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“Kill ... Keys ... Money ... Jewelry”

Attack, getaway plan written on suspect’s arms

Chief detective: Grandparents’ killings were planned

By JOHN MUNFORD
jmunford@thecitizennews.com

In conversations with friends days before the killings, Holly Ann Harvey and Sandy Ketchum had threatened to kill her grandparents several times, according to Lt. Col. Bruce Jordan of the Fayette County Sheriff’s Department.

The friends didn’t believe they would actually follow up on the plans, but Monday afternoon, Holly was on the phone with two people trying to get ahold of a gun, Jordan said.

On Holly’s arm was a checklist written in ink: the words “kill,” “keys,” “money,” and “jewelry,” Jordan said. The attack had been planned for about three days, Jordan noted.

Carl and Sarah Collier were likely killed with three knives taken from their own kitchen by their granddaughter and her friend, Sandy Ketchum, who were romantically involved, Jordan said.

Two were recovered from the stolen truck, while the remaining missing knife was found in Ketchum’s back jeans pocket at her arrest, police said.

The Colliers died in the house where they attempted to raise Holly while her mother was in prison on drug charges. The Colliers, who had adopted Holly’s mother, were attempting to keep control of Holly themselves, but they always declined to prosecute her in juvenile court, Jordan noted, adding that he wouldn’t get into the detail of those incidents.

Although Holly and Sandy couldn’t find any money, they did find some jewelry from the Collier’s home which was recovered when the two friends were arrested Tuesday afternoon at a house in Tybee Island, officers said.

The girls had met two boys there who didn’t know them, and used the beach home as a place to stay late Monday night after murdering Holly’s grandparents in cold blood, Jordan said.

Jordan described Holly as “stone cold” and “emotionless” when she and Sandy were arrested.

“She is the coldest, probably most heartless person” Jordan has ever dealt with, the veteran detective said.

Sandy, however, has since shown “extreme remorse,” Jordan said, adding that Holly had to convince Sandy to participate in the killings.

After she was led out of the room where she was arrested, Holly laughed at the large contingent of officers who had come to make the arrest, Jordan said.

“It almost made her giddy to know we had brought that many people to arrest her,” Jordan said.

Holly, who has small arms, tried to squirm out of the handcuffs immediately after her arrest, but a U.S. Marshal swooped in and tightened the cuffs as Jordan “dropped down on her” before she could slip out, Jordan said.

The friends whom Holly and Sandy called to report the killings were acquaintances they made while incarcerated at Regional Youth Detention Centers, Jordan said. RYDCs are basically juvenile jails where some juveniles are held pending a trial and where others serve sentences after being convicted of juvenile crimes.

Help from fugitive squad crucial

Jordan said the Southeast Regional Fugitive Task Force provided six U.S. Marshals at 1 a.m., several hours after the killings. Without their help, it might have taken a bit longer to find the girls, who had told friends about the killings on a cell phone as they drove to the Savannah area on Interstate 16, Jordan said.

Detectives went to Tybee Island on a hunch after seeing photos of Holly at the beach plastered all over her bedroom at the Collier’s residence, Jordan said. Also, Holly had previously fought with the Colliers over them not allowing her to go to the beach, Jordan added.

Ultimately, the Tybee Island Police Department also assisted the marshals and six sheriff’s detectives who canvassed the island looking for the truck, which was located within a few hours, Jordan said.

Detectives found out the boys Holly and Sandy were staying with overnight had just moved to Tybee, and ultimately two houses were pinpointed as to where the suspects were, Jordan said. Both houses were raided, and one turned up Holly and Sandy, Jordan said.

Jordan said marijuana was involved in the incident, as were other drugs, but he declined to identify the other drugs. He also declined to provide details about the suspects’ juvenile record.

Because the girls did not have any money, detectives believed at 1:30 a.m. the girls would try and hook up with some boys to gain shelter for the evening since they didn’t have any cash and weren’t old enough to use a credit card to get a hotel room, Jordan said.

“Holly is manipulative.... She uses people to get what she wants,” Jordan said, adding that she also used Sandy.

Physical evidence found in truck at Tybee Island

Immediately after the killings, the suspects headed to the house of Sarah Polk, a friend, in Griffin where they cleaned up and changed clothes. They also wrapped up the murder weapons, kitchen knives, in towels, put them in a backpack and then said they would burn the backpack and its contents, Jordan added.

The backpack, two of the three knives and towels and clothes were all found in the Collier’s truck which Holly and Sandy had driven to get to Tybee, Jordan said. The other was found in Sandy’s pocket when she was arrested, Jordan added.

There was some indication that the girls also planned to kill at least one more person after killing Holly’s grandparents, Jordan said.

“When we arrived at the home, the girls were waiting for the boys’ mother to arrive,” Jordan said. The speculation was the girls may have intended to kill the mother in an attempt to get her car; also, the mother had a large amount of cash in her purse but it’s unclear if the girls knew that or not, Jordan said.

When the arrest took place, the boy who answered the door was surprised when Jordan asked if the girls had mentioned they killed Holly’s grandparents.

The surprised look on his face made it evident that no, he had no idea, Jordan noted.