GREEN COVE SPRINGS, Fla. – A decades-old mystery in Green Cove Springs is closer to possibly being solved thanks to a renewed focus on the investigation.
In a complicated case, the remains of Melinda Holder, who disappeared in January of 1989, were identified 30 years later as those found in a home that had been deliberately set on fire in December 1989.
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A detective digging into the cold case files in Holder’s 1989 suspicious death has now identified persons of interest.
“I’m feeling grateful at this time. I never thought we would have gotten to this point. I thought my mom’s case was a lost cause just back in the filing closet because we never really heard anything,” Melinda’s daughter, Nakia Holder, said. “I never really thought that we would be at this point. It’s such a sad and horrible thing that we’re going through, but we’re feeling better about the situation.”
Detective C. Milliken believes the answers to the Holder family’s questions lie somewhere within the small town and small neighborhood where Holder died.
“It’s not easy to look into her children’s eyes and see the hurt that they’ve experienced for the past 35 years,” Milliken said, urging anyone with information in the case to come forward.
That hurt is stoked every time Holder’s family has to pass the property where her remains were found in the ashes. It’s down the street from their family home.
“Even though we know what’s happening, even to this day, there’s still tension. We have to pass by that street all the time, and it’s painful,” said Zachary Holder, Melinda’s son.
Painful because there are still no answers to what happened there.
But Milliken hopes to change that as she brings fresh energy to the decades-old mystery.
A complicated case
The investigation into Melinda Holder’s suspicious death began on Dec. 10, 1989, with a house fire on Harrison Street in Green Cove Springs. However, investigators wouldn’t connect her to the fire until several decades later.
The house was already engulfed in flames when officers arrived at 404 Harrison St., and neighbors said the home was abandoned, with no one living there.
But the next day, the State Fire Marshal asked investigators to come back to the scene because a human skull and other remains had been found among the ashes.
The State Fire Marshal determined the fire was arson and that it had been ignited with accelerants right where the remains were found.
But the extent of the burns made identifying the victim difficult. A facial sketch shared with the public in 1990 brought in a wave of tips, but none led to a breakthrough in the case.
One of those tips did mention Melinda Holder, but her name was ruled out at the time.
‘A void inside’
Holder’s case sat cold for years, and her children were left to wonder what had become of her.
“It’s a void inside that is not going to go anywhere,” Zachary said. “She did not just disappear off the Earth. She has loved ones.”
Nakia said she realized on the day of her grandmother’s funeral that her mother wouldn’t be coming back.
“I kept looking at the double doors, and I said to myself, ‘If she doesn’t come, I’m probably not going to see my mom again,‘” Nakia said.
Her mother never came.
Nakia said when her son was 9 years old, he asked how he would know where she was when he grew up.
“The only reason he would ask me that is because he never saw me with my mama,” Nakia said. “Just goes to show how it affects even people that didn’t even meet her.”
As they grieved the loss of their mother, the Holder siblings continued to seek answers.
DNA breakthrough
Some finally came in 2019 when the Green Cove Springs Police Department decided to take another look at Melinda Holder’s disappearance 30 years earlier.
DNA samples from Holder’s children were sent to the University of North Texas Center for Human Identification.
The results confirmed the remains from the Harrison Street fire belonged to Melinda Holder.
“I cried that day when they called me and told me it was her. I was like, ‘We got you home. We got you home. Now the next phase,’” Zachary said.
Despite the identification breakthrough, questions remained about Holder’s suspicious death.
Enter Detective Milliken, who is hell-bent on solving the case.
‘This time, it was different’
At first, when Milliken reached out to them, the Holders were skeptical, thinking it would be another conversation with investigators, and then another 10 years of waiting.
“But this time, it was different,” Nakia said. “It felt different, and it is different.”
The Green Cove Springs Police Department remains optimistic that the renewed effort could finally bring closure to Holder’s family and the community.
Until they find out what happened to their mother, the Holders are holding on to each other -- and to hope.
“We just want justice for our mom,” Zachary said.
How you can help
The Holder family and detectives are working closely with Crime Stoppers, hoping the tip line starts ringing with something that could bring an end to the story.
“Somebody knows something, and it’s time to come forward because you are hurting way more people than you are helping,” Milliken said. “It’s time.”
There are some easy ways to share any information you might have about the case.
You can call 1-866-845-TIPS (8477) or dial **TIPS (star star 8477) on your mobile phone.
Or you can download an app called P3 Tips, another safe, easy and free way to submit a tip. This is as easy as downloading the app, selecting your location, selecting what kind of crime you would like to report and then submitting.
If your tip is found to be helpful in solving a crime, you could be eligible for a $3,000 reward.