Lisa Holland Found Guilty

Lansing, MI - Lisa Holland, the woman accused of abusing her adopted son to death, sat smiling with her attorneys shortly before her verdict was read before 11am on Friday.

A jury of 8 men and 4 women found Mrs. Holland guilty of first-degree felony murder and first-degree child abuse after almost 2 days of deliberations. As the verdict was read, Mrs. Holland cried quietly, one of the few shows of emotion she has had during her 7 week trial. After the jurors were questioned as to the verdict individually, Holland was led away in handcuffs.

However, the judge told the deputies to bring her back to hear the date of her sentencing. The penalty for first-degree felony murder is life in prison without possibility of parole.

Her sentencing hearing will be November 28th.

Mrs. Holland's attorneys, Andrew Abood and Mike Nicholas, state that Lisa maintains that Ricky's death is the fault of her husband, Tim Holland. Tim Holland struck a deal with prosecutors and pleaded to second-degree murder in exchange for testifying against his wife.

People were unsure as to how the jury would take the testimony of Mr. Holland, who lied to investigators, the media, and the public in July 2005 by stating that their adopted son was missing and had run away, initiating a community-wide search that involved more than 1,700 volunteers and hundreds of law enforcement and military personnel. The search covered a 7 mile ring around their home in Leroy Township, which is just outside of Williamston, Michigan.

Mr. Holland testified that she had told him that she had hit Ricky in the head with a hammer, but that she "didn't mean to do it."

The Hollands became the foster parents of Ricky in 2000, and they adopted him in 2003. Prior to that, he had been with his mother, a 16 year old. He had faced neglect in her home, but she apparently requested that he be placed in temporary foster care. He had a brief stay in one other foster home before being placed with the Hollands.

During the time the Hollands had Ricky, Mrs. Holland tried repeatedly to get him diagnosed for special education services and used his acting out behaviors. Neighbors and others have testified as to the care he was receiving in the home that would have contributed to or caused those behaviors, including breaking into others' houses to find food, and forcing him to wear a harness on the bus.

Now that the case is concluded, hopefully more information can be seen as to how many times the abuse and neglect he suffered in the Hollands' care was reported to authorities. The Ombudsman had been holding onto the records because the trial was pending.

In Mrs. Holland's case, it took 4 days for the defense to find 16 people who had no preconceived notions about Mrs. Holland's guilt or innocence before trial began. Over 50 witnesses were called by the two sides during the course of the trial.

The Ricky Holland case brings to light the plight of children in foster or adoptive placements in the state of Michigan, and around the country. There is a spotlight on the lack of accountability for foster parents and other professionals in the foster care system, and what some people believe is a double standard against natural parents.

Two children have been murdered in foster placements in Michigan at around the time of the trial. Isaac Lethbridge was murdered on August 16th, and Allison Newman on September 22nd. Both of those children were taken for neglect and placed in abusive foster/adoptive homes. Carol Poole faces charges in connection with the death of Allison Newman. There have been no arrests in the case of Isaac Lethbridge.

A similar case has been garnering media attention in Ohio. Marcus Fiesel was reported missing by his foster parents on August 15th, spurring another community-wide hunt for a child who may have died, according to authorities, as early as August 6th. In that case, the foster father is accused of repeatedly burning the body of Marcus and then throwing it in a river.

Marcus Fiesel allegedly died due to being bound and locked in a closet while his foster parents attended a family reunion in Kentucky. When they arrived home, it is assumed that he was already dead.

Liz and David Carroll, the foster parents of Marcus Fiesel, face jury trial in January and February of 2007. They both face felony murder charges as well as other charges. David also faces charges of gross abuse of a corpse.