In July of 2023, 29-year-old April Holt was involved in an argument with her husband, Donovan Holt. The argument was overheard by their 7-year-old son. Afterwards, Donovan sent his son into the bathroom to "check" on his mother, and there, they found April lying on the bathroom floor with a plastic bag taped around her head. Donovan Holt then called the police, and days later, April passed away in the hospital. 

For nearly a year, the Nashville police department ruled April's death a suicide, even though her family knew that wasn't the case. They believed April was murdered by her husband. 

Two weeks before April's death, she had started the process of filing for divorce. Her husband had failed to pay his portion of the rent, and they were about to be evicted from their apartment. In the days before her death, April was texting friends and family about how she was getting a divorce and how she was done with Donovan for good. April was moving on. She even rekindled things with an ex-boyfriend. And then, days later, she mysteriously died. 

Despite having all of this information, the police were not convinced that April was murdered. And they stood by their ruling of suicide. But then, in the summer of 2024, April's mother, Jamie Dickerson, secretly recorded a phone call where Donovan confessed that April DID NOT KILL HERSELF. Donovan said that he "accidentally" killed April while choking her during sex. And from there, he was arrested on charges of reckless homicide. 

But we don't believe April was killed by accident. In the days before her death, April wrote in her journal that she and Donovan weren't having sex anymore. April had also been sexually assaulted by a man in Tennessee just days before she passed. After the assault, she wrote about feeling ashamed, embarrassed, and dirty. She said that the assault physically hurt her. So the fact that Donovan Holt claimed that they were having violent, choking sex after she had just been assaulted just doesn't add up. Plus, their son heard them arguing in the room before she was found unconscious. 

April's family believes that Donovan Holt was losing all control. He was losing his home, his family, and his wife was moving on. He even wrote in his journals that if he got a divorce, he would just be a "money man" to April, rather than a husband. So, they believe that he intended to kill his wife that day. And then, following the attack, he staged her suicide... Something HE ADMITTED TO DOING. 

Please consider listening to the coverage of this story on the podcast Murder in America. Parts 1 and 2 are titled "The Murder of April Holt Story, Our Most Important Episode To Date." In them, we go through the entire story, detailing everything we have uncovered. 

Donovan Holt is just weeks away from being arraigned on charges of reckless homicide. If convicted, the maximum sentence is just 12 years. We believe that on the day in question,  Donovan Holt snapped and strangled his wife to death. Then, to conceal what he did, he staged her suicide and lied to investigators for months. 

Donovan Holt has proven himself to be a liar. So why does anyone believe that he accidentally killed his wife during sex? 

Please consider signing the petition to increase his charges from reckless homicide to second-degree murder. Donovan Holt took a 29-year-old mother of two from this world, and justice needs to be served. A 12-year prison sentence IS NOT JUSTICE. 

*If you want to make a donation to April's family, please consider looking at the gofundme we created. https://gofund.me/7b071640