https://i.ibb.co/DfFQgsRS/mudsharkmixaloid.jpg
25992
Insisting that her daughter did not die by suicide, Dickerson, 45, of Bell Buckle, embarked on a year-long investigation that included bringing important evidence to light and in June, allegedly drawing out a confession from Donovan herself.
In July, Metro Nashville Police Department Cold Case Unit detectives allegedly obtained an official confession from Donovan, who, authorities claim, admitted “he was responsible for strangling his wife,” according to a statement from the department.
VIDEO: Mudshark speaks of her grief (https://v16m.tiktokcdn-us.com/03e369a79bc1a6b70e4fa2f68e10e630/67b662b2/video/tos/useast5/tos-useast5-ve-0068c001-tx/o8I4b2r5GI96oXtvAALhkejLBCe9NKHQIPAfIV/?a=1233&bti=NDU3ZjAwOg%3D%3D&ch=0&cr=3&dr=0&lr=tiktok_m&cd=0%7C0%7C1%7C&cv=1&br=2288&bt=1144&cs=0&ds=3&ft=4KLxRMzm8Zmo0dnAfb4jVuuOdpWrKsd.&mime_type=video_mp4&qs=0&rc=Nzo1N2U3NmQ2Nmk1ZDw3PEBpMzNqOnU5cnN1dDMzZzczNEA 2YjYtYDNjXy4xMTBeMF8tYSNuLXNjMmRjX2lgLS1kMS9zcw%3D %3D&vvpl=1&l=2025021916564174C3A2B1C47AD807DBB7&btag=e00098000)