Karina Holmer /// Part 1 /// 937 | Forensic Files

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a chair, grab a beer. Let's talk some true crime. >> [music] [music] >> The murder of Karina Holmer, a
20-year-old Swedish au pair, is one of the most brutal and haunting unsolved crimes in Boston's history. This
homicide, as of this release, has been unsolved now for 30 years. Karina Holmer disappeared after a night
of dancing and drinking in downtown Boston. The following afternoon, on June 23rd, 1996,
her severed upper torso was discovered in a dumpster, sparking a massive investigation
that yielded thousands of leads, but zero charges. To submit a tip regarding the unsolved
1996 murder of Karina Holmer, you can contact the Boston Police Department Unsolved Homicide Unit
directly at 617-343-4470, or for the anonymous tip line, call the Crime Stoppers Hotline at
1-800-494-TIPS. That's TIPS, 8477, or text the word TIP to crime, and that number is 27463.
The case remains active, and investigators are continuously seeking any information that could lead to a
breakthrough. In this week's true crime story, a young woman comes to the United
States to pursue the American dream. She does everything right. She finds a safe position in child care.
She leads a relatively low-risk lifestyle. She follows the rules, is considered sensible and reliable, but
suddenly, after a night out with friends at some Boston clubs, she disappears. She's not missing for long, or at least
half of her is not. The other half, her lower half, has never been found and presents a mystery now three decades
old. This is True Crime Garage, and this is the case of Karina Holmer. >> [music]
[music] >> At 1:30 on a balmy Sunday afternoon, this is June 23rd, 1996, a homeless man was rifling through
a dumpster behind an apartment building in the Fenway area of Boston. The homeless guy was looking for cans and
bottles that he could return for some quick cash. But, in sorting through the dumpster's contents, he noted a large
forest green trash bag, which was placed over the opening of another large green
trash bag, and the contents were solid, firm, and very heavy. So, he opened the bag. A white woman's arm spilled out,
nail polish still on her fingers. The homeless man traumatized, reportedly ran screaming down the street for someone to
summon the police. Boston PD responded to the dumpster and immediately called in the detective
squad. Detective Thomas O'Leary, a classic Boston Irish name, inspected the two trash bags and their contents, which
weighed about 48 lbs. The female arm was part of an intact top half of a woman. She had been neatly
severed in two at the waist. Her bottom half was not in this dumpster. A terrible find on a Sunday afternoon.
This is going to lead to an autopsy, of course. The young woman's body had no markings, no bruises, no significant
scratches, cuts, or any signs of defensive wounds or even a struggle. No signs of a struggle on the body or at
least this portion of the body that was recovered from the dumpster. The only markings seemed to be here, Captain,
those that are relating to her cause of death. The pathologist examined the markings on the neck found on the neck
of the dead young woman. Those plus the other signs of strangulation, such as petechiae and edema of the lungs, called
for a ruling that she had died from ligature strangulation. So, please note here, not manual strangulation, ligature
strangulation. So, a rope or cord was most likely the implement used here to cause her death. After death, the victim
had been efficiently cut in half with a large tooth blade consistent with a power saw. And her body had been drained
of blood and washed. There was no sign of postmortem blood pooling because, well, there was no blood. The police
have not revealed what kind of saw was used, if they know, but according to the Boston Herald, quote, "Among the items
police were seen collecting from the dumpster and or, we should note, the one next to it, was a round metal disc that
appeared to be a blade for a circular saw, but investigators would not confirm that.
>> So, we have no defensive wounds, but we have marks of strangulation. And then we
have body dismemberment. >> Yes, and when we say drained of blood >> Mhm, that could have happened during the
dismemberment. >> Well, absolutely it would have. I mean, I I I I think that it would be highly
unlikely that someone went to the effort of draining the blood and then decided to cut the victim in half.
>> Right. >> I I want to note something here with the ligature strangulation and the lack of
any type of defensive wounds. We do need to keep in mind that there could have been marks on this woman on this victim
that simply weren't seen because unfortunately we've not recovered the entire body here.
>> Right. >> I think that it's probably not likely because we have recovered the upper half
and that's typically where you will see defensive wounds, where you would see additional ligature wounds, where you
would see bruising, signs of an attack or any type of trauma. A ligature strangulation, this could be as simple
as someone choking her, strangling her from behind with a cord or rope or wire or anything of that nature.
>> Yeah. >> I would like to know a little bit more about the marks and the markings on the
neck area because I think that could be a little more telling. The investigators
since have made mention of a power saw implying that a power tool was indeed used. The FBI's tool mark program was
consulted to try to determine the specific blade utilized here, but if investigators are certain about the
specific implement used, they have never stated so publicly. The young woman had
been killed very shortly before being disposed of, quote, she wasn't dead very long, end quote. This was an unknown
Boston Police Department officer, quote. And then another officer referred to the
situation saying, the body was fresh. Her body was subjected to analysis using super glue fuming and alternative light
sources in hopes of locating trace evidence. Investigative theories arising from the cause of death included
accidental death during bondage as part of a sexual activity or she could have just been strangled by someone who
wanted her dead. As for why she was bisected and disposed of separately, there were essentially three theories
right out the gate here from the general public. One was that her killer needed to cut her in half in order to
facilitate transportation and disposal. Two, it was possible he wanted to hide evidence of sexual
assault. >> Well, that's maybe why we don't find the bottom half. >> And three was that he was a sicko who
had some kind of paraphilia that involved dismemberment. >> Yeah, well, the dismemberment is telling
us one thing, my friend. We're dealing with a different kind of monster. >> On hearing the news that an unidentified
young woman had been found dead, several Swedish au pairs contacted the Boston Police Department saying that they had
not heard from their friend in about 36 hours time. And their friend, her name was Karina Holmer. Karina was identified
at the morgue by a traumatized friend who had been out with Karina that Friday night. By Sunday morning, half of Karina
was in a dumpster. >> Yeah. >> And her other half was nowhere to be found. Let's get into the victimology
here and learn a bit about our victim. Her name again is Karina Erika Holmer. She was born on September 7th, 1975 and
she was the second oldest of four daughters. >> Well, like you said, she's she's
Swedish, but she's coming to America. She's in Boston for work. >> Correct. And her father is a Swedish
metalworker, born in Sweden, and her mother was from Germany. So, she was Swedish and grew up in the village of
Skillingaryd, a dairy farming village of barely 100 residents. As a child, Karina
was sporty and outdoorsy. She was in the Swedish equivalent of the Girl Scouts. She was an avid horseback rider and
chairman of her pony club. And she participated in sports including running cross-country. The Boston Herald
newspaper reported that Karina was a tough girl who knew what she wanted to be. This according to
a neighbor of hers named Iris Hansen. The two grew up together. She said that she always pushed forward and wanted to
be what she wanted to be. You could tell that at an early time. So, it sounds like according to
the neighbor and what we know about her, as you said, traveling to America and finding work here in Boston,
that she wanted to get out of this little tiny village that she grew up in and move on to what she perceived to be
bigger and better things. The neighbor went on to say that she was not a reckless young woman.
>> Right. >> She said, "Today, you often yell at young people for not behaving, but these
girls, there have not been any problems." She's referring to Karina and her sisters. Karina graduated high
school in 1994 and her ambition was to own a restaurant. So, she attended a two-year business school studying
restaurant management. Then, she worked as a chef and waitress in restaurants to
gain experience. She decided that she wanted to try to relocate to the United States to expand her options as
encouraged by her sister. >> So, her coming to Boston to be a nanny is just the start of the opportunity. That's not
the final destination. >> I think it's a stepping stone, or at least she was hoping that it may be.
>> Right. >> And sometimes, look, we fall we fall in love with that stepping stone job. And her sister was a
nanny as well in the UK. She had it it seems like may have traveled to and from America on occasion, but her her sister,
it sounds like, encouraged her to consider this line of work, whether it be temporary or
a forever career. >> Well, sometimes it's good pay, but also the individuals that you're working for,
they become a part of your network, and they have a bigger network. >> Yeah, so in this situation, typically,
it's a room and board setup where you move to foreign land, and you are not just working for a husband and wife and
and their family, you know, helping them to raise the kids and take care of the house and things of that nature. But,
often times, you are living there or living at another property that they may own,
or they rent a space for you nearby. So, it's a situation where, yes, you are a nanny, and you have those typical tasks
that come with that, but it's also a a lot of caretaking as far as the house and the grounds go and then a lot of
on-call. You know, there's usually not a a hard and fast start and stop time to your day. And we'll get into her set up
here a little more specifically as we continue on. Now, what we do know is that she did in fact, of course, decide
that she wanted to attempt to relocate to the United States. And luck appears to have been on Carina's side when in
March of 1996, she bought a lottery ticket that ended up paying her 10,000 crowns. Uh so, this
is about $1,500 US. This money this money that she won was enough to get her tickets out of this area and
it So, here's another quote, Captain. She couldn't afford to go before she got this money. This according to long-time
friend Charlotte Sandberg of Sweden who spoke with the Boston Herald after the grizzly discovery of Carina's body.
She said after she won, this is a pretty much like a scratch-off ticket. She wins
this money, she was able to make arrangements through a local placement service to find a job in America. And of
course, >> [snorts] >> thousands of women This is not such an uncommon thing here. Hundreds if not
thousands of women come to the US every year pursuing the American dream and this is a can be an easy way to do so,
right? It's easy, it's accessible, and usually safe. It's a safe means of gaining entry into the United States
along with immediately having steady employment and you're typically working in upscale settings and neighborhoods
and households. >> Right, which again could lead to a a better network, especially in the states. But I just
don't know how comfortable I would feel living with a family. Don't know if I If
you have an annex or an outbuilding, you know, a separate location, I'd probably
feel a little more comfortable. >> I'm not really comfortable living with anybody, but
>> That's what I'm saying. >> I get what you're saying, especially like in a you know, you can't really
leave that work environment. >> But also a lot of these nannies are they're younger women.
And these husbands sometimes can be creeps. So, that would be not the best of times.
>> That's why you get you a Mrs. Doubtfire to hold down the fort. >> Yeah, if if [clears throat] you're the
wife, you hire a Mrs. Doubtfire. >> So, did you see the legs on that woman? >> Yeah, hairy.
Natural. >> The one thing that's really cool about her setup though is yes, this is going to be
living and working in an upper middle class area. She's going to have immediate consistent employment because
that that's what's terrible. I mean, can you imagine going all the way to another
country and looking for work one would be very difficult and then two finding something with this is very concrete.
While nothing's guaranteed, the family that you're going to is relying on you as much as you are
relying on them, right? If if they decide they don't like you tonight and kick your butt out the door, they don't
have child care tomorrow morning. >> Right. >> So, it's a very reliable job. With her setup, it's would be a
little less cumbersome, I think, as far as navigating your personal life and being able to leave the job at the end
of the day because the way that it sounds to me is that she So, the the family had other living quarters. This
was an apartment that was not extremely close, not extremely close nearby, but not terribly
far either. And so, it sounds to me like she lived with the family during the work week.
>> Right. >> And then on the weekend, she got to go off and be on her own at this other
apartment. Wasn't necessarily on call during the weekends. And unfortunately, one thing we should point out, too, here
regarding the situation, which I think is is very key here when trying to analyze this case and trying to come up
with theories and ideas as to maybe what had happened is she's not there very long. Between the time that she arrives
in America and the time that she's killed, it's not a very long timeline. >> Right.
>> So, that in itself does not provide us with a great understanding of what her
job would be and living situation would be long-term with this family. >> Well, also,
since she wasn't here that long, she doesn't have the ability to establish really a a social network. And
one that is this friend coming in her life for a long period or we don't have a long period. We just
have a short period. >> Yeah, and I don't know how these things work, but from my understanding, there's
different levels as with anything, right? There's different levels and tiers of these placement centers or
these job placement outfits. >> Right. >> From my understanding, that that this would not have been the highest tier
level that she used, which can come with added risk both to the young woman traveling to the United States for work
and for the family that's taking her in. And I think that that's something that is worth noting as well. We said she's
not here in the US for a very long time. Well, she arrives in the United States in March and she's assigned to a family
in Dover. So, this is a wealthy suburb of Boston of about 4,000 residents. The family is going to be Frank Rapp
and his wife Susan Nickter who were successful artist. Frank was a photographer and Susan a painter. Karina
was in charge of their two small kids. It sounds like there was a a boy and girl. The boy was the older of the two
and he was, I believe, in first grade here, Captain, at the time of Karina's arrival.
And these were typical kids. They loved to play sports and because she grew up playing sports and was described as a
sporty person, of course, she hit it off with the kids right away. >> Well, she's young. She has energy,
right? So, I know she's not here for a long period of time, but do we have statements from the family saying what
kind of nanny she was and what kind of relationship they had? >> We do. So, Susan, I have a quote from
her. Th- This case has been well covered in the Boston Globe, especially early on. Susan, the mother and wife, said to
the Globe that Karina was responsible and sensible, a lovely girl who was the sweetest, kindest person.
So, their arrangement provided that while she was pretty much on call 24/7 during the work week, on weekends, she
was free to do as she liked. >> Right. >> And luckily for her, the family owned the small apartment at
327 A Street in the Southie area of Boston. So, from my understanding here, Captain,
this was a apartment that Frank used as his studio. Karina was allowed to stay there on the weekends rent-free. And it
sounds to me like Frank did not use this apartment, did not use this studio during the weekend. The neighborhood was
mostly populated by young people in their 20s, so good for her. She's going to fit in right away and maybe be able
to establish a network of friends. These were a lot of young people in their 20s
who lived in group apartments or rental homes and who loved to frequent the local rowdy bars and cafes of Southie.
>> Okay, but is Carina is she a drinker? Is she a partier? Does she like to smoke a little pot? I
would think having to live with a family for 5 days in a row and and basically be
on call 24/7, you'd need to have a little bit of a release. >> You're going to need a release.
Interesting thing to me, too, with her her goals and her passions of of wanting to be a restaurateur,
I would be using the weekends to hop restaurants and bars to learn the local scene and learn from, you know,
cuz we're doing it very differently than what they're doing in Sweden. >> Well, not just in Boston,
>> but [clears throat] yeah. >> But not just in Boston, but it's it's a pretty quick commute to New York City.
Some of the best restaurants in the world. >> She's an outgoing girl. She's fun. And
she Look, part of the reason that she came here was in search of a more lively scene rather than that sleepy Swedish
village that she grew up in. >> Right. >> Now, of course, drinking age here is 21.
So, a 19-year-old Carina manages to get a fake ID so that she could get into the
bars and the clubs. >> Right. >> And some them we know the places that she frequented and the
ones that are noted are Club Zanzibar, which was sounds like it was very hip at the time,
and Mercury Bar, both very popular with with foreign individuals as well in town. So, her weekends were filled with
bar hopping with friends who considered her an angel. She was not known to go out alone.
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Talk hands in the air. Party to the people. [music] >> Party to the people, that's right.
>> Partied up people. Thanks for joining us here in the garage this week and every
week. And if you haven't already, hit the subscribe button or follow us. That helps the show quite a bit. We
appreciate you tuning in this week. So, let's get into this investigation here a
bit, captain. We have crime scene technicians fingerprinting the bags. Remember the
two trash bags that Karina's top half was found inside of. They did locate a partial fingerprint.
Unfortunately, it was not deemed of good quality. Now, you know I know that they need a
certain number of markers. So, my guess here without them going into the specifics of this partial print is that
it didn't hit enough markers for any type of real identification of who left that
print. >> Yeah, but it could help if you have a partial print, maybe it could if you
have a couple suspects, maybe it could make you lean one way or or the other. >> Yeah, that's interesting. It it if it
has enough markers, you might be able to use it to exclude somebody >> Right. >> rather than to specifically identify
someone. Usually too, they they require a set number of markers and and that number has increased over the decades
since we've been using fingerprint technology to solve crimes with good reason. The more markers you add, the
more specific it's going to get obviously, the more dialed in you're going to be. And so, without having more
information, it could be as simple as they only had enough markers that may include a million people or 10
million people. It it it may be of absolutely no help at all. But, like you said, there's a chance maybe you could
use it to exclude. The other problem though, too, is you you don't necessarily know where the print came
from. >> Right. >> You can use it as a breadcrumb tool. And if you think you find the right guy when
you hit all those markers, then yes, you use it in a court of law. But, it it it
doesn't seem like it can be a breadcrumb here. >> Yeah, so with the dismemberment and the
lack of blood, are we able to get any kind of toxicology report? Because with her going out on the weekends, it
makes you wonder if somebody maybe saw her out, targeted her, you know, use some kind of date rape
drug. >> There is no toxicology information in the public autopsy information that I
found. Doesn't mean that they didn't attempt it. >> Right. >> Of course, the lack of blood
will be extremely make it extremely difficult, but I one would think that you could
some of that is found within the organs themselves. So, you would think that you
could still perform that on some level. We should also note though that one thing that's troubling about date rape
drugs, not all of them, but some of them, is that they they leave the system >> Right.
>> rather quickly. >> Yeah, or they're disguised as something else. I think one of the interesting
things here though is you said that when the individual that found her in these bags, these are green bags. I think
that's kind of unique as far as a trash bag goes. >> Yeah, well, the crime scene analysts and
the crime lab, more importantly, will analyze these greenish black trash bags or forest green as
sometimes they're referred to hoping to identify the manufacturer. Sometimes they have success with this
and you're I mean, you're looking at microscopic fibers, you're looking at plastic lining, you're looking at you're
using special lighting. Uh there's a lot that really goes into this and you And again, sometimes they
have success. We've seen this in other cases where they've had success. However, these appear to be or at least
we've been told that their findings were that these were widely distributed bags
that were sold for a long time. That it was really of no just like the fingerprint or partial print
of of no help. It doesn't point them in any one direction. So >> being the detective? You
Uh we got we got a fingerprint. Yeah, but it's not a full print. These bags, are they
unique? No, not really. Toxicology report? No, uh not enough blood. >> Well, the thing here that you I think
you have a couple of things going for you if you're the investigator on this that you
that will give you some confidence, right? You The print you're excited about. Turns out to be
nothing. Bags, maybe we could get something here. Nothing. But Boston, like most major cities, unfortunately,
is no they're no stranger to homicides and homicide investigations. And so you're going to have seasoned
detectives in this realm of investigation. You're going to have seasoned crime techs.
You're going to have people that know how to work this evidence. You have big big department, big resources. So you
have those things going for you and I tend to believe and I think that the statistics will back this up that
murders in a while there are more of them in larger cities, I think that they tend to have a higher If you got a good
department, you have a higher clearance rate on those homicides. And while the dismemberment may appear to be
suggestive to the general public in one manner, it's often times suggestive in another manner, an entirely different
manner to investigators that have worked a case like this before. While it's rare, it's
not as rare as people think that it is. And the general public tends to associate dismemberment with something
with with a with a monster of the level of a Jeffrey Dahmer or >> Rex Heerman. >> Robert Pickton. Yeah, Rex Heerman.
Somebody of that nature where typically where we see the majority of dismemberment with a homicide, it's
usually somebody very close to the individual because it's done for the purpose of masking their identity.
>> Right. >> One and two, hopes that they're never recovered. And I don't know that that's
the case here, but I just want to point that out going into this as we as we kind of attempt to tear through this
this evidence. >> about the detective he's going to work and he has to ponder this idea of d-
Are we not finding the bottom half of the victim because of concealment or are we not
finding the bottom half of the victim for sexual fantasy reasons? This is a disturbing case.
>> Oh, yeah, absolutely. And I can get into my opinions on that if you want or we
could we could move forward with some of the investigation cuz back to the idea of that it could be
someone that that she knows as would be the case with any homicide, you're going
to retrace Karina's last movements, try to figure out where she was to figure out what happened to her and who she
could have been with and they would have quickly obtained a list of individuals that Karina was friends with
and then they're going to question them one by one. They learn that Karina had been picked up at Frank and Susan's
house in Dover on Friday afternoon, June 21st by a friend. That evening, Karina hosted her
friends at Frank and Susan's Southey apartment where she stayed on the weekends. Police noted that there had
been several complaints from neighbors in the apartment building about late-night noise
made by Karina and her friends. We're not stating on that particular evening, we're stating during her time staying
there. >> Right. >> It seems like Karina and her buddies were partiers. Although they weren't
rowdy or disruptive, they were just, you know, younger folks and they were loud.
And this Keep in mind, this is an apartment, these are close quarters where everyone's living.
>> We've all been there. >> Yes, which is really interesting for this case when you look at it because
the the people that live closest to her in these apartments said that we live close enough that we could even when she
wasn't being loud, you know, not being social, not having friends over, we could hear her come and go.
>> Right. >> And while we heard her and her friends there for a portion of that evening,
they all went out and they hit the bars and they hit the clubs. And so they know, according to the people that live
there that they left that night and nobody that lives there says that they ever heard her return. Now, that's not
100% confirmation that she never made it back there, but police have said we don't believe that she made it back
there. We don't see evidence that she made it back there. And then the people that live there who said, well, it
didn't matter the hour we heard her come and go, we didn't hear her return that night.
>> Well, like you said, close quarters, so you know, you might not be able to hear
her in the apartment, but when she's leaving the front door or leaving the front door to the actual apartment
building, most people can hear that. And and you kind of get a sense of that if you're living in an apartment building.
>> So on this particular night here, Captain, it was the summer solstice, which is a big deal holiday in Sweden.
And it sounds like a lot of folks that were working in similar positions here in this Dover and general Boston area,
as was Karina, that they a lot of them were Swedish, or at least a decent percentage of them were. So this is,
again, never been to Sweden, would love to go. Somebody please invite me. I'll see you next week. The this seems like
it's a big deal there and while they probably would head out to hang out on the weekend anyway,
the way that this has been reported is that this was a bit of a bigger deal for some of the folks
in their little group than it would have been for you just your typical weekend.
So, her and her friends, they all got ready, they all went out, they headed out to the bars in downtown Boston.
They all bar hopped as a group going to the Mercury Bar and then ending up at one of their favorite spots, a club
called Zanzibar. Now, Zanzibar is located on Boylston Place. Boston is, of course, one of the oldest cities in the
United States and cobblestone streets and alleys winding between buildings. This Boylston Place is essentially a
dead-end alley. It's known as the alley on which Club Zanzibar and a couple of the other establishments are situated or
were situated, I should say. I don't think any of them are still there to this day. In fact, I tried to look up
clan Club Zanzibar and it it seems like it is closed a long time ago. The alley was an offshoot of this street across
from uh iconic Boston Common. Two blocks away is the ritzy shopping Mecca, Newbury Street.
>> Right. >> The area is busy at night and it would be, I think, if it's busy, heavily
populated, lots of people will moving about, this is going to be very difficult for someone to pull off a
violent abduction there in the streets. >> Well, like you were saying, with Boston
being an old city, but it's also East Coast. So, the East Coast cities are more European than West Coast
cities. So, it's a easier transition, I think. And so, maybe that plays a part into the
feeling more comfortable than than one should and and this big city. >> Corinna and her friends met up with
about a dozen women at Zanzibar. This is around 11:00 p.m. Everyone was drinking
heavily as the report states. Karina was seen by multiple friends. She's bouncing back and forth between Zanzibar
and Mercury Bar nearby. And this is reported to be between 1:00 and 1:30. She was described as drunk, loud, and
making a scene, dancing and laughing. >> Yeah, but making a scene is is that making a scene and making an ass out of
herself or is it making a scene and she's just having a fun time? >> I think it's open to interpretation. And
I I don't know her or her friends well enough to to distinguish what they mean by making
a scene. >> And you'd hope that her friends or her new newly friends, right? That they'd be
forthcoming with okay, she was drinking. Well, what did she have to drink? How much did she have to drink? Was she
talking to the bartenders? Was she talking to the other men? Was she talking to other
women? Was she smoking any pot? Was she using any drugs? >> At closing time, so now let's get to
2:00 a.m. here, Captain. So, we're we're roughly at closing time. You ain't got to go home, but you can't
stay here. Karina was noted to be very intoxicated. This is what the people with her are saying.
Uh and also the at least one or two of the people working at this Zanzibar. So, we have bar assistant Scott Feiner,
who told who later told the boss Boston's WGBH that he saw Karina there at Zanzibar at
2:00 a.m. He describes her as passed out at a high top with her head in her arms, right?
So, she's right? She got the arms folded on the table, head down. >> Been there.
>> And he's I guess he's assuming or someone that he spoke with assumed that she was
passed out. The bartender working that night asked Scott, who was also working that night, if he would walk the drunk
young woman to a taxi. But so Scott tells WGBH that by the time he got back from running he had to run something to
the back of the bar after being asked to do this. He's run something to the back
of the bar. He goes back to retrieve her to walk her out and she's gone. I've heard and reviewed several
different versions of this story. They're all very very similar. The part that's not included in the notes that I
just went through here, Captain, is that the bar called the taxi to have it out front
>> Right. >> so that she could be walked out and put into a cab. And >> Which I don't like this cuz it's like
put her in the taxi and now it's not our problem. >> True, but this is not uncommon. It's
It's extreme One, it's extremely typical and two, look. >> There's a lot of things that are common
that we could change. >> We could We could We could change and maybe make this better, but at the same
time people are adults and they you go out into the world and you you can conduct yourself as an adult or
you could not. >> Well, I don't like her friends. Where are they at? Why are they leaving her
behind? >> That's I Again, difficult to to to say if they left her behind or if she was
busy running about back and forth between these two places on her own. I mean, you can We've all been there,
right, man? Where you're like, "Hey, dude. Hey, bro, you probably shouldn't do that. Hey, why don't you stay with
us?" And you And there's there's no convincing. >> Right. >> Um so, it's >> There's nothing worse than trying to
reason with a drunk person. >> Again though, this is also we're not talking about like lifelong friends.
She's not been there very long at all. >> Right. >> She's not been She's not been in the United States.
>> Well, again, and also if her friends are Swedish, which it sounds like most of
them were, again, not understanding the the dangers of a big city. >> Yeah, I mean,
look, we've all been there. You and I have not experienced the foreign part of it, but we've all been there. She's
young. She's She's young. She gets She arrives in March. She's killed in June. I mean, that that makes
that does complicate matters a lot, I think, in this case. >> No, and I think the thing, too, is
doesn't matter if she partied on a regular basis or not. That But it has to be a warning when
whether you're male or female, when you get this intoxicated where other people are taking note of your intoxication
level, you become a target for dangerous people. >> Absolutely. So, you mentioned friends.
Let's talk about So, one of her friends is a 21-year-old who the this is the friend that had to go to
the morgue and identify Karina. Now, she's not named She's not been named publicly. But what she has said,
what this friend has stated, is that she had seen Karina leave with a {quote} older man.
Karina's 19, so older man, I mean, that's a that's a bit of a broad. >> be 25. >> Exactly. Stated that they were {quote}
going to an after-hours party. She then says, "The next time I saw her was to identify her body." Now, of course, this
is a statement, so it's not all that clear that Karina did in fact go to a party.
Uh this older man thing is a interesting lead. The party's an interesting lead here for the investigators. A witness
interviewed by police told them that they saw Karina, presumably, dancing and So So, I presume that they
showed this individual a photo of Karina because this person does not know Karina, but says to police, comes
forward and says, "Look, that night I saw a woman who I believe was Karina dancing and singing with a homeless man
in the alley." And this would have been as late as 3:20 a.m. And this person says that the girl was drunk, very drunk
was their words, and kissed the homeless guy on the cheek a few times. So, when we said making a scene or causing a
scene, I I'm wondering if if some of this happened is statements with her friends, by her
friends that were out with her that night, and then later potential, that's the key word here, potential witnesses,
and they're they're all kind of lumping these statements and actions and activities
together. >> And yes, she was And yes, this eyewitness was shown a picture of Karina, but she's not friends with her,
so is she identifying Karina or she identifying somebody else? >> Absolutely. That's That's the question
that will remain. Police sources also place Karina alone on Boston Common between Boylston and Park Street T
stops. She was walking in the direction of Frank Rapes' apartment, where she stayed
on the weekends, but police, again, were fairly certain that Karina did not return home. The neighbors who always
heard her come and go heard nothing and the clothing she was wearing on Friday night
was not found in the apartment. The Boston Police Department investigators tracked down additional witnesses.
Again, I would say potential is the keyword here who said that they saw Karina between 3:30 and 4:00 a.m. in
front of a store 24 located at the corner of Massachusetts Avenue and Haveland Street. Haveland Street, I
apologize. I I didn't know >> No. >> look that one up and see >> that's wrong. >> This is store 20 Thanks for having my
back there. Uh store 24 is So, this is it's now this location is now 7-Eleven. So,
if you're familiar with 7-Eleven >> I was going to say it's probably a very similar to a 7-Eleven.
>> Yeah, if you're familiar with 7-Eleven, you're you're now familiar with store
24. >> But, do we have surveillance on this store 24? Is she seen with anybody else
or is she just seen by herself? >> No, again, these are those potential witnesses, people that are that are
trying to help and again they could be right. >> Right. >> want to I don't want to dampen the idea
that they might be right, but I let's point out too, she's 19, it's Boston on a Friday night.
>> Yeah, I would >> How many How many Caucasian early 20-something women do you think you're
going to see on a Friday night in Boston? >> Yeah, I would again, I'd have more faith
in these eyewitnesses if they were like, "Hey, we're passing this store, we saw this lady and when she was talking, we
could hear a Swedish accent." That would make me believe uh >> Yes. >> that they're seeing Karina and not just
some other, like you said, Caucasian young female. >> You know, and a lot of people will tell
you that a tip is only as good as the witness. I will tell you that a tip is only as good as the individual taking
the information. >> That's true, too. >> So, look, and the reason why I say that
is a younger cop, maybe not as experienced, would go, oh, ooh, we got we got some information coming in here.
I want to make sure I get this down. Tell me this, tell me this. So, what did you see? What did you see? But, then
I'll jot everything down. My first first question would be, what was the individual wearing?
>> Yeah. >> What was the individual wearing? Because, again, hey, I saw 19-year-old
white girl, general description and appearance is the same as Karina Homer. Well,
what was she wearing? Cuz, that could distinguish her from hundreds of other folks that were out that night. It could
clue me in that you may be talking about the person that person that we are investigating, that we are looking
uh at here in this case. So, this general area, we should know, is about 1.3 miles
from the alley. >> Yeah, and look, I I also understand that we're saying some things that are kind of
no-duh. But, in a big city, a nice area can turn to a bad area within one block, and then go back the
next block to a a nice area. So, what you're saying is where this these eyewitnesses claim to see her at the
store 24, that that's only that's within a mile and a half from where her body is discovered.
>> No, this is 1.3 miles from the other potential sightings of her that night. And if you were to follow
the timeline, this is the the latest potential marker here. So, let's say that was her. After that, it it appears
that it's really anyone's guess as to her movements that night or who she may have encountered because what we do know
is unfortunately she's found in the Fenway, a block from this store 24 in that dumpster. So, this is the
1091 Boylston Street apartment building dumpster, which is off of Ipswich Street.
And the area abutted Massachusetts Pike or Mass Pike I-90. >> Yeah, it's interesting cuz most of these
markers have European names. With her being seen so close to where she's discovered, to me it feels
like this crime took place within that area. Because cuz what what's the time difference? What what's the gap in time
between where she's possibly last seen and when she's found. It's she's found the next
day, right? >> Yes, it's 36 hours. So, she goes out that Friday night. She's partying until
the early morning hours of Saturday. >> So, from the 24 store from that sighting, if it's her, her
body is found a a block away in that dumpster. >> Mhm. >> But we're seeing her or the eyewitnesses are
seeing her. She goes partying Friday night, but now this is Saturday morning, but she's found on that Sunday. So, we
got what? 30-some hours. >> [sighs] >> Does that tell you anything or do you speculate?
Is that Is the crime happening immediately or did this person take her somewhere?
>> Well, yeah. I mean, we we would know we can infer a few things here from from
what little we already know. She wasn't killed in the dumpster. We know that. And she wasn't killed on the streets of
Boston. So, she went somewhere. There was also some means of transporting her alive and then
unfortunately not. You could be looking at what? Five crime scenes potentially. You have the encounter.
You have the the travel together whether it's willing or unwilling. You have the
place the location where she was murdered. I would assume that she was dismembered in the same area that in the
same space that she was killed. That's typically the the situation. >> Makes the most sense.
>> And and it's also a a heavily populated area. So, that would make even more sense. And then
transported once again and then the dumpster. So, likely five crime scenes. >> Yeah.
And possibly more depending on what happened with the other half of the body. I mean, I know
this is a crude talk, but this is a true crime show. So, here we go. But I'm putting out a call to action if I'm
detectives and saying did anybody hear somebody in their apartment building using some kind of saw cuz that's not a
quiet instrument. >> Right. And and this So, this unfortunately reminds me very much of a case that we covered 2 years
ago here in the garage. Rashawn Brazil was killed in Brooklyn, New York and somebody had used a power saw to
dismember his body. Remember, he was they recovered him in trash bags in the subway down the subway tunnels.
>> Well Yeah. >> Horrific case. Horrible case. Turns out the offender was a serial killer. The is accused of
having killed others and unfortunately there's not been a conviction in Rashawn Brazell's case. And we had the
we had the wonderful opportunity to speak with his mother. We we had the privilege of speaking with his mother,
Desire, who is very upset with where her son's case sits today and should be that
what they decided to do was because the individual was locked up for another murder, they were not going to take to
trial her son, Rashawn's case. So it's an it's it's an outrage. I don't sound so outraged here now in the moment, but
believe you me when we covered this in March of 2024, you and I were very angry at the system
at that time and didn't feel that they were doing enough for this victim or Rashawn's family in that plus the guy
that killed him needs to be locked away, throw away the key forever and ever, amen. Right? This guy if if he's
breathing, he's a danger to society. So we, while I'm not going to stand on a hill and claim that you and I are the
the brightest bulbs in the garage I will say that, you know, couple times a week we get things right in the one
very simple thing we got right with the Brooklyn case with Rashawn's case is exactly what you just said here, my
friend. Did you hear a power saw? That's your That's your question. When you you're
you're doing a knock-and-talk, right? The old knock-and-talk. Knock open up the door, talk to me. Did
you hear a power saw? Do you know anybody that owns a power saw? Do you own a power saw? My whole first three,
four, five questions are going to rotate around a power saw. And then we'll take
it from there. Now, while they're not incredibly uncommon, you are exactly right. They are loud. We
just talked about Karina's living situation on the weekend. Those people heard her come and go when she was
alone. If somebody plugs that baby in or or powers up the battery and flicks that switch, we've
all heard one kick on. They're loud. >> And also the the different saws would have different
sounds. Not saying that the eyewitness would know that, but I think that could give us
some kind of frame of reference of what kind of instrument we're looking at. >> Yeah, I I think
>> [snorts] >> and I'm just going off of what seems logical. I have nothing else to base
this off of here, Captain. My guess would be that she was killed shortly after after arriving
at the place at the location where she was killed and that she I would guess that the the individual or
individuals that that placed the trash bags in that dumpster did it under the cover of night. So,
killed at 3:00, 4:00, 5:00 in the morning Saturday-ish and then probably that Saturday night
after the sun goes down and before it comes back up Sunday morning is when that incredibly evil
soulless person placed those trash bags in that dumpster. >> Well, like I said, this is a different
kind of monster, but a circular saw, a jigsaw, a reciprocal saw. >> Saws. >> Don't forget about it.
>> These are not typical tools that you're going to find in that typical city apartment.
>> no in apartment. >> not the suburbs where people have a two-car garage, maybe a three-car
garage, maybe even a a little shed in the backyard where they can collect tools.
So again, you have individuals that if you can get any lead and you do a search,
well you're probably searching a one, two bedroom apartment at best with little to no storage, you're going to
probably find these items quickly, but we I think you were saying that they believe that they might have recovered
the saw blade, so then it makes you wonder if the person not only disposed of the victim, but
disposed of any [clears throat] tool that was used in the dismemberment. >> Yeah, absolutely. And I am of the belief
that the dismemberment was simply for I mean, I hate to say this, that it was for practical reasons rather than
sadistic reasons or or for for some other type of sickness or evil. I think that it was
was more so to to transport, dispose, and conceal the body of this individual's victim.
>> Yeah, but you know what this tells me, and my gut feeling is this this took place in a building where there's other
individuals because if it again, if this happened in the suburb or this happened
in the country, you don't have to dismember the body to dispose of the body. But if you have to get the body
out of a apartment and you possibly could be seen by one of your neighbors, then you have to make the the pieces
smaller so you can transport >> Absolutely. >> the pieces. You see what I'm saying? So
that tells us something. >> Right. And what I what I mean by the the say a certain kind of monster, but if if if
the if the bad guy here was dismembering the victim because they enjoyed doing that,
she wouldn't have been bisected. She would have been cut into The victim would have been cut into more
pieces. There would have been a lot more done to this body. There was nothing other than the strangulation and the
bisection done to the body or at least the evidence that we have in front of us to review. And so again, that points to
it being a very practical reason for doing this. We do know that based on the reports, that trash bag, the double
trash bag that was found with her upper half weighed 48 lb. So >> Yeah. >> It's also conceivable that somebody
could have just simply walked down the street carrying the trash bag in their and with their arms and legs
and did not need a vehicle to transport this package and deliver it to the dumpster. What I will say about the
dumpster itself is we gave a brief description of it. It sounds to me like this dumpster's
somewhat concealed. Somewhat tucked away. And I think that that is what the killer
wanted and I think that the bisection was not just practical for the means of transportation
and transporting and disposing of the body, but also with the attempt that it would be concealed. If this dumpster was
picked up, they may have never found Karina. If they don't find Karina, there is no homicide investigation.
>> [music] >> Want to thank everybody for joining us here in the garage. [music] Thanks for
telling your mother. Thanks for telling your brother. So much more to get into in this brutal
true crime story. Until the next episode. >> Be good. Be kind and don't litter. >> [music]
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Karina Holmer /// Part 1 /// 937

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The murder of Karina Holmer is one of the most brutal and haunting unsolved cases in Boston’s history. Karina was only 20 years old when she was killed. Her severed upper torso was discovered in a dumpster on the afternoon of June 23rd, 1996. This case has remained unsolved now for 30 years. The case remains active and investigators are continuously seeking any information that could lead to a breakthrough. To submit a tip, you can contact the Boston Police Department Unsolved Homicide Unit at (617) 343-4470 OR to remain anonymous contact CrimeStoppers at 1-800-494-TIPS

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