Roebuck Double Murder: New Details Revealed In Case

BIRMINGHAM, AL - New details have surfaced in a gruesome double murder in Roebuck the afternoon of Aug. 2. The death of Mary and Steve Holt has resulted in the arrest of a couple found in south Florida and recently extradited to Birmingham. Police say the couple's 3-year-old granddaughter was tied up while Zachary Phillips and Kristen Gullion stabbed the Holts to death.

Guillion and Phillips had reportedly been staying at a house across the street from the Holts leading up to the murder. The Birmingham Police Department received the report about a young child wandering the street alone the afternoon of Aug. 2, and when investigators arrived, they noticed the child's clothing was stained with blood. The child, later identified as the 3-year-old granddaughter of the couple who lived in the home, led officers to two unresponsive adults inside their home. Both adults were pronounced dead on the scene at 4:41 p.m.

Related story: Victims Whose Granddaughter Led Police To Their Bodies Identified

Gullion, 30, and 23-year-old Phillips are each charged with two counts of capital murder. The suspects were each arrested in south Florida August 10 when they were in possession of the Holts' stolen car. A report by Alabama Media Group said after a preliminary hearing Thursday morning, Jefferson County Circuit Judge Tracie Todd bound the cases over to a grand jury for possible indictment.

Birmingham police Det. Joylyn Craig testified at Thursday's hearing, and said police found a blue and yellow phone cord in the tub that was still partially knotted, and saw a child's bloody fingerprints on the toilet. (For more updates on this story and free news alerts for your neighborhood, sign up for your local Patch morning newsletter.)

The Alabama Media Group report also said the day after the Holts were killed, the child was interviewed. She said "the bad guy came up behind Nene" and pushed "Nene." She said "Nene" never got up again. The child also said the person who pushed her grandmother was wearing a dark-colored jacket.

The child said while she was trying to wake up her grandmother, the person tied her up and put her in the bathtub. She stayed in the tub for a while until she had to use the bathroom, so she managed to free herself from the ties and look for her grandfather, whom she called "Napo." When she couldn't find him, the child said she went across the street for help.

When the Holts; was searched, Craig said officers found clothing from the Holts, a red hooded-sweatshirt, the Holts' car registration, and a pair of boots inside a military bag that had one of the Holt's son's name on it. Craig said the boots appeared to match the print inside the Holt's home, but testing is yet to confirm. Mary Holt sold Mary Kay cosmetics, and Craig said many Mary Kay products were found inside the car.

Court records show Gullion pleaded guilty May 11 to receiving stolen property in connection with a Cullman County burglary after she was found in possession of a Remington .22 rife, electronics and lawn tools worth more than $2,500. She received a two-year suspended sentence, but her probation was revoked later that month after the Morgan County Task Force arrested her for possession of methamphetamine.

Photos via Miami-Dade County Jail