Women Behind Bars in HD - Season 3, Episode 2 - Holly and Renay - Full Episode | Forensic Files

NARRATOR: On this episode of "Women Behind Bars," one woman was found guilty in the slayings of two convenience store clerks
in Georgia and New York. Harley was standing in front of the counter. And I pulled a gun on Lee and told her put the money--
throw all the money in the bag. A three-year-old could figure out that somebody's going to die, but I
didn't know how to stop it. NARRATOR: Then, Renay Lynch tells her story. She was convicted in the death of her elderly landlady.
She began to give us facts that no one would have known other than the perpetrator.
I told them someone was smoking crack cocaine. NARRATOR: Two women, two brutal crimes--
these are the stories of Holly Coomber and Renay Lynch. In the early morning hours of October 19
1986, a 48-year-old clerk, Emily Sue Moore, was held at gunpoint during a convenience store robbery.
She had been made to go back into the cooler area and lay down on the floor. She was shot twice in the back.
NARRATOR: Just three weeks later, a similar murder robbery took place 1,000 miles north
in Seneca Falls, New York. I pushed the door open and found Mrs. Greary slumped between the toilet and the bathroom wall
with her head cocked down. NARRATOR: A tip led the investigation to 47-year-old William Allen and his foster daughter,
17-year-old Holly Coomber. Holly, a troubled youth, came into Alan's custody when she was just 15 years old.
Within months the relationship turned intimate. They'd become lovers. Then it turned into a liaison.
Allen was totally in control of Holly. This was a hostage situation. But I didn't know how to stop it.
He told me to stay in the front and cut the phone wire. And that's what I did. Till they begged me to help her.
It just didn't fly to try and put herself off as this poor, poor woman. There's some responsibility that has
to be taken for her involvement in two vicious, premeditated murders. NARRATOR: Was Holly Coomber powerless
to stop her abusive foster father, or was she a willing accomplice in a multi-state crime spree?
Holly [INAUDIBLE] was adopted by the Coomber family at 18 months old. She lived in the small town of Newark in upstate New York
and grew up to be a self-proclaimed tomboy. I wanted to be a cop or a fireman. I like to swim and read.
I did really well in school until things started going wrong at home. And then I didn't really care.
NARRATOR: When Holly was eight years old, her mother was surprised to learn she was pregnant.
After the birth of her sister Melissa, life changed for Holly. There was a lot of, I wish we'd never adopted you, I hate you.
You're not ours anyway. She was no longer a part of the-- the true family. She didn't get the nurturing side of the mother
and her father pretty much sat back and let whatever happened was going to happen.
NARRATOR: Holly claims her mother's attacks turned physical. My mother beat me up.
When I would go to the hospital for things, I would make up stories about falling
off the edge of the driveway. NARRATOR: By the age of 11, Holly claims her brother
sexually abused her. The young teen acted out by starting fights at school and lighting her house on fire.
Holly was trying to find ways to get enough attention to get out of these abusive situations I was scared and I was confused
and I was-- I wanted somebody to love me. NARRATOR: Holly's behavior landed her in a home
for troubled youth. She ran away on several occasions and was eventually brought in by authorities after kicking
in the window of a police car. When I went to court, my mother came in and said that she didn't want anything to do with me.
NARRATOR: In the summer of 1984, the 15-year-old was ordered into foster care. After two short placements, she was
sent to live with William and Francis Allen in Lyons, New York. We were foster parents and I believe
it was around October 19th, she came to our-- she came to our home. HOLLY: My social worker told me that if I
did make it in this one that I would go to JD until I was 21. So I was like, whatever happens, I had to make it.
The only thing she really wanted was somebody to love her. She never wanted to be a girl.
She's always wanted to be a boy. NARRATOR: But there was more to the relationship
than anyone could see. Within a month of living at the Allen home, Holly needed medical treatment for a prior knee injury.
It was there she claims William Allen assaulted her for the first time. My foster father and I were sitting
in like a little waiting room or something I guess. And he said, what would you think if I told you I wanted to
[BLEEP] After they got back home, William Allen started having sexual relations with her.
He would take her into the woods and-- and the excuse was that he was taking her hunting.
He would act out rapes. He would do all kinds of sick things. I don't think that I was capable of making a conclusion
about what was happening. NARRATOR: William Allen does admit to having an inappropriate sexual relationship
with his foster daughter but asserts it did not happen until later. I did abuse her sexually.
I'm the first one to admit that. But it wasn't-- it wasn't in New York. We did not have sex until we got to Missouri.
NARRATOR: In January of 1995, Holly celebrated her 16th birthday. That April, the Coombers signed over legal custody of Holly
to William Allen. His wife did not approve. She said it's either Holly or me and I took a commitment to take care of Holly.
And that's exactly what I'm going to do. And so she left. And then Holly, of course, went to court
and had herself emancipated. That's not really something that can happen in New York,
but he managed to-- he managed to get her off of family court supervision somehow.
NARRATOR: Allen took Holly to Missouri where he took a job working for the gas company.
Our relationship turned from father and daughter to lovers. NARRATOR: But Holly maintained she had no interest in men.
She then entered what her foster father called his own form of rehab. I started being with girls when I was like nine.
So-- but he beat me up because I had homosexual tendencies. His thing was that he was going to teach me how to be a woman.
NARRATOR: One of the things I tried to get out of Holly was her lesbianism and how best to do that would
be to have sex with her. To me, that was like therapy for Holly. I should never done that.
Even though-- even though she's emancipated, she has a right of consent at 16 years old.
So I was not breaking the law in any way. But nobody else would see it that way.
I was scared of him. I loved Him. But for me, all my life, fear and love were the same.
NARRATOR: Within six months of moving to Missouri, Holly became pregnant. I waited before I would tell him
that I was pregnant because I couldn't do the abortion. He tried a number of different things
to make me lose the baby. He stuck things inside me. He beat me up. I never laid a hand on Holly Coomber.
NARRATOR: On June 16th 1986, the 17-year-old gave birth to a baby girl she named Crystal Lynn.
I swore I'd never give up a child of my own. He was pushing me to give up my daughter
and I didn't know what to do. There was nobody there to help me. They made me say that I relinquish
custody of my daughter. NARRATOR: A few months after Holly gave up her baby, William announced
they were leaving Missouri. She claims she had no idea the deadly plans he had for the road trip.
When women behind bars continues-- The body was curled around the toilet bowl, tremendous amount
of blood in there. Till they begged me to help her. I wanted to. NARRATOR: By the summer of 1986, 17-year-old Holly Coomber
had endured years of sexual abuse by the hands of her foster dad William Allen. As a result, she had a daughter whom she reluctantly
gave up for adoption. That October, she and William left Missouri and headed east.
Allen had lots of guns, and as far as having money to support them on the road, he would sell the guns.
NARRATOR: During their road trip, Holly noticed a change in William and says the sexual assaults became more violent.
He was reading pornographic books like "Uncle Does Niece." He would try to live those things out with me.
NARRATOR: After weeks on the road, money started to dry up. Allan came up with a plan to score some quick cash.
His theory was that he was rob the convenience store. Well, when it actually happened, it didn't happen that way.
I walked in. I went in first and went down the candy aisle, I believe. Holly was standing in front of the counter.
and I pulled a gun on Lee. I told her, put all the money in the bag. He told me to cut the phone wire.
When I did, he took her to the back. As I went to take her back and-- back and put her in the cooler, she was laying on the floor
and I turn around and start to walk away. And I remember, don't leave anything behind that
can point your finger. So I went back and I shot her. I never saw it happen, but I heard two gunshots.
I was scared if I did anything that he would kill me too. NARRATOR: Soon after, a customer from the convenience store
called police when he could not find the clerk. When I got to the store, Ms. Moore was still
in the back in the cooler. NARRATOR: The victim was 48-year-old Emily Sue Moor, a beloved wife and mother of three girls.
Police came to the house. I thought maybe she'd just been injured. The next three words changed my life forever.
No, she's dead. I worried about her working at that store at those late hours. You always think that bad things will happen to other people.
NARRATOR: William and Holly arrived in New York where they stayed with William's sister-in-law
Judith Sedore and her family. Allan had told Holly when they-- on arrival, you don't tell anybody what happened in Georgia
or I'll kill them all. I was going to stop at the police station. Then, I was like, even if I do make them believe me,
they're going to go out there like-- like SWAT team people on TV and he's going to start killing
these people one at a time. Trey had good cause to be afraid of me because at that time, a human life meant nothing to me.
I would-- had no problem killing her whatsoever. Allen's control over her by this point was complete.
HOLLY: At some point in time, I told Judy Sedore what happened in Georgia. She tells me to get him out of her house.
So eventually, we left. Go at night-- late at night. I pulled up, put gas in the car.
I walked in the door, pulled a gun on the young woman, told Holly to pull the wires out of that phone,
and told Holly, get the money out of the cash register. A three year old could have figured out
that somebody's going to die, but I didn't know how to stop it. Told her to be quiet, maybe he won't hurt her.
Till they begged me to help her. I wanted to. I took Ms. Guerriri in the-- in the bathroom
and she screamed and she said she had a child. Told her, get on your knees and get in the corner
and she refused. I was, OK, have it your way, and I shot her. Holly was outside the bathroom.
She says, you killed her. And I said, yep. NARRATOR: 27-year-old Donna Guerriri was shot twice in the chest and left for dead on the floor
of the employee restroom. Donna just was a mother of all mothers. She wanted to get some money for Christmas.
That was her last night to work because she had enough money saved. NARRATOR: At 4:18 AM, a nearby patrolman
was summoned by a customer to help locate the clerk at the Quick Fill. Saw nobody behind the counter.
I then walked over to the rest area, pushed the door open. And I found the clerk and marks on the wall
where apparently she had been standing when she was shot, slid down to the floor.
Patti was kind of curled around the toilet bowl, tremendous amount of blood in there.
NARRATOR: Officers from the Seneca County Sheriff's Department went to the Guerriri home
to notify her family. I went to her house every morning before I went to work to have coffee
and I was met by the sheriffs. And then they told me that there was a possible robbery homicide.
NARRATOR: Investigators quickly caught a break in the case when they received a tip about recent house
guests of Judith Sedore. Officers paid her a visit. She told us that when they left the house at night,
that the female had said, watch the news on the morning to see what we've done. NARRATOR: Meanwhile, William and Holly drove south
and ended up back in Georgia. HOLLY: I called my mom on the phone and asked her to wire money.
And I gave her the zip code and the telephone number so she would know where I was.
I knew my mom would call the police. I just knew something was wrong. I could put my finger on it.
It was like I was been watching. There was a light sho-- that came flying around the corner.
These cops came out of everywhere. He was reaching for the gun under that seat. If Holly hadn't been in there, I'd have shot it out with them.
I didn't want Holly to get hit. The shell we had from nobody matched the .38 llama.
The bullets matched from both scenes. There was no question that they'd done it.
We sought the death penalty against Mr. Allen and Ms. Coomber. Ms. Coomber was 17 at the time of the crime.
Once you're 17 years of age, you're prosecuted as an adult. And I'm like, I've tried all these years
to stay alive from one thing to another. And now y'all going to kill me? NARRATOR: Coming up on "Women Behind Bars"--
As bad as Holly Coomber's experience was, it still doesn't take away the personal responsibility
for two murder victims. I don't want them to hate me. I'm sorry. NARRATOR: And later--
My cousin was crying at the other end of the phone and she could hardly talk. And she said, your mother was murdered.
NARRATOR: On November 8th, 1986, 17-year-old Holly Coomber and her 47-year-old foster father, William Allen,
were arrested for the murder robberies in Georgia and New York. Investigators from both states question Holly.
Initially, she said that she was asleep and didn't participate. HOLLY: In total, I told three different versions.
These conversations went back and forth for several months. Allen convinced Holly that she had to take the blame for this.
They would never asked for the death penalty against a little girl like her and they would both get maybe
life sentences and ultimately they'd be able to be-- be together again. And Holly actually changed her story.
I had told her nothing. Then they came to me and they said, oh Holly had-- Holly has confessed to the crimes.
I said, yeah, she did the killings. And so that was how that went. NARRATOR: In April, 1987, Coomber
asked police to visit her at the Glen County Detention Center. She gave them her third and final version of events.
She was present at both crimes but Allen pulled the trigger. We went over things and the story straightened out.
It fit the evidence. NARRATOR: As the state of Georgia built its case against William Allen
for the murder of Emily Sue Moore, they approached Holly with a deal. I talked with her attorney about not seeking
the death penalty against her. The agreement was reached in Georgia that if she would testify against William Allen,
parole would be a possibility down the road. While they were being held, they allowed William Allen and Holly
to-- to meet and talk. Presumably, this is because they were co-defendants. At this point, he is still exercising control.
I'm already feeling responsible for people dying and now they're going to kill him if I testify.
But I took a plea because my lawyer told me to. I still felt that I would beat the case.
They had nothing against me-- only Holly. NARRATOR: Holly was sent to New York to face charges in the murder of Donna Guerriri.
The prosecution maintained that Holly was a willing participant. She pled guilty to armed robbery
and she was sentenced to 12 and 1/2 to 25 years. Everybody thought it would be a concurrent sentence, meaning
the New York sentence would run at the same time as the sentence in Georgia. And then at sentencing, it was imposed consecutively.
There was a lot of mitigating circumstances that should have been taken into consideration that weren't.
All of those factors were taken into account. When you start running murder cases concurrent,
you've just said that this victim doesn't have her own value. You can kill her, you're not going to have any extra time.
That defies logic. Every day, I had to see them face to face and listen to their story.
I looked at Donna Guerriri's mother, I lost it. Everybody wanted me to feel guilty
but they didn't understand that I already did. NARRATOR: During sentencing, William made a statement
to the court arguing that Holly was responsible for the murder. Following Alan's New York trial, Holly returned to Georgia
to serve her first sentence. I went to counselling and I was insistent that it was intensive.
That therapy began the process of healing, her ability to really face everything that happened
and try and make sense of the fact that her entire life, she'd been abused by the people who were
supposed to take care of her. NARRATOR: In 2004, a group of New York attorneys submitted a motion to vacate Holly sentence.
As bad as Holly Coomber's experience was, that still doesn't take away the personal responsibility
for two murder victims. At least Ms. Coomber has a chance at a life, maybe not as quickly as she would like.
But when I compared what she has to look forward to to the life that Emily Moore and Donna Guerriri never had,
she should finish out her sentence. There should be no clemency. NARRATOR: After serving 20 years in Georgia,
Holly was paroled in 2006. She was then transferred to Bedford Hills Correctional
Facility in New York, where she is serving her 12 and 1/2 to 25 year sentence. I recently decided to start college classes.
They were impressed with my writing, so it makes me feel like maybe I'm worth something.
Because most of the time, I don't think so. NARRATOR: She no longer communicates
with William Allen, who will serve out the rest of his life at a Correctional Center in New York.
All I did is hurt and destroy people. I was a monster. And the monster is where he belongs.
But Holly does not belong in prison. And I would like to say, Holly, I'm so sorry what I did you.
Please forgive me. He can't begin to understand the parts of me that he took away that I would never get back.
NARRATOR: The families of Donna Guerriri and Emily Sue Moore are still coming to grips with their loss.
It's like, you know, she was ripped away from us. Holly knew what was right and wrong
and she had the ability to not do what she did. To Holly, I am sorry that she got
involved with the wrong family. William Allen, I'd just like to punch him in the face.
But I do believe that she deserves what she's got. I feel guilty ever since day one
and I know that they are still hurting. If I could fix it, I would. And I'm sorry.
NARRATOR: Next up on "Women Behind Bars," a suburban robbery ends in murder. We received a call from a young woman
who found her aunt laying on the floor in a pool of blood. NARRATOR: For more information about "Women Behind Bars,"
go to wetv.com. On May 19, 1995, in a peaceful suburb in upstate New York, an 81-year-old landlady named Louise Cicelsky was found
stabbed to death in her home. The body was lying between the kitchen and the dining room.
She had been traumatized and there were blood spots all around the walls. NARRATOR: With no witnesses or physical evidence
to tie a suspect, police questioned the victim's tenets, including 39-year-old Renay Lynch.
My mother was crying and said somebody killed our landlord. NARRATOR: For 18 months, detectives
could not nail a prime suspect. Then, in a surprising twist, Renay was charged in the murder.
She gave us facts that no one would have known other than the perpetrator or a person who was there.
Was this an entrapment? All the way around. NARRATOR: Did Renay Lynch orchestrate the robbery
and murder of her elderly apartment manager, or did her seedy past make her the perfect scapegoat?
Renay always wanted to keep the peace around the chaos of the house, you know? But she created her own as well.
RENAY: Our family was a little dysfunctional, with a mother that's a alcoholic and a father not in the home
at all. You know, it became tough. It was just my mother, you know. So she raised all of us.
I used to see my mother drunk to the point where she just passed out and would stayed
that way for two or three days. I used to cry a lot. NARRATOR: Renay attended public school down the street
from the family home. From a young age, she had big aspirations. I dreamed about being a race car driver.
I wanted to be a model. NARRATOR: By age 12, the seventh grader resorted to petty theft
to help her family. We were very poor, very poor family. I would shoplift food and then I came to the point
of shoplifting clothes. NARRATOR: Rene also began dating older men. At 15, she became pregnant.
The teenage single mom counted on her family for support. Renay did finish school.
She wanted to go to modeling school after that. RENAY: I wanted to be a runway model,
but they said I was too short. NARRATOR: With her dreams of becoming a model crushed,
the 20-year-old took a different path, one that proved to be her downfall. This guy that I was dating, he was a big kingpin
at that time in Buffalo. He had all the drugs, the Mercedes, the Cadillacs, limousines, mink coats, and diamond rings-- just everything
that a poor woman would want. So I had a relationship with this guy. She moved in with me and it was like,
I was infatuated with her beauty. NARRATOR: According to Renay's family, she began experimenting with drugs after meeting Raymond.
She liked the escape they provided. She could never get a legitimate job. She was so depressed about her life that she stayed high.
RENAY: The drug of choice was crack cocaine. I was thinking that, well, at least I'm not an alcoholic.
I'm not drinking like my mom did. NARRATOR: In September, 1979, Rene and Raymond
welcomed a son name Rinaldo. She thought the world of him. That's [INAUDIBLE] well, maybe, this will be the turning point.
This would be what it takes. NARRATOR: Raymond kicked his drug habit and became a licensed addiction counselor.
But Renay's elation over her new baby was short lived. When she got back with her old friends,
she quickly return to smoking crack. The earliest memories I really have is is her on drugs.
I can remember being about five, her being passed out on the couch for hours, you know, trying to wake
her up to get something to eat. NARRATOR: Renay's escalating crack addiction had a profound effect on her children.
She sold all their possessions for drug money. I come home and everything is gone.
I mean, everything-- the refrigerators, the stove. And she's just laying there. NARRATOR: All that they wanted was me, their mother.
And I wasn't there for that. I just couldn't trust her anymore. And we had our fights.
Sometimes, I would just bash her. For seven years, I tried to stop her, but she was too-- just too far gone.
RENAY: In the end, I left him. NARRATOR: Renay continued her heavy drug use and relied on a skill she picked up in childhood to support
herself and her kids. I was a professional shoplifter. I could go up into various boutiques
and shoplift mink coats. Her equipment of choice was what they called the break, which is a girdle and nylon stockings.
And you put it on under a skirt. You just fold the milk coat up and you put it inside of it under your skirt.
Anything Renay wanted, she could go out to a store and get it, boost it. They she would take the money and go get the drugs.
NARRATOR: When she couldn't get to a store, Renay turned to prostitution to support her habit.
I really had stooped to the lowest level that I possibly could in life. Then I was ashamed and very embarrassed.
NARRATOR: Lynch racked up dozens of arrests for theft in prostitution and spent time behind bars.
Her going to jail wasn't a big thing. Just come home, be clean for a little while,
then she'll go back to drugs. NARRATOR: In December, 1994, Renay and her son moved into a house on Lisbon Avenue in Buffalo.
Their landlady was 81-year-old Louise Cicelsky, a widow who owned several homes in the area.
She loved being a landlady. She loved being-- being in charge. She didn't believe in retirement.
Her whole life was her properties and her tenants. NARRATOR: Over the next five months,
Renay says that she and Louise became friendly. She was a very feisty woman for her age.
She worked out at the gym and she went to her Jewish temple. We received a call from a young woman who found her aunt
laying on the floor in her apartment basically in a pool of blood. It appeared that it was a robbery or burglary gone bad.
NARRATOR: Mrs. Cicelsky was stabbed eight times in the neck. It was pretty gruesome.
The entire apartment had been ransacked. There were a smudges and bloody fingerprints
found in the back bedrooms, on the dresser drawers. There were some purses on the bed with bloody fingerprints.
NARRATOR: As the Amherst police department processed the scene, Louise's daughter who lived in Florida
got the devastating news. My cousin was crying at the other end of the phone and she could hardly talk.
And she said, your mother was murdered. It was just very hard for me to accept the fact that my mom was gone.
To have this horrible thing happen, I just-- in our religion, you can't ask why.
You can only say it's God's will. NARRATOR: Meanwhile, a phone call to Louise's residents
immediately after the murder perplexed investigators. There was a female claiming to be the victim's niece wanting
to know what was going on. She said that her sister had driven by and had told her that there were police cars there.
She gave her name as a Renay Lynch. Once she made the call and they connected her,
her own stupidity got her involved in that thing. It was just kind of an odd phone call.
I wanted to gather more information about Renay and see what I could find out. NARRATOR: When "Women Behind Bars" continues--
She says, OK, I'll tell you the truth about the murder. My partner and I stopped dead in our tracks.
I know she didn't kill her. No forensics, no evidence, just a statement from somebody
that was under duress. NARRATOR: On May 19, 1995, while investigating the murder
of 81-year-old Louise Cicelsky, Amherst police received a suspicious phone call at the crime scene.
The caller was 39-year-old habitual shoplifter and drug addict Renay Lynch, who claimed
to be the victim's niece. Our first meeting, we determined that she really wasn't her niece.
She was actually renting a property that Louise owned. NARRATOR: Lynch could not give detectives
an alibi for the time her landlady was stabbed to death. I told them I have really no idea where I was at,
but I know I was somewhere smoking crack cocaine. They said they would be keeping in touch with me and they left.
But during that time, they checked into my background. Her record was quite lengthy and she had numerous charges
right ranging from larcenies to narcotics arrests to federal charges for forgery.
NARRATOR: Investigators at the crime scene did not find the murder weapon or any other evidence
to link to an individual. The fingerprints never matched up to anyone. What we had was physical evidence
that a suspect would be able to corroborate because no one else would know about it.
NARRATOR: Over the next year, detectives continued to work the case and question Renay periodically.
They say she seemed eager to assist. Detective [INAUDIBLE] said to me, he feels like someone in the circle of my friends
had committed this crime and they kept insisting that I help. NARRATOR: In October 1996, detectives
claim Renay approached them in city court, where she was being sentenced on another shoplifting arrest.
She told me that she had an idea who had done it and she wanted to work with us if we could get her out.
NARRATOR: Police coordinated with the district attorney's office to get Lynch released
on a 90 day appeal bond. Fresh out of jail, Renay went to the Amherst police station,
where she gave a statement that a friend named Kareem Walker had admitted to her that he killed Louise.
She was claiming that he was high and he had gone there to steal money from her.
That wasn't true at all, you know? I was just trying to appease them in whatever way
that I could. I don't want to go back to jail. At that point, they honestly felt that Kareem
Walker was involved. My partner looked into it and Kareem was in Florida at the time of our crime.
NARRATOR: While police chased Renay's leads, she was up to her old tricks. A call came over the radio that a small-statured black female
had just stolen a beaver coat worth $1,000. I immediately knew in my heart that it was Renay.
We told her we needed to talk to her, told her she was under arrest. I remember her calling saying, I'm
going to be detained for a little while and I never see my mother free again. We tell Renay, it's time to go downstairs
with the other prisoners, be processed for the initial grand larceny charge. It was like the life drained out of her.
She said, OK, I'll tell you the truth. At which point, I'm thinking she's still talking about the coat.
She says, no, about the murder. My partner and I stopped dead in our tracks. NARRATOR: The detectives read Renay her rights,
then listened, as they say she gave them a detailed account of Louise's murder. She began to give us facts that no one would have known
other than the perpetrator or a person who was there right down to the exact size of the knife, the wounds,
how the body was laying, the location. I told them that Kareem had hit my landlord.
When he hit her, her wig fell off. And I ran out the door and I was in a car waiting.
Kareem came running out and he's all bloodied up and he has a bloody knife. She described the attack to a T and I
would assume she was describing what she herself was doing. We went through it verbally.
She gave it to us again in writing and then she signed it. NARRATOR: Since police had already cleared Kareem Walker,
they felt they had their killer. But Renay claims detective fed her the details in her confession.
For example, the Amherst detectives said, well, was it a knife? And I was like, yes, it was a big knife.
At that point, I would tell them anything that they wanted to hear because I wanted
to go and smoke more crack. Renay was on a three week binge. She didn't know what she was doing.
NARRATOR: The police adamantly deny giving Renay any leading information and stand by the confession.
At that point, there was never a doubt in my mind. She knew too much. Just the way her whole body slumped
when she decided to give up, you just saw it was time to tell the truth. NARRATOR: That night, Renay Lynch
was booked on grand larceny charges for the theft of the fur coat. Six months later, she was indicted for second degree
murder and first degree robbery in the death of Louise Cicelsky. I was numb. But I know she didn't kill her.
No forensics, no evidence, just got a statement from somebody that was under duress,
which is against the law. I knew that I wasn't the one who had murdered my landlord,
so I was very confident. Nothing whatsoever linked me to that crime scene. They used my statement against me.
Under New York state rules, you cannot convict a person based on a confession alone.
You need corroboration. Her knowing the position of the body, her knowing about the wig being on the floor, that
corroborates her confession. That in itself becomes evidence. It would be called circumstantial,
but certainly a strong circumstantial case. NARRATOR: When Renay testified, she didn't
win any points with jurors. Renay was not that credible on the stand. And she admitted that she was a prostitute
and that she used any kind of drug she could get. Crack cocaine, vallium-- she admitted being a heavy boozer.
NARRATOR: Renay continued to maintain her statement had been coerced. She claimed she falsely confessed and she thought
that that might somehow help her on the theft of the coat, which didn't make any sense to the jury.
NARRATOR: On February 18th, after less than five hours of deliberation, the jury found
Renay guilty on both counts. I have no idea who murdered my landlord. I know for a fact the killer is still out on the loose
because I'm in prison for somebody's crime. I believe that Renay did it herself because I also believe if there was someone else there
and she had the opportunity to give them up, she would have. NARRATOR: Renay is serving her sentence at a maximum security
prison in New York. RENAY: The hardest part is being away from my family. I have four grandsons and I wasn't there for any of them
when they were born. NARRATOR: She still proclaims her innocence and says she thinks about Louise often.
I feel really terrible about my landlord being murdered. She has a very good friend of mine.
I believe in my heart Louise daughter knows that I'm not the one who murdered her mother.
I wish her nothing but evil the rest of her life. You never get over it. There's no such thing as closure.
NARRATOR: While in prison, Renay has confronted her many demons. It's hard for me to forgive myself
when I think of the things that I've done in the past. It took me to come to prison to get to this point.
I'm clean and sober today. I'm beginning to like myself the way I am.

One woman murdered two convenient store workers while the other woman killed her landlady.

Brief Summary

Holly Coomber and Renay Lynch recount their involvement in brutal murders, exploring themes of abuse, manipulation, and the consequences of crime.

Key points

The Start of a Crime Spree. Two women, Holly Coomber and Renay Lynch, are connected to brutal murders across states.
Holly's Troubled Childhood. Holly Coomber's abusive upbringing leads her into a dangerous relationship with her foster father.
The Fatal Robberies. Holly and William Allen commit two murders during convenience store robberies.
Holly's Guilt and Responsibility. Holly grapples with her role in the murders and her feelings of guilt.
Renay's Troubled Childhood. Renay describes her dysfunctional upbringing and aspirations that led to a troubled life.
The Confession. Renay gives a detailed account of the murder, raising questions about her guilt.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

I didn't know how to stop it.

Holly reflects on her inability to intervene during the crimes.

2:26WatchSep 23, 2014

Tension

75/ 100High tension

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