No Charges Against Teen in Death of Jeffery Holly

The intoxicated man had a long history of domestic abuse, and threatened multiple times that he was going to kill the teen.

(KEIZER, Ore.) - No criminal charges will be filed in connection with the April 15th stabbing death of 45-year old Jeffery Holly, which occurred on Brooks Avenue in Keizer, Oregon.

After a thorough review, the Marion County District Attorney's office has decided that the involved 16-year-old was justified in using deadly physical force against Holly.

Jeffery Holly

As part of the investigation, police interviewed friends and family members of both the deceased and the youth, as well as neighbors who lived near the home on Brooks.

They further uncovered prior police reports of prior contact at the residence, assessed the physical evidence at the scene of the incident, and engaged in an extensive interview with the involved youth.

The investigation revealed that Jeffrey Holly had been in a relationship with Marci Gindlesperger, the involved youth's mother, since 2014. Neighbors reported numerous calls to police because of domestic violence and fighting at the house between Holly and Gindlesperber.

Police records verify repeated contact with the deceased at the Brooks address due to reports of domestic violence, the most recent of which occurring in February 2016, and resulted in the responding officer issuing a temporary emergency protective order against Holly.

That order expired seven days later when Ms. Gindlesperger chose not to seek a restraining order from the Circuit Court. Gindlesperger, however, did tell Holly that he was not to be at the house on Brooks when she was not present.

Holly repeatedly made known his disdain for the involved youth. On multiple previous occasions, Holly told the involved youth as well as other people that he was going to kill the involved youth.

On April 15, 2016 at approximately 8:15 pm, an intoxicated Holly arrived at the Brooks address while the involved youth was home alone and Gindlesperger was at work.

The involved youth sent messages to both Gindlesperger, and his sister telling them that Holly was intoxicated and at the house, and asking to be picked up from the Brooks address.

Police dispatch records indicate that at about 8:40 PM, the involved youth's sister called 911 to report she was told Holly was at the Brooks address, that the involved youth was afraid of Holly, and that she believed there was a restraining order prohibiting Holly from having contact with the involved youth.

The involved youth told police he retreated into his bedroom, closed the door, and remained there while Holly repeatedly called him derogatory names and challenged him to come out of the room.

Holly eventually forced his way into the involved youth's bedroom and began to put his hands on the involved youth. Holly proceeded to push the involved youth and told him that he better get used to the fact that he and Gindlesperger were going to be together.

The involved youth, who was 5' 9" tall and weighed 116 pounds, was now blocked from leaving the small bedroom by Holly, who was 6'0" tall and weighed 200 pounds.

The involved youth armed himself with a knife for protection and asked Holly to let him leave the house and wait to be picked up. Holly advanced again and was in close proximity to another one of the involved youth's knives which he kept on his dresser.

The involved youth told police he believed that Holly was going to grab one of the knives. As Holly continued to advance on the involved youth, the involved youth stabbed Holly multiple times.

An autopsy conducted by the Oregon State Medical Examiner's office concluded that Holly was stabbed 7 times and he died as a result of those wounds

After Holly collapsed in the involved youth's bedroom, the involved youth ran to a neighbor's house asking for someone to come to the house and provide medical assistance to Holly.

Police Dispatch records confirm a 911 call from the neighbor at 8:37 PM. When officers arrived at the Brooks address, the involved youth told responding officers that he had stabbed Holly.

The involved youth was cooperative with police investigators and gave them a statement about what had occurred that night. The physical evidence at the scene was consistent with the involved youth's recitation of events.

Under Oregon Law, a person may use deadly force against another person if the person reasonably believes that a person is using or about to use unlawful deadly force against a person.