EDWARDSVILLE – Madison County State’s Attorney Tom Haine announced Deundrea Holloway pleaded guilty to first-degree murder following the sentencing and conviction for the murder of pregnant Liese Dodd.
Dodd was pregnant and murdered by decapitation in June of 2022. At the time, police referred to Dodd’s killer as a “savage monster“.
Deundrea Holloway pleaded guilty to first-degree murder, intentional homicide of an unborn child and concealment of a homicidal death. Heidi Noel, Dodd’s mother, supported the plea deal that led to a 60-year sentence.
“This is a tragic outcome of a two-year on-and-off again domestic violence relationship,” Noel said. “This didn’t have to end this way; my daughter should be here raising her toddler.”
Throughout the legal process, there were questions raised about the mental competency of Holloway.
“If you have a mental instability or mental illness, seek treatment and be consistent with your treatment,” Noel said. “Understand that your condition or illness will not keep you from being held accountable for the crimes you commit.”
Reading from a prepared statement, Noel also encouraged anyone in an abusive relationship to find resources available to help create a safe escape plan.
“Even if you think you can get away with a crime like this through domestic violence, you’re not going to get away with it,” Madison County State’s Attorney Tom Haine said.
He said a court ruling prevented an automatic life sentence from occurring in this case.
“The (Illinois) Supreme Court ruled that innocent life in the womb in this case was not a victim for the purposes of sentencing, and so that really removed our ability to secure that natural life sentence,” Haine said.
He remains confident the 60-year sentence will result in Holloway remaining behind bars for the rest of his life.
“I don’t believe he’ll be seeing the light of day as a free man,” said Haine.