00:00:00
[OMINOUS MUSIC] NANCY GRACE
(VOICEOVER): Green Bay, Wisconsin, August 12, 1986--
00:00:16
construction workers come
across what looks to be a body in a remote area of marshland.
00:00:25
My mom used to listen to the
police scanner all the time. On the scanner, she heard
that they had found a body.
00:00:32
NANCY GRACE (VOICEOVER):
That same morning, a 22-year-old mother named
Lisa Holstead reported missing.
00:00:39
She had a boyfriend. One night they were out. On the way home, they-- I guess they got into a fight.
00:00:45
They started
fighting in the car. She got out of the car,
she started walking, and that was it.
00:00:50
That was the last
time anyone saw her. The leads started to
not come in anymore.
00:00:56
So then that's when the
investigation became cold. NANCY GRACE (VOICEOVER):
Green Bay investigators
00:01:00
refused to give up. In 2019, new DNA science opens a
new path to solve Lisa's murder.
00:01:09
Investigative
genetic genealogy is taking unknown
offender or victim DNA and resolving that DNA to
a particular individual
00:01:19
through the use of
genetic databases. NANCY GRACE: This is
the story of a 34-year
00:01:24
search to find the killer
of a beautiful young mom. I'm Nancy Grace. This is "Bloodline Detectives."
00:01:33
[THEME MUSIC] [OMINOUS MUSIC] NANCY GRACE (VOICEOVER):
Green Bay, Wisconsin, 1986--
00:02:00
a peaceful city located
on Lake Michigan. Well, Green Bay is the largest
city in Northeast Wisconsin.
00:02:08
It's really the hub of the
activity in this area, rated high as being one
of the best places
00:02:14
to live in the United States. Green Bay has
consistently always been at or below the national
crime level statistics.
00:02:22
NANCY GRACE (VOICEOVER): The
city is home to 22-year-old single mom Lisa Holstead.
00:02:28
Lisa was very down to Earth. And she loved going
to the circus, going on little adventures,
camping, the beaches
00:02:34
when we were in California. This also was a young
mother of a four-year-old son.
00:02:41
Family described her as
being very affectionate. They always said
that, you know,
00:02:47
she always loved me and made
sure I was taken care of. But I do remember she was
very caring and loving.
00:02:56
NANCY GRACE (VOICEOVER): On
the night of August 11, 1986, a horrible crime changes the
lives of Lisa's loved ones
00:03:05
forever. WOMAN: She had a boyfriend,
and one night they were out. Her son was staying
with her family.
00:03:13
On the way home,
got into a fight, so they started
fighting in the car. The car was stopped
and she decided
00:03:19
that she was-- she was done. She got out of the car,
she started walking, and that was it.
00:03:23
That was the last
time anyone saw her. Her live-in boyfriend John,
who Lisa was living with
00:03:29
at the time, and
John had actually called Lisa's mother and told
her that Lisa had not come home.
00:03:34
Lisa's mother was concerned
about Lisa and her whereabouts, so she did call the police.
00:03:40
Her parents were very upset
that she did not come home and they filed a
missing persons report.
00:03:46
They did send an officer
to Lisa's residence and the officer spoke with John. And John provided
the information
00:03:54
that he and Lisa had
been out the night before, that they were
on their way home,
00:03:59
they got into an argument. They approached a stoplight. And at that time Lisa got out
of the car, slammed the door,
00:04:08
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.
00:04:18
John entered the apartment,
left the door unlocked, and fell asleep on the couch,
anticipating that Lisa would
00:04:25
take the time to
cool off, walk home, and then they would
start their day tomorrow.
00:04:30
But when John woke up the
next day, Lisa wasn't there. And he became worried
and concerned,
00:04:36
and began calling around
to include Lisa's mother, and sister, and
various hospitals
00:04:42
and the police department to
see if she had been picked up. But no one had seen Lisa.
00:04:47
So they spoke to John. It would be common
to search the area or to look around the area
as to where, you know,
00:04:54
she was last seen. Then, at the same time, my
mom used to listen to the police scanner all the time.
00:05:00
On the scanner, she heard
that they had found a body. The next morning, August 12,
there were some construction
00:05:08
workers who were driving past
a marshy kind of swampy area, and they saw what they thought
was a hand sticking up.
00:05:15
So they pulled over
and they took a look. They went to check it out
and they saw a woman's body.
00:05:22
So initially, officers
were dispatched to the scene. Once the officers arrived,
construction workers
00:05:29
then led the officers to
where the body was found. Once the officers
arrived on scene,
00:05:34
they did confirm that there was,
in fact, a body of a female. WOMAN: So within
hours of her family
00:05:41
filing that missing
person's report, they were called in to identify
her because it was Lisa.
00:05:48
If I were them, I
would be thinking, please don't let it be her. Please don't let it be her.
00:05:52
I can't imagine the
pain and the grief that they felt when they
realized that it was her.
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I mean, that has to be anyone's
worst nightmare-- a parent's worst nightmare come true.
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Well, my mother, you could
definitely see that she instantly aged 10, 15 years. She just looked so
haggard and so wore out.
00:06:15
It did take a toll
on her, big time. And after that day, she never
listened to that police scanner
00:06:22
again. She never listened
to it ever again. The case was
reported in the media. And, you know, in 1986,
these type of incidents
00:06:30
did not happen very often, so
it was a bigger of a story. However, not being in
Green Bay at that time,
00:06:37
I don't think it was
the type of thing that young girls
would be in fear. Historically, it's
been a safe community.
00:06:45
So you have homicides. You have domestic violence
cases and burglaries. But to the degree of a larger
city, it's just not seen.
00:06:53
So it's a-- it's
a fairly low crime rate compared to larger cities. Lisa Holstead's family
struggles to come to terms
00:07:03
with her gruesome murder. Meanwhile, Green Bay Police
begin searching for her killer.
00:07:10
That's next on
"Bloodline Detectives." [OMINOUS CHORDS] [OMINOUS CHORDS] [SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]
00:07:21
NANCY GRACE (VOICEOVER):
August 12, 1986-- the body of 22-year-old mom Lisa
Holstead found on a marshland,
00:07:29
Green Bay, Wisconsin. She's reported
missing that morning following an argument with her
boyfriend the night before.
00:07:37
Investigator searched the
crime scene for clues. DAVID GRAF: The park
at Ken Eures Park,
00:07:43
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
00:07:52
Bay itself, which
is a marshy area with lots of walking trails. Looked at all the
cases in the past,
00:07:58
and I've never known another
body to be found out there. Upon arrival, they did observe
some tire tracks in the dirt,
00:08:06
because it was a dirt road
where she was found off of. And the tire tracks looked
like it was traveling from one
00:08:13
direction to another,
but got real close to where Lisa's body was found. , And also in that
area just adjacent
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to where her body
was found, they found a shoe print in the dirt also. So in that type of
evidence, they collect it
00:08:28
by using a plaster of
Paris and collecting the actual imprint of the shoe
and imprint of the tire tracks.
00:08:35
Fortunately, with
the Lisa Holstead case, we had a significant amount
of DNA that was remaining
00:08:40
from the original crime scene. And then Lisa's body was
located in a water-filled ditch
00:08:48
adjacent to the road
where the construction workers were traveling on. And her body was just
submerged with no top
00:08:57
on, just her jeans, no shoes. She had a belt on her pants. There was also a belt
that they were looking for.
00:09:07
And I remember having
to dig through my stuff and find these belts that were
like, similar, and turning
00:09:14
them over to the police. NANCY GRACE (VOICEOVER):
The medical examiner performs an autopsy to determine
exactly how Lisa Holstead died.
00:09:24
Autopsies are important
in that they do determine the cause and manner of death.
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Was it by firearm? Was it by knife? Which that information then can
be matched to the crime scene.
00:09:36
So an autopsy started as an
external examination in which the forensic pathologist
would document
00:09:43
all injuries seen externally
and then there's always, an internal exam. During the autopsy, fingerprints
were collected from her body.
00:09:53
And it was confirmed
through fingerprints that we had on file that it
was, in fact, Lisa Holstead.
00:09:59
Lisa had bruising on her
thighs, knees, and lower legs, and neck on the left side
of her body, which to
00:10:06
me was consistent of
her being in a vehicle and possibly assaulting
in a vehicle.
00:10:12
NANCY GRACE (VOICEOVER):
A male biological sample, recovered from Lisa's tampon.
00:10:18
She also had a major
injury of ligature marks around her neck, which
eventually was determined
00:10:24
to be the cause of death. NANCY GRACE (VOICEOVER):
Once Lisa Holstead's body is released, her devastated
family must make arrangements
00:10:32
to say a final goodbye. We couldn't bury
her right away, but we went to St.
Peter and Paul church,
00:10:42
and that served as her-- her funeral and also her-- her
burial spot until, you know,
00:10:49
the police released her. It was a beautiful church. And I know that the
police were filming to see
00:10:56
who was coming to the funeral. DAVID GRAF: It was
typical for police to attend on an
investigative perspective,
00:11:02
to see who's there, but
also to support the family. You know, this is a traumatic
time in their lives,
00:11:08
but also can be a key
part of the investigation to see who was there,
how people are acting,
00:11:15
and develop a
potential intelligence. The only thing I
remember about that is they
00:11:20
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,
00:11:29
thinking there
was nothing wrong. NANCY GRACE: When someone in
a relationship is murdered,
00:11:34
it's SOP, standard
operating procedure, for investigators to immediately
look at the other person
00:11:41
in that relationship. And that's what
happens in this case. Detectives immediately
turn their focus
00:11:47
to Lisa's boyfriend, John. He is the last known person
to see her on the night before her body is found.
00:11:56
DAVID GRAF: Lisa's family
did provide information to the investigators that they
did suspect that-- that John
00:12:01
could have been involved. I thought he did, yes. Maybe a little bit biased,
because my family thought
00:12:06
the same thing too, for years. So maybe just growing
up, just hearing that, you just begin to believe it.
00:12:13
He was the last person that
we know of that she was with. They were seen at Taylor and
Mason, getting into an argument
00:12:20
and her getting out of the car. That's what I went by. And also, that evening, I
heard for the first time
00:12:28
that they had gotten in an
argument the Friday before, and that he had bit
her on her shoulder.
00:12:36
JEREMY HOLSTEAD: They
talked to an ex-wife, and I believe another
ex-girlfriend.
00:12:39
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,
00:12:49
John would be calling her,
wondering where she was at that night, late at night.
00:12:55
However, on the day
that Lisa was found, John called Lisa's mother at
about 8:30 AM inquiring where
00:13:02
Lisa was, as she had not come
home, which to Lisa's mother at the time was suspicious.
00:13:09
A majority of the
time, it's often individuals who are
close to the victim who tend to be the
number one subject
00:13:15
and who often commit the crime. DAVID GRAF: Several
people had come forward about comments that
John had made over the years.
00:13:22
One of the comments
was that, you know, he potentially could kill her
at some point in time, comments
00:13:28
after the homicide
that she was a fighter and he made some bad
decisions and stuff.
00:13:34
But it was always is very
non-specific type of comments. SARAH DEAMRON: There was
reports of domestic violence.
00:13:42
Officers had been called
to their apartment on a number of occasions
for fighting, for violence.
00:13:50
And so there was
a history there. And so John was looked
at closely because John
00:13:55
himself admitted to
a fight that evening. They did ask John to
perform a polygraph,
00:14:02
which was a practice back then. He agreed to more
than one polygraph. And I know at least
during the initial one,
00:14:09
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.
00:14:19
NANCY GRACE (VOICEOVER):
Detectives cannot link boyfriend John to Lisa's murder.
00:14:23
The case goes cold. I think every agent
has that one case, that one cold case
that's been sitting,
00:14:33
and sitting, and sitting. And they never forget it. Well, after the first couple
of years of investigation,
00:14:40
the leads started to
not come in anymore. So then that's when the
investigation became cold.
00:14:46
NANCY GRACE: Almost
10 years later, a new team of investigators
reopens the unsolved murder
00:14:52
of young mom Lisa Holstead. Objective number one,
to test old evidence using new DNA science.
00:15:01
SARAH DEAMRON: So
the retesting really occurred back in the 2000s by
the Wisconsin State Crime Lab.
00:15:07
When I go into a
case, I'm looking for what DNA is remaining. Is there DNA present
at the scene?
00:15:12
And fortunately, with
Elisa Holstead case, we had a significant amount
of DNA that was remaining
00:15:18
from the original crime scene. It was in about 1995, new
investigators received some more
00:15:25
information concerning the case,
and also took a second look at the evidence
that was collected,
00:15:31
and then sent off to the Crime
Lab for continued investigation. So March 31, 1998, the
police department did
00:15:39
receive a report from the Crime
Lab concerning several items of evidence that they examined,
specifically the tampon
00:15:46
that was found in Lisa. And so they were
able to find sperm on both ends of the tampon.
00:15:53
And upon doing a
DNA test, they found it was from the same
person, the same donor.
00:15:59
On February 16, 2004,
the Wisconsin Crime Lab reexamined the tampon
and sperm that was found.
00:16:08
They did STR analysis
on the sperm, finding that the sperm
was from the same donor.
00:16:16
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.
00:16:26
Once again, Green
Bay detectives appear to be out of leads. But very soon, new
forensic science emerges.
00:16:35
We find out next, on
"Bloodline Detectives," whether that's science can
ID Lisa Holstead's murderer.
00:16:44
[OMINOUS CHORDS] [OMINOUS CHORDS] [SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC] NANCY GRACE (VOICEOVER):
August 12, 1986--
00:16:56
the body of 22-year-old mom Lisa
Holstead found in a remote area, Green Bay, Wisconsin.
00:17:03
She goes missing the night
before, after an argument with boyfriend John. John remains the main
person of interest
00:17:12
in the case for decades. But then, 2004, DNA
reveals John does not match DNA collected from Lisa's body.
00:17:22
The case goes cold for
decades, until investigators decide to take a chance on
an emerging forensic science.
00:17:31
As the years went by, they
talked about new technology that was coming around and that
it was very, very expensive.
00:17:39
Because I believe,
somewhere along the line, I heard that the the police
didn't have the funding for that
00:17:46
because it was so expensive. Later, I find out that
some agencies came together and got that done.
00:17:53
NANCY GRACE: Investigators
in Green Bay secured necessary funding to test
both Lisa and her killer's DNA
00:18:00
with an emerging
forensic technique. They turned to scientists at a
private lab called Gene by Gene.
00:18:09
We went through
the case in detail. We looked at the
manner of death. We looked at the DNA
that was available,
00:18:17
that was left at the crime
scene on Lisa's body. From that, we decided
that there was an avenue
00:18:23
for genealogy to move forward. There was a DNA profile
that was developed but was not identified.
00:18:31
SARAH DEAMRON: So CODIS
was created by the FBI. This is where we
warehouse individuals
00:18:36
who have made felony offenses. There's a national
CODIS database, which holds all felony offenders.
00:18:43
And there's also in-state
CODIS databases that are housed within each individual state.
00:18:49
So this is where our
offenders or individuals who have committed a crime,
but their DNA has not
00:18:55
yet been identified, is kept. NANCY GRACE (VOICEOVER):
The male DNA sample is entered into the
CODIS national database,
00:19:03
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
00:19:15
what investigative genealogy
is and how DNA profiles can be identified using means, not
through CODIS and other--
00:19:23
you know, other means. So that really
piqued my interest. December 18, 2019, a portion
of the DNA taken from the crime
00:19:33
scene was sent to a private lab
called Gene by Gene, where they do not STR testing, but
the type of testing that
00:19:42
is used to be able to upload
to these public databases. Forensic genetic genealogy is
the combination of DNA testing--
00:19:51
so we're using a DNA extract
to develop a SNP profile. A SNP is a position in your DNA.
00:19:58
That is uploaded into a consumer
genetic genealogy database, the ones used for forensic
genetic genealogy.
00:20:06
There's only two. It's FamilyTreeDNA and GEDmatch. So familial DNA is
forensic testing
00:20:13
done within crime laboratories
at the state level. Familial runs off of
the Y profile, which
00:20:19
is passed down through males. Familial testing is-- once
a Y profile is created,
00:20:27
then that is run through
the in-state CODIS database. So that's separate
from genealogy.
00:20:33
Y profiles are made within
a law enforcement crime lab and run in CODIS databases,
whereas genealogy
00:20:40
is run within
consumer databases and separate from familial testing. So you take the
SNP profile and you
00:20:49
upload it into the database. And what the database does-- it looks at all of
the profiles in there,
00:20:55
and it compares them all. And what it will do is-- the individuals that share DNA,
it identifies them as a match.
00:21:05
And depending on how
much DNA that you share between these
individuals, it can assign
00:21:10
a predicted relationship. In this case, they had two sperm
fractions-- so that's male DNA--
00:21:19
that were isolated
from a tampon. We asked for the statistics
on both of those samples.
00:21:25
So the first sample,
it was a mixture. So it actually
contained DNA from both the suspect and the victim.
00:21:34
We may be able to
work with that, but it's going to be
a little challenging. The second sample
was majority male.
00:21:40
So if there was any
victim contamination, if there was any
victim DNA in there, it was very, very low level.
00:21:48
And we didn't think it
was going to interfere with the SNP profile
generation of the suspect.
00:21:53
NANCY GRACE (VOICEOVER):
The genealogists began building a family tree
from the male DNA sample.
00:22:00
It could go
several generations or they could be very small. It depends on the matches
that are generated
00:22:08
from the consumer databases. But through genealogy,
one of the things we do is we reference test people.
00:22:14
So we pick people that we think
are related to our subject, but we're not really sure.
00:22:19
So I went and spoke with a young
lady who lived in Racine area because we believed that she
was related to our suspect.
00:22:26
And upon having an
interview with her, we were able to upload her
profile on the GEDmatch
00:22:32
and found that she potentially
was a first cousin once removed. CONNIE BORMANS: It
was a good match.
00:22:38
But still, even with a second
cousin, it's challenging. Because if you think about,
you know, even your own family,
00:22:45
how many of your second
cousins do you really know? It's a lot of work in
order to build back
00:22:50
to find that common
ancestor and then, you know, build back the tree into the
present to identify the suspect.
00:22:56
So during the course of my
interview with this young lady, I asked her did she have
any relatives that she
00:23:02
knew that lived in Green Bay. And she said, oh, I
have an Uncle Archie that used to live in Green Bay.
00:23:08
She told us that her uncle
presently lives in Racine, but she knew that, at one point,
that he lived in Green Bay.
00:23:17
And the SNP profile,
because we had such good DNA-- quality was amazing-- there was
absolutely no question that we
00:23:24
would be able to upload
it into the database, and that the matches there
were going to be real matches.
00:23:30
Sometimes when you have
lower quality SNP profiles, you have problems
with the matching.
00:23:34
But this one, there wasn't
going to be any issue. DAVID GRAF: So she
identified her uncle
00:23:39
as being Lou Archie Griffin. At last, investigators
have the name of a suspect in the 1986
murder of a young mother, Lisa
00:23:50
Holstead-- 65-year-old Lou Archie Griffin. Now detectives must track
Griffin down and confirm,
00:24:01
is he the man who murdered Lisa? Once receiving
that information, I did a check into
his background.
00:24:09
And I found that he had been in
prison for the sexual assault of a 12-year-old in
the early '80s, but I
00:24:17
also found that he
had been released from prison in May of 1986. That led down a true discovery
about Lou, and his personality
00:24:29
type, and who he was, and
why in particular he was in Green Bay during that time.
00:24:34
And it turns out Lou had been
on probation after committing a serious offense a
few years prior that
00:24:42
led to him being in Green Bay. He was-- transferred his
parole from Racine to Green Bay
00:24:49
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
00:25:00
of this type of conduct. Detectives get in contact with
Lisa Holstead's sister, Susan,
00:25:05
and they tell her
about the new lead. They ask, have you ever
heard of Lou Archie Griffin,
00:25:13
or if Griffin was known to Lisa. Yeah. They told me the name. They sent me the link
or whatever it was.
00:25:21
I never heard of this
guy and definitely didn't recognize him at all. SARAH DEAMRON: We
started honing in on Lou.
00:25:28
Who is he? Where does he live? What is his daily life? What are his patterns? And this is significant.
00:25:34
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
00:25:41
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
00:25:47
him for a profile of his DNA. So surreptitious DNA
collection is vitally important in these
types of situations.
00:25:54
So essentially
what that was, was I had a Department of
Criminal Investigation agent
00:25:59
that I was working with,
reached out to him. He reached out to the Racine
County Sheriff's Department
00:26:04
and their drug task force. And then they started
conducting surveillance on Lou at his residence.
00:26:11
SARAH DEAMRON: So every
morning they went out and they monitored
Lou at his residence.
00:26:16
They watched him come
out each morning. They watched him go
back in his residence.
00:26:20
And they were able to get a
good pattern of life on Lou. The purpose of
the surveillance
00:26:24
was to determine where
he went, what he did, his movements and actions,
so they could then
00:26:30
see if he would discard
some type of item that they could collect and then
use to get a sample of his DNA
00:26:37
without him knowing. SARAH DEAMRON: So it was
incumbent upon detective Graf and, to an extension, the Racine
Drug Task Force and Wisconsin
00:26:46
DCI, to then go out and
collect a piece of evidence that Lou had discarded to
verify that the DNA matches
00:26:55
the original crime scene. DAVID GRAF: On
September 15, 2020, agents from Racine
County drug task force
00:27:02
and an agent with the Department
of Criminal Investigation did observe Lou outside of
his apartment, near his car.
00:27:09
Lou was smoking cigarettes
and drinking some beer. They observed him to throw
away one of the cigarettes
00:27:16
and also put some
beer in the dumpster. So then, after he
left the area, they were able to collect
that evidence
00:27:22
and I sent it to the crime lab. SARAH DEAMRON: From there,
the Wisconsin Crime Lab
00:27:26
were able to pull a genetic
profile from those evidence items, and it was a match
for the original crime scene
00:27:33
evidence. NANCY GRACE: Now detectives
have solid DNA evidence linking Lou Archie Griffin
to the 1986 murder
00:27:42
of young mom Lisa Holstead. Next on "Bloodline
Detectives," we find out-- can they confirm
he's the killer?
00:27:51
[OMINOUS CHORDS] [OMINOUS CHORDS] [SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC] NANCY GRACE (VOICEOVER):
Green Bay, Wisconsin, 2019,
00:28:02
investigators enlist the
help of Gene by Gene, a company specializing in an
investigative genetic genealogy.
00:28:11
They hope to link a prime
suspect, Lou Archie Griffin, to the 1986 murder
of Lisa Holstead.
00:28:20
Detectives secretly
collect Griffin's DNA and confirm it matches
DNA from the crime scene.
00:28:28
But now they must bring
him in for questioning. DAVID GRAF: It was determined
that myself and other detectives
00:28:36
from my agency, as well
as the FBI and the DCI, were going to make
contact with Lou
00:28:42
just outside of his residence. SARAH DEAMRON: So I was
waiting with Detective Graf in the interview
room at the Racine
00:28:48
County Sheriff's Office. Lou was located almost
directly across the street from the Sheriff's Office.
00:28:56
And so the approach
until the time he was delivered to the interview
room was very minimal.
00:29:03
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
00:29:09
would like to talk
to him, and so he did agree to voluntarily
come to the Racine County
00:29:15
Sheriff's Office
to speak to myself and FBI agent Sarah Deamron. Another purpose was that I
had obtained a search warrant
00:29:24
to obtain a sample
of Mr. Griffin's DNA to compare to the STR profile
developed from the crime scene,
00:29:32
and again confirm
that it was him. NANCY GRACE (VOICEOVER):
When investigators knock on Griffin's door, they're
surprised by his demeanor.
00:29:40
That-- Lou not asking
why he's wanted down at the Sheriff's Department or
who wants to talk to him is odd.
00:29:48
That would be the first
question that I would ask. Lou asked none of those prior to
coming to the Sheriff's Office.
00:29:54
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
00:30:03
he was living in the past,
and then specifically brought up Green Bay. He stated that he did
live in Green Bay,
00:30:09
provided some information as
to who he was living with, where he was living
with at the time.
00:30:15
Mentioned the name
Lisa Holstead-- if he was aware
of that homicide. Lou said that he was not
aware of the homicide at all,
00:30:22
at least he did not remember. SARAH DEAMRON: I think Lou
Archie Griffin believes
00:30:26
himself larger than life. Lou is the ultimate con man. Anything he does, he can spin--
00:30:33
was telling us tales about being
best friends with all the Packer players, and being a favorite
amongst them and their parties,
00:30:41
and having fish fries
and having the Packer players over because he
gave the best fish fries.
00:30:46
Lou discussed attending
various colleges that-- that he was enrolled in
throughout his time in Wisconsin
00:30:56
and elsewhere. And so he always
portrayed himself as being the center of
attention and-- and smarter
00:31:03
than others in the room. DAVID GRAF: We slowly asked him
more questions about what he was
00:31:09
doing, where he was living,
who he was hanging out with, and then more specifically, I
got into any contact with Lisa.
00:31:17
NANCY GRACE: At first,
Lou Archie Griffin denies even knowing who Lisa is. What he doesn't know
yet is that his own DNA
00:31:26
links him to the crime scene. Next on "Bloodline Detectives,"
he's about to find out.
00:31:32
[OMINOUS CHORDS] [OMINOUS CHORDS] [SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC] NANCY GRACE (VOICEOVER):
Racine, Wisconsin, 2020--
00:31:42
investigators questioning
Lou Archie Griffin, suspect number one in the
1986 murder of a 22-year-old
00:31:51
mom Lisa Holstead. So far, Griffin denies ever even
knowing who Lisa Holstead is.
00:31:59
But then detectives confront
him with irrefutable evidence. SARAH DEAMRON: We have to bring
up Lisa right in the interview.
00:32:08
And you have to have
an understanding, was this a chance encounter? Was this a stranger meet?
00:32:14
How did he know Lisa? Because there was
contact with Lisa. DAVID GRAF: At one point, he was
showing a photograph of Lisa,
00:32:20
asked if he recognized her. He said, he did not. You know, we informed
him that there
00:32:25
was some DNA that was found. And so it's-- it's
that reiteration that, OK, you've never met her.
00:32:32
You never had any
physical contact with her. At each point, he
continuously said, nope,
00:32:37
I've never seen her before. I've never heard of her. And so that was at
that point where
00:32:41
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
00:32:48
was for there to have been
some sort of physical contact. DAVID GRAF: And we believe that
person who is the owner of that.
00:32:55
DNA was also the
person that killed her. He seemed to agree with
those types of comments.
00:33:00
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
00:33:08
was, in fact, his DNA. His reaction was stunned
silence, because then you see the wheels turning.
00:33:15
Because he's just given us
a narrative of not knowing this woman, having
zero contact with her,
00:33:21
and now we've told him that
there's no possible way for his DNA to be
located on her body
00:33:26
unless there was contact, unless
he had met her at that time. At one point, I
actually took the report,
00:33:34
and I showed him the report
and pointed it out to the fact that it says, beyond
a doubt, that was
00:33:39
his DNA that was found in Lisa. And again, he said, it could be
my DNA but I didn't kill her.
00:33:46
I didn't have sex with her. He then moved
into this narrative of suddenly remembering every
moment of that day back in 1986.
00:33:58
But he actually did give
us a timeline of events-- that he was on the
West Side of Green Bay,
00:34:03
that he went to a bar
located in Ashwaubenon, which is a suburb to
the south of Green Bay.
00:34:10
And then he gave us
the route that he took back to his apartment. Because his apartment
that he lived at the time
00:34:16
was halfway in between
where Lisa was last seen and where her body was
located, so not a very long
00:34:23
distance at all. So he started off with going
over to pick up illicit drugs from one of his dealers.
00:34:31
And then he traveled
down a road and then turned right on Military. That took him up to McDonald's
that was located across
00:34:39
from his apartment complex. And he was very adamant. If you just go get
the camera footage,
00:34:44
you'll see me ordering
two double cheeseburgers. But what we do know is the
route he took would have
00:34:50
taken him towards Lisa Holsted. And if he would have driven
straight along the route he
00:34:55
described, he would have
run directly into where she had exited the vehicle. Well, at the end
of our interview,
00:35:02
we determined that we
were going to arrest Lou for the homicide of Lisa. Obviously, I had had
previous contact with Jeremy
00:35:08
when my investigation
first started to let him know what I was doing. And he was quite hopeful,
but also realized
00:35:14
that it had been that
long that we might not be able to get answers. So the day that
we did arrest Lou,
00:35:20
we went and visited
him at his work. Detective Graf called me. And he met me at my
work and, you know,
00:35:27
let me know that they
caught him and they just got done driving him up and
booking him in jail here.
00:35:33
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,
00:35:43
and I was floored. I had to sit down. Yeah, and I was very happy. NANCY GRACE (VOICEOVER): October
30, 2020, Lou Archie Griffin
00:35:54
arrested, charged
with first degree murder in the death of Lisa
Holstead 34 years before.
00:36:03
The case goes to trial. I don't think anybody's ever
excited about the prospect of going to trial.
00:36:10
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.
00:36:19
So we felt confident,
given the circumstances, that Lou was indeed
the individual
00:36:24
who had caused her death. The night before the
trial was to start, we did have that hearing.
00:36:30
And that's when the judge ruled
that that type of information could be brought in, that they
could potentially try to blame
00:36:38
John-- who was deceased at the
time-- for the murder of Lisa Holstead. And so, after consultation with
the family, it was actually,
00:36:46
I believe, the
defense that offered to have Lou plead
to a lesser offense to resolve the situation.
00:36:53
I discussed that
with the family, and it was eventually
agreed that Lou would plead
00:36:57
guilty to second degree reckless
homicide, which was the statute at the time, in 1986.
00:37:04
He was sentenced to the
maximum that he could get at the time, in
1986, for the offense
00:37:09
that he pled guilty to which was
second degree reckless homicide. So he got the maximum
amount of 10 years.
00:37:16
They came with
this plea bargain to bring it down
to manslaughter. Nobody even took time out to
ask my father what he thought,
00:37:26
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.
00:37:34
That's his daughter. He got 10 years. And because it happened in
'86, he got time served.
00:37:42
And manslaughter was only
10 years at that time. Because our district
attorney has no backbone.
00:37:48
[LAUGHS] I mean, they had a
DNA evidence and everything else of a sexual assault, and--
00:37:58
you know, I-- I don't know why they
lessened the charge. It really was
about eight years,
00:38:04
because they would automatically
reduce somebody's sentence as long as they had good behavior.
00:38:09
And he had already
served approximately two years of that
time in jail prior to the actual trial itself.
00:38:17
So he was given credit
for that time served. So all in all, he could get
out after four to six years.
00:38:25
It is a bitter disappointment
indeed for Lisa's family when Griffin is handed
such a lenient sentence.
00:38:34
Still, detectives involved feel
there is some relief that Lisa's killer is finally known.
00:38:44
I was extremely honored
to be a part of the case. I was honored that
the Green Bay Police
00:38:50
Department trusted
the FBI and trusted me throughout this process. It resulted in a conviction
of an individual who committed
00:39:00
a brutal homicide and would
have otherwise gotten away with it had we not collaborated,
had we not had trust
00:39:07
in each other, and
had we not worked hour after hour to find Lou Griffin. JEREMY HOLSTEAD: We have a name.
00:39:14
We have a face to the person who
did it, but there's no justice. Hopefully, moving
out of Green Bay.
00:39:22
Too much water under
the bridge here. I had a dream about a day to
two days or so after Lisa died--
00:39:32
desert setting, couldn't see
off into the distance at all. No horizons or nothing.
00:39:37
We came across a
little house on stilts. We walked up this wooden board
like, and we went inside.
00:39:44
And it was just a
square room, and from the ceiling to the floor
were books, books, books, books.
00:39:51
And it was lit by
an oil lantern. Off in the corner was like, a
waist-high table, and my sister
00:39:58
was laying on it with her
hands crossed on her chest. And she sat up, swaying
her legs over the side,
00:40:06
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
00:40:12
there with a doorknob on it. And she opened that up, and
this pure white blinding light
00:40:17
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.
00:40:27
And I woke up and I just knew. I knew my sister was safe. Needless to say,
the wheels of justice
00:40:35
do not always turn perfectly. In the case of this beautiful
young mom, Lisa Holstead,
00:40:44
justice finally
convicts a killer. But the lenient
sentence will always be difficult for Lisa's family
and so many others to accept,
00:40:55
including me. I'm Nancy Grace. Thank you for joining us here
on "Bloodline Detectives."
00:41:03
[OMINOUS CHORDS] [OMINOUS CHORDS] [THEME MUSIC]