The Murder of Lisa Halstead | Bloodline Detectives with Nancy Grace | Forensic Files

[OMINOUS MUSIC] NANCY GRACE (VOICEOVER): Green Bay, Wisconsin, August 12, 1986--
construction workers come across what looks to be a body in a remote area of marshland.
My mom used to listen to the police scanner all the time. On the scanner, she heard that they had found a body.
NANCY GRACE (VOICEOVER): That same morning, a 22-year-old mother named Lisa Holstead reported missing.
She had a boyfriend. One night they were out. On the way home, they-- I guess they got into a fight.
They started fighting in the car. She got out of the car, she started walking, and that was it.
That was the last time anyone saw her. The leads started to not come in anymore.
So then that's when the investigation became cold. NANCY GRACE (VOICEOVER): Green Bay investigators
refused to give up. In 2019, new DNA science opens a new path to solve Lisa's murder.
Investigative genetic genealogy is taking unknown offender or victim DNA and resolving that DNA to a particular individual
through the use of genetic databases. NANCY GRACE: This is the story of a 34-year
search to find the killer of a beautiful young mom. I'm Nancy Grace. This is "Bloodline Detectives."
[THEME MUSIC] [OMINOUS MUSIC] NANCY GRACE (VOICEOVER): Green Bay, Wisconsin, 1986--
a peaceful city located on Lake Michigan. Well, Green Bay is the largest city in Northeast Wisconsin.
It's really the hub of the activity in this area, rated high as being one of the best places
to live in the United States. Green Bay has consistently always been at or below the national crime level statistics.
NANCY GRACE (VOICEOVER): The city is home to 22-year-old single mom Lisa Holstead.
Lisa was very down to Earth. And she loved going to the circus, going on little adventures, camping, the beaches
when we were in California. This also was a young mother of a four-year-old son.
Family described her as being very affectionate. They always said that, you know,
she always loved me and made sure I was taken care of. But I do remember she was very caring and loving.
NANCY GRACE (VOICEOVER): On the night of August 11, 1986, a horrible crime changes the lives of Lisa's loved ones
forever. WOMAN: She had a boyfriend, and one night they were out. Her son was staying with her family.
On the way home, got into a fight, so they started fighting in the car. The car was stopped and she decided
that she was-- she was done. She got out of the car, she started walking, and that was it.
That was the last time anyone saw her. Her live-in boyfriend John, who Lisa was living with
at the time, and John had actually called Lisa's mother and told her that Lisa had not come home.
Lisa's mother was concerned about Lisa and her whereabouts, so she did call the police.
Her parents were very upset that she did not come home and they filed a missing persons report.
They did send an officer to Lisa's residence and the officer spoke with John. And John provided the information
that he and Lisa had been out the night before, that they were on their way home,
they got into an argument. They approached a stoplight. And at that time Lisa got out of the car, slammed the door,
and then started walking off. This wasn't an unfamiliar behavior for John, and so John continued on towards his apartment about a mile away.
John entered the apartment, left the door unlocked, and fell asleep on the couch, anticipating that Lisa would
take the time to cool off, walk home, and then they would start their day tomorrow.
But when John woke up the next day, Lisa wasn't there. And he became worried and concerned,
and began calling around to include Lisa's mother, and sister, and various hospitals
and the police department to see if she had been picked up. But no one had seen Lisa.
So they spoke to John. It would be common to search the area or to look around the area as to where, you know,
she was last seen. Then, at the same time, my mom used to listen to the police scanner all the time.
On the scanner, she heard that they had found a body. The next morning, August 12, there were some construction
workers who were driving past a marshy kind of swampy area, and they saw what they thought was a hand sticking up.
So they pulled over and they took a look. They went to check it out and they saw a woman's body.
So initially, officers were dispatched to the scene. Once the officers arrived, construction workers
then led the officers to where the body was found. Once the officers arrived on scene,
they did confirm that there was, in fact, a body of a female. WOMAN: So within hours of her family
filing that missing person's report, they were called in to identify her because it was Lisa.
If I were them, I would be thinking, please don't let it be her. Please don't let it be her.
I can't imagine the pain and the grief that they felt when they realized that it was her.
I mean, that has to be anyone's worst nightmare-- a parent's worst nightmare come true.
Well, my mother, you could definitely see that she instantly aged 10, 15 years. She just looked so haggard and so wore out.
It did take a toll on her, big time. And after that day, she never listened to that police scanner
again. She never listened to it ever again. The case was reported in the media. And, you know, in 1986, these type of incidents
did not happen very often, so it was a bigger of a story. However, not being in Green Bay at that time,
I don't think it was the type of thing that young girls would be in fear. Historically, it's been a safe community.
So you have homicides. You have domestic violence cases and burglaries. But to the degree of a larger city, it's just not seen.
So it's a-- it's a fairly low crime rate compared to larger cities. Lisa Holstead's family struggles to come to terms
with her gruesome murder. Meanwhile, Green Bay Police begin searching for her killer.
That's next on "Bloodline Detectives." [OMINOUS CHORDS] [OMINOUS CHORDS] [SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]
NANCY GRACE (VOICEOVER): August 12, 1986-- the body of 22-year-old mom Lisa Holstead found on a marshland,
Green Bay, Wisconsin. She's reported missing that morning following an argument with her boyfriend the night before.
Investigator searched the crime scene for clues. DAVID GRAF: The park at Ken Eures Park,
it's a wildlife area that's located in the Northwest corner of Green Bay. It's very rural, and it's really adjacent to the bay of Green
Bay itself, which is a marshy area with lots of walking trails. Looked at all the cases in the past,
and I've never known another body to be found out there. Upon arrival, they did observe some tire tracks in the dirt,
because it was a dirt road where she was found off of. And the tire tracks looked like it was traveling from one
direction to another, but got real close to where Lisa's body was found. , And also in that area just adjacent
to where her body was found, they found a shoe print in the dirt also. So in that type of evidence, they collect it
by using a plaster of Paris and collecting the actual imprint of the shoe and imprint of the tire tracks.
Fortunately, with the Lisa Holstead case, we had a significant amount of DNA that was remaining
from the original crime scene. And then Lisa's body was located in a water-filled ditch
adjacent to the road where the construction workers were traveling on. And her body was just submerged with no top
on, just her jeans, no shoes. She had a belt on her pants. There was also a belt that they were looking for.
And I remember having to dig through my stuff and find these belts that were like, similar, and turning
them over to the police. NANCY GRACE (VOICEOVER): The medical examiner performs an autopsy to determine exactly how Lisa Holstead died.
Autopsies are important in that they do determine the cause and manner of death.
Was it by firearm? Was it by knife? Which that information then can be matched to the crime scene.
So an autopsy started as an external examination in which the forensic pathologist would document
all injuries seen externally and then there's always, an internal exam. During the autopsy, fingerprints were collected from her body.
And it was confirmed through fingerprints that we had on file that it was, in fact, Lisa Holstead.
Lisa had bruising on her thighs, knees, and lower legs, and neck on the left side of her body, which to
me was consistent of her being in a vehicle and possibly assaulting in a vehicle.
NANCY GRACE (VOICEOVER): A male biological sample, recovered from Lisa's tampon.
She also had a major injury of ligature marks around her neck, which eventually was determined
to be the cause of death. NANCY GRACE (VOICEOVER): Once Lisa Holstead's body is released, her devastated family must make arrangements
to say a final goodbye. We couldn't bury her right away, but we went to St. Peter and Paul church,
and that served as her-- her funeral and also her-- her burial spot until, you know,
the police released her. It was a beautiful church. And I know that the police were filming to see
who was coming to the funeral. DAVID GRAF: It was typical for police to attend on an investigative perspective,
to see who's there, but also to support the family. You know, this is a traumatic time in their lives,
but also can be a key part of the investigation to see who was there, how people are acting,
and develop a potential intelligence. The only thing I remember about that is they
wouldn't let me give her a kiss. I had to kiss the pillow instead. And I pretty much just acted like a five-year-old,
thinking there was nothing wrong. NANCY GRACE: When someone in a relationship is murdered,
it's SOP, standard operating procedure, for investigators to immediately look at the other person
in that relationship. And that's what happens in this case. Detectives immediately turn their focus
to Lisa's boyfriend, John. He is the last known person to see her on the night before her body is found.
DAVID GRAF: Lisa's family did provide information to the investigators that they did suspect that-- that John
could have been involved. I thought he did, yes. Maybe a little bit biased, because my family thought
the same thing too, for years. So maybe just growing up, just hearing that, you just begin to believe it.
He was the last person that we know of that she was with. They were seen at Taylor and Mason, getting into an argument
and her getting out of the car. That's what I went by. And also, that evening, I heard for the first time
that they had gotten in an argument the Friday before, and that he had bit her on her shoulder.
JEREMY HOLSTEAD: They talked to an ex-wife, and I believe another ex-girlfriend.
And they both did state that John could be violent at times. According to Lisa's mother, if Lisa didn't come home at night,
John would be calling her, wondering where she was at that night, late at night.
However, on the day that Lisa was found, John called Lisa's mother at about 8:30 AM inquiring where
Lisa was, as she had not come home, which to Lisa's mother at the time was suspicious.
A majority of the time, it's often individuals who are close to the victim who tend to be the number one subject
and who often commit the crime. DAVID GRAF: Several people had come forward about comments that John had made over the years.
One of the comments was that, you know, he potentially could kill her at some point in time, comments
after the homicide that she was a fighter and he made some bad decisions and stuff.
But it was always is very non-specific type of comments. SARAH DEAMRON: There was reports of domestic violence.
Officers had been called to their apartment on a number of occasions for fighting, for violence.
And so there was a history there. And so John was looked at closely because John
himself admitted to a fight that evening. They did ask John to perform a polygraph,
which was a practice back then. He agreed to more than one polygraph. And I know at least during the initial one,
he was found potential for deceit. It doesn't necessarily mean he failed it, but you couldn't conclude that he was telling the truth or not.
NANCY GRACE (VOICEOVER): Detectives cannot link boyfriend John to Lisa's murder.
The case goes cold. I think every agent has that one case, that one cold case that's been sitting,
and sitting, and sitting. And they never forget it. Well, after the first couple of years of investigation,
the leads started to not come in anymore. So then that's when the investigation became cold.
NANCY GRACE: Almost 10 years later, a new team of investigators reopens the unsolved murder
of young mom Lisa Holstead. Objective number one, to test old evidence using new DNA science.
SARAH DEAMRON: So the retesting really occurred back in the 2000s by the Wisconsin State Crime Lab.
When I go into a case, I'm looking for what DNA is remaining. Is there DNA present at the scene?
And fortunately, with Elisa Holstead case, we had a significant amount of DNA that was remaining
from the original crime scene. It was in about 1995, new investigators received some more
information concerning the case, and also took a second look at the evidence that was collected,
and then sent off to the Crime Lab for continued investigation. So March 31, 1998, the police department did
receive a report from the Crime Lab concerning several items of evidence that they examined, specifically the tampon
that was found in Lisa. And so they were able to find sperm on both ends of the tampon.
And upon doing a DNA test, they found it was from the same person, the same donor.
On February 16, 2004, the Wisconsin Crime Lab reexamined the tampon and sperm that was found.
They did STR analysis on the sperm, finding that the sperm was from the same donor.
However, testing on Lisa's DNA and John's DNA was also done, and John's was eliminated as being the donor of the sperm.
Once again, Green Bay detectives appear to be out of leads. But very soon, new forensic science emerges.
We find out next, on "Bloodline Detectives," whether that's science can ID Lisa Holstead's murderer.
[OMINOUS CHORDS] [OMINOUS CHORDS] [SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC] NANCY GRACE (VOICEOVER): August 12, 1986--
the body of 22-year-old mom Lisa Holstead found in a remote area, Green Bay, Wisconsin.
She goes missing the night before, after an argument with boyfriend John. John remains the main person of interest
in the case for decades. But then, 2004, DNA reveals John does not match DNA collected from Lisa's body.
The case goes cold for decades, until investigators decide to take a chance on an emerging forensic science.
As the years went by, they talked about new technology that was coming around and that it was very, very expensive.
Because I believe, somewhere along the line, I heard that the the police didn't have the funding for that
because it was so expensive. Later, I find out that some agencies came together and got that done.
NANCY GRACE: Investigators in Green Bay secured necessary funding to test both Lisa and her killer's DNA
with an emerging forensic technique. They turned to scientists at a private lab called Gene by Gene.
We went through the case in detail. We looked at the manner of death. We looked at the DNA that was available,
that was left at the crime scene on Lisa's body. From that, we decided that there was an avenue
for genealogy to move forward. There was a DNA profile that was developed but was not identified.
SARAH DEAMRON: So CODIS was created by the FBI. This is where we warehouse individuals
who have made felony offenses. There's a national CODIS database, which holds all felony offenders.
And there's also in-state CODIS databases that are housed within each individual state.
So this is where our offenders or individuals who have committed a crime, but their DNA has not
yet been identified, is kept. NANCY GRACE (VOICEOVER): The male DNA sample is entered into the CODIS national database,
but there are no DNA matches. But then really, it was actually the Golden State Killer, that case, that actually inspired me to learn more about
what investigative genealogy is and how DNA profiles can be identified using means, not through CODIS and other--
you know, other means. So that really piqued my interest. December 18, 2019, a portion of the DNA taken from the crime
scene was sent to a private lab called Gene by Gene, where they do not STR testing, but the type of testing that
is used to be able to upload to these public databases. Forensic genetic genealogy is the combination of DNA testing--
so we're using a DNA extract to develop a SNP profile. A SNP is a position in your DNA.
That is uploaded into a consumer genetic genealogy database, the ones used for forensic genetic genealogy.
There's only two. It's FamilyTreeDNA and GEDmatch. So familial DNA is forensic testing
done within crime laboratories at the state level. Familial runs off of the Y profile, which
is passed down through males. Familial testing is-- once a Y profile is created,
then that is run through the in-state CODIS database. So that's separate from genealogy.
Y profiles are made within a law enforcement crime lab and run in CODIS databases, whereas genealogy
is run within consumer databases and separate from familial testing. So you take the SNP profile and you
upload it into the database. And what the database does-- it looks at all of the profiles in there,
and it compares them all. And what it will do is-- the individuals that share DNA, it identifies them as a match.
And depending on how much DNA that you share between these individuals, it can assign
a predicted relationship. In this case, they had two sperm fractions-- so that's male DNA--
that were isolated from a tampon. We asked for the statistics on both of those samples.
So the first sample, it was a mixture. So it actually contained DNA from both the suspect and the victim.
We may be able to work with that, but it's going to be a little challenging. The second sample was majority male.
So if there was any victim contamination, if there was any victim DNA in there, it was very, very low level.
And we didn't think it was going to interfere with the SNP profile generation of the suspect.
NANCY GRACE (VOICEOVER): The genealogists began building a family tree from the male DNA sample.
It could go several generations or they could be very small. It depends on the matches that are generated
from the consumer databases. But through genealogy, one of the things we do is we reference test people.
So we pick people that we think are related to our subject, but we're not really sure.
So I went and spoke with a young lady who lived in Racine area because we believed that she was related to our suspect.
And upon having an interview with her, we were able to upload her profile on the GEDmatch
and found that she potentially was a first cousin once removed. CONNIE BORMANS: It was a good match.
But still, even with a second cousin, it's challenging. Because if you think about, you know, even your own family,
how many of your second cousins do you really know? It's a lot of work in order to build back
to find that common ancestor and then, you know, build back the tree into the present to identify the suspect.
So during the course of my interview with this young lady, I asked her did she have any relatives that she
knew that lived in Green Bay. And she said, oh, I have an Uncle Archie that used to live in Green Bay.
She told us that her uncle presently lives in Racine, but she knew that, at one point, that he lived in Green Bay.
And the SNP profile, because we had such good DNA-- quality was amazing-- there was absolutely no question that we
would be able to upload it into the database, and that the matches there were going to be real matches.
Sometimes when you have lower quality SNP profiles, you have problems with the matching.
But this one, there wasn't going to be any issue. DAVID GRAF: So she identified her uncle
as being Lou Archie Griffin. At last, investigators have the name of a suspect in the 1986 murder of a young mother, Lisa
Holstead-- 65-year-old Lou Archie Griffin. Now detectives must track Griffin down and confirm,
is he the man who murdered Lisa? Once receiving that information, I did a check into his background.
And I found that he had been in prison for the sexual assault of a 12-year-old in the early '80s, but I
also found that he had been released from prison in May of 1986. That led down a true discovery about Lou, and his personality
type, and who he was, and why in particular he was in Green Bay during that time.
And it turns out Lou had been on probation after committing a serious offense a few years prior that
led to him being in Green Bay. He was-- transferred his parole from Racine to Green Bay
in June of 1986, which is very shortly before Lisa's body was found. So I knew he was in the area, and he also had a past history
of this type of conduct. Detectives get in contact with Lisa Holstead's sister, Susan,
and they tell her about the new lead. They ask, have you ever heard of Lou Archie Griffin,
or if Griffin was known to Lisa. Yeah. They told me the name. They sent me the link or whatever it was.
I never heard of this guy and definitely didn't recognize him at all. SARAH DEAMRON: We started honing in on Lou.
Who is he? Where does he live? What is his daily life? What are his patterns? And this is significant.
Because we need to really learn who Lou is so that, when we do interview him, we have a good bead on the type of person
this is and how can we best approach him. DAVID GRAF: And so we're not just going to go and walk up to him and ask
him for a profile of his DNA. So surreptitious DNA collection is vitally important in these types of situations.
So essentially what that was, was I had a Department of Criminal Investigation agent
that I was working with, reached out to him. He reached out to the Racine County Sheriff's Department
and their drug task force. And then they started conducting surveillance on Lou at his residence.
SARAH DEAMRON: So every morning they went out and they monitored Lou at his residence.
They watched him come out each morning. They watched him go back in his residence.
And they were able to get a good pattern of life on Lou. The purpose of the surveillance
was to determine where he went, what he did, his movements and actions, so they could then
see if he would discard some type of item that they could collect and then use to get a sample of his DNA
without him knowing. SARAH DEAMRON: So it was incumbent upon detective Graf and, to an extension, the Racine Drug Task Force and Wisconsin
DCI, to then go out and collect a piece of evidence that Lou had discarded to verify that the DNA matches
the original crime scene. DAVID GRAF: On September 15, 2020, agents from Racine County drug task force
and an agent with the Department of Criminal Investigation did observe Lou outside of his apartment, near his car.
Lou was smoking cigarettes and drinking some beer. They observed him to throw away one of the cigarettes
and also put some beer in the dumpster. So then, after he left the area, they were able to collect that evidence
and I sent it to the crime lab. SARAH DEAMRON: From there, the Wisconsin Crime Lab
were able to pull a genetic profile from those evidence items, and it was a match for the original crime scene
evidence. NANCY GRACE: Now detectives have solid DNA evidence linking Lou Archie Griffin to the 1986 murder
of young mom Lisa Holstead. Next on "Bloodline Detectives," we find out-- can they confirm he's the killer?
[OMINOUS CHORDS] [OMINOUS CHORDS] [SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC] NANCY GRACE (VOICEOVER): Green Bay, Wisconsin, 2019,
investigators enlist the help of Gene by Gene, a company specializing in an investigative genetic genealogy.
They hope to link a prime suspect, Lou Archie Griffin, to the 1986 murder of Lisa Holstead.
Detectives secretly collect Griffin's DNA and confirm it matches DNA from the crime scene.
But now they must bring him in for questioning. DAVID GRAF: It was determined that myself and other detectives
from my agency, as well as the FBI and the DCI, were going to make contact with Lou
just outside of his residence. SARAH DEAMRON: So I was waiting with Detective Graf in the interview room at the Racine
County Sheriff's Office. Lou was located almost directly across the street from the Sheriff's Office.
And so the approach until the time he was delivered to the interview room was very minimal.
DAVID GRAF: As he left his residence, they had a conversation with him. They said, there was a couple of detectives from Green Bay who
would like to talk to him, and so he did agree to voluntarily come to the Racine County
Sheriff's Office to speak to myself and FBI agent Sarah Deamron. Another purpose was that I had obtained a search warrant
to obtain a sample of Mr. Griffin's DNA to compare to the STR profile developed from the crime scene,
and again confirm that it was him. NANCY GRACE (VOICEOVER): When investigators knock on Griffin's door, they're surprised by his demeanor.
That-- Lou not asking why he's wanted down at the Sheriff's Department or who wants to talk to him is odd.
That would be the first question that I would ask. Lou asked none of those prior to coming to the Sheriff's Office.
DAVID GRAF: Well, we started off the interview just trying to get him at ease. And so we slowly started talking to him more about where
he was living in the past, and then specifically brought up Green Bay. He stated that he did live in Green Bay,
provided some information as to who he was living with, where he was living with at the time.
Mentioned the name Lisa Holstead-- if he was aware of that homicide. Lou said that he was not aware of the homicide at all,
at least he did not remember. SARAH DEAMRON: I think Lou Archie Griffin believes
himself larger than life. Lou is the ultimate con man. Anything he does, he can spin--
was telling us tales about being best friends with all the Packer players, and being a favorite amongst them and their parties,
and having fish fries and having the Packer players over because he gave the best fish fries.
Lou discussed attending various colleges that-- that he was enrolled in throughout his time in Wisconsin
and elsewhere. And so he always portrayed himself as being the center of attention and-- and smarter
than others in the room. DAVID GRAF: We slowly asked him more questions about what he was
doing, where he was living, who he was hanging out with, and then more specifically, I got into any contact with Lisa.
NANCY GRACE: At first, Lou Archie Griffin denies even knowing who Lisa is. What he doesn't know yet is that his own DNA
links him to the crime scene. Next on "Bloodline Detectives," he's about to find out.
[OMINOUS CHORDS] [OMINOUS CHORDS] [SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC] NANCY GRACE (VOICEOVER): Racine, Wisconsin, 2020--
investigators questioning Lou Archie Griffin, suspect number one in the 1986 murder of a 22-year-old
mom Lisa Holstead. So far, Griffin denies ever even knowing who Lisa Holstead is.
But then detectives confront him with irrefutable evidence. SARAH DEAMRON: We have to bring up Lisa right in the interview.
And you have to have an understanding, was this a chance encounter? Was this a stranger meet?
How did he know Lisa? Because there was contact with Lisa. DAVID GRAF: At one point, he was showing a photograph of Lisa,
asked if he recognized her. He said, he did not. You know, we informed him that there
was some DNA that was found. And so it's-- it's that reiteration that, OK, you've never met her.
You never had any physical contact with her. At each point, he continuously said, nope,
I've never seen her before. I've never heard of her. And so that was at that point where
we felt comfortable with discussing the DNA that we found on her body. Because the only way for his DNA to be on her body
was for there to have been some sort of physical contact. DAVID GRAF: And we believe that person who is the owner of that.
DNA was also the person that killed her. He seemed to agree with those types of comments.
And so we slowly, kind of just gradually built up to the point where I told him the DNA that we found on the tampon
was, in fact, his DNA. His reaction was stunned silence, because then you see the wheels turning.
Because he's just given us a narrative of not knowing this woman, having zero contact with her,
and now we've told him that there's no possible way for his DNA to be located on her body
unless there was contact, unless he had met her at that time. At one point, I actually took the report,
and I showed him the report and pointed it out to the fact that it says, beyond a doubt, that was
his DNA that was found in Lisa. And again, he said, it could be my DNA but I didn't kill her.
I didn't have sex with her. He then moved into this narrative of suddenly remembering every moment of that day back in 1986.
But he actually did give us a timeline of events-- that he was on the West Side of Green Bay,
that he went to a bar located in Ashwaubenon, which is a suburb to the south of Green Bay.
And then he gave us the route that he took back to his apartment. Because his apartment that he lived at the time
was halfway in between where Lisa was last seen and where her body was located, so not a very long
distance at all. So he started off with going over to pick up illicit drugs from one of his dealers.
And then he traveled down a road and then turned right on Military. That took him up to McDonald's that was located across
from his apartment complex. And he was very adamant. If you just go get the camera footage,
you'll see me ordering two double cheeseburgers. But what we do know is the route he took would have
taken him towards Lisa Holsted. And if he would have driven straight along the route he
described, he would have run directly into where she had exited the vehicle. Well, at the end of our interview,
we determined that we were going to arrest Lou for the homicide of Lisa. Obviously, I had had previous contact with Jeremy
when my investigation first started to let him know what I was doing. And he was quite hopeful, but also realized
that it had been that long that we might not be able to get answers. So the day that we did arrest Lou,
we went and visited him at his work. Detective Graf called me. And he met me at my work and, you know,
let me know that they caught him and they just got done driving him up and booking him in jail here.
And he let me know who it was and showed me the mugshot. I was working in California at the time when I got the new,
and I was floored. I had to sit down. Yeah, and I was very happy. NANCY GRACE (VOICEOVER): October 30, 2020, Lou Archie Griffin
arrested, charged with first degree murder in the death of Lisa Holstead 34 years before.
The case goes to trial. I don't think anybody's ever excited about the prospect of going to trial.
I felt confident going to trial. Lou had placed himself near the crime scene, his DNA was located on her body, and he had denied knowing Lisa.
So we felt confident, given the circumstances, that Lou was indeed the individual
who had caused her death. The night before the trial was to start, we did have that hearing.
And that's when the judge ruled that that type of information could be brought in, that they could potentially try to blame
John-- who was deceased at the time-- for the murder of Lisa Holstead. And so, after consultation with the family, it was actually,
I believe, the defense that offered to have Lou plead to a lesser offense to resolve the situation.
I discussed that with the family, and it was eventually agreed that Lou would plead
guilty to second degree reckless homicide, which was the statute at the time, in 1986.
He was sentenced to the maximum that he could get at the time, in 1986, for the offense
that he pled guilty to which was second degree reckless homicide. So he got the maximum amount of 10 years.
They came with this plea bargain to bring it down to manslaughter. Nobody even took time out to ask my father what he thought,
you know? And my father was too ill at that time to come to Green Bay. But nobody called him and asked him what he wanted to do.
That's his daughter. He got 10 years. And because it happened in '86, he got time served.
And manslaughter was only 10 years at that time. Because our district attorney has no backbone.
[LAUGHS] I mean, they had a DNA evidence and everything else of a sexual assault, and--
you know, I-- I don't know why they lessened the charge. It really was about eight years,
because they would automatically reduce somebody's sentence as long as they had good behavior.
And he had already served approximately two years of that time in jail prior to the actual trial itself.
So he was given credit for that time served. So all in all, he could get out after four to six years.
It is a bitter disappointment indeed for Lisa's family when Griffin is handed such a lenient sentence.
Still, detectives involved feel there is some relief that Lisa's killer is finally known.
I was extremely honored to be a part of the case. I was honored that the Green Bay Police
Department trusted the FBI and trusted me throughout this process. It resulted in a conviction of an individual who committed
a brutal homicide and would have otherwise gotten away with it had we not collaborated, had we not had trust
in each other, and had we not worked hour after hour to find Lou Griffin. JEREMY HOLSTEAD: We have a name.
We have a face to the person who did it, but there's no justice. Hopefully, moving out of Green Bay.
Too much water under the bridge here. I had a dream about a day to two days or so after Lisa died--
desert setting, couldn't see off into the distance at all. No horizons or nothing.
We came across a little house on stilts. We walked up this wooden board like, and we went inside.
And it was just a square room, and from the ceiling to the floor were books, books, books, books.
And it was lit by an oil lantern. Off in the corner was like, a waist-high table, and my sister
was laying on it with her hands crossed on her chest. And she sat up, swaying her legs over the side,
got off the table, and she walked right past me, in front of me. And she walked across the room, and it was like, a white door
there with a doorknob on it. And she opened that up, and this pure white blinding light
came flooding out of that room. And she walked into that light. And I knew instantly that Lisa was with God, that she's safe.
And I woke up and I just knew. I knew my sister was safe. Needless to say, the wheels of justice
do not always turn perfectly. In the case of this beautiful young mom, Lisa Holstead,
justice finally convicts a killer. But the lenient sentence will always be difficult for Lisa's family and so many others to accept,
including me. I'm Nancy Grace. Thank you for joining us here on "Bloodline Detectives."
[OMINOUS CHORDS] [OMINOUS CHORDS] [THEME MUSIC]

1986, Green Bay, Wisconsin detectives are stumped when trying to solve the murder of a 22-year-old young mother. Decades later, will investigative genetic genealogy finally have the answer?

Now in its fifth season, Bloodline Detectives is the leading true crime series that explores how police departments harness genetic genealogy to solve crimes that were once considered "unsolvable," bringing long-awaited answers to victims' families.

Brief Summary

Lisa Holstead's 1986 murder case is solved through DNA, leading to Lou Archie Griffin's arrest and a controversial plea deal.

Key points

New DNA Science Revives the Case. In 2019, advancements in DNA technology offer hope in solving Lisa's murder.
Lisa Holstead's Last Night. A fight with her boyfriend leads to Lisa's disappearance.
The Discovery of a Body. Construction workers find a body in marshland, leading to a chilling investigation.
A Mother's Heartbreak. Lisa's family grapples with the grief of her murder and the investigation.
The Investigation Goes Cold. After initial leads, the investigation into Lisa's murder stalls for years.
DNA Evidence Links Suspect to Murder. Detectives confirm Lou Archie Griffin's DNA matches evidence from the 1986 murder of Lisa Holstead.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

That has to be anyone's worst nightmare.

Reflecting on the pain of losing a loved one to violence.

6:02WatchJun 15, 2025

Tension

85/ 100High tension

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