Two South Lake Tahoe cold cases solved with genetic genealogy

EL DORADO COUNTY, Calif. - Two decades old murders in the South Lake Tahoe area have been solved using genetic genealogy, identifying a deceased local man as the murderer of two women.

During a El Dorado Cold Case Task Force press conference in Placerville Monday, District Attorney Vern Pierson said Joseph Stephen Holt of South Lake Tahoe and San Jose was responsible for killing Brynn Rainey in 1977 and Carol Ann Andersen in 1979.

Holt was identified as their killer through DNA from blood on Brynn's shirt and from Carol's body. The Cold Case Task Force employed Parabon Nanolabs to construct a “family tree" from those samples. Parabon was able to identify three deceased brothers who might be the source of the DNA from the public DNA database, GEDmatch.com.

The Task Force collected DNA from the child of one of the brothers, as well as DNA from a toothbrush that belonged to that brother. Further testing confirmed that Joseph Holt’s DNA was a match to the DNA obtained from the victims.

The families of the two victims have "been frozen in time," said Pierson, with the solving of the cold case giving them closure.

“Finally after 44 years of hell and back, we have some answers,” said Brynn Rainey’s brother, Pete Garl.

Brynn had moved to South Lake Tahoe from Ohio just one month before disappearing. The 27-year-old Sahara Tahoe Keno runner was on her way to work a 2:00 a.m. shift and stopped by the Bitter Creek Saloon near the corner of Sandy Way and Takela Drive at approximately 10:00 p.m. on July 23, 1977. She never made it to work and her body was found partially buried by horseback riders a month later at the old Sunset Stables. She died by either strangulation or suffocation.

Carole Ann Anderson was just 16 and a junior at George Whittell High School when she went to hang out with friends at Regan Beach in South Lake Tahoe on June 30, 1979. She then got a ride to a party on Regina Road near Heavenly Mountain Resort. As people were leaving the party, several of them offered her a ride home but she wanted to stay behind. It is believed that she left the party at 11:30 that night but whether it was on foot or with someone is unknown. Her body was located the next morning on Sundown Trail north of Golden Bear Trail, off of Pioneer Trail. Her cause of death was strangulation. During the autopsy, examination of Andersen’s wrists revealed marks as if she had been bound.

“Almost 40 years ago, a beautiful, vibrant teenager was taken from her mother, older sisters, younger brother, and younger sister. Unfortunately, relatively quickly the case went cold and while from time to time it would be revisited nothing could be found, until about a year ago," Carol's family said in a statement. "It was at that time that an incredible team of four investigators from the El Dorado County District Attorney’s Cold Case Files and through all their hard work and efforts, they were able to give the family some answers and closure and ultimately allow Carol Andersen to rest in peace!"

Both women had been sexually assaulted before their deaths and it is unknown how Holt abducted them.

Holt was 66 at the time of his death in South Lake Tahoe in April 2014. He died of a heart attack and other complications according to his death certificate. After graduation from UC Berkeley, Holt moved to South Lake Tahoe in 1974 and began a career in real estate, much of the time owning properties for rental purposes. He lived on Keller Road, near the party Carol attended the last night she was seen alive. At the time of his death he was living on Grass Lake Way in Christmas Valley.

"He was a very successful predator," said Pierson of Holt. Pierson also said there is a high probability Holt was involved in other crimes and hopes the release of his photo will bring others forward. If anyone has information concerning Joseph Holt, or any information concerning any unsolved crime in El Dorado County, please contact the Cold Case Task Force Tip Line at (530) 621-4590.

Pierson said Holt is a suspect in at least one other violent crime in Los Gatos, Calif. In that case, what started out as an attempted car burglary turned into a gunfight after the potential victims starting chasing the thief. The thief, who authorities think may be Holt, shot one of the men, but by that time two police officers had shown up and a gunfight started, with the suspect dropping his weapon and being able to escape (nobody died in this case). The firearm used by the suspect had previously been reported stolen from a cab driver in South Lake Tahoe.

Holt's surviving family members, including his children, said they had no idea their relative was a killer and were fully cooperative with law enforcement during this investigation.

DNA filed with GEDmatch helped solve 28 murders and rapes in 2018.

People search for their genealogy by submitting their DNA to places like 23andMe and Ancestry.com. Those companies are not allowed to share the DNA with law enforcement, but companies like GEDmatch can when those submitting the DNA give permission by checking a box on paperwork. So far GEDmatch has over one million DNA uploads to their website.

According to the District Attorney's Office, there are several other cold cases in El Dorado County that have been fast forwarded and getting closer to action. The County has more than double the number of cold cases than neighboring Placer County which has a higher population. Pierson said a possible reason is due to the fast growth of South Lake Tahoe in the 70s, 80s and 90s, and being a playground to so many and close to the gambling of Nevada. While not all cases have DNA samples, the task force hopes to utilize the databases more in the future.

In 2007, Pierson established the Cold Case Task Force (“CCTF”), a team comprised of prosecutors and investigators from the District Attorney’s Office, a Forensic DNA Analyst from the CA Dept. of Justice, experienced Detectives from both the Sheriff’s Office and the South Lake Tahoe Police Department. The CCTF placed a renewed emphasis on solving these cases using cutting edge forensic technology coupled with dedicated investigative resources