A man who pleaded guilty to killing his father and enlisting the help of his 7-year-old daughter to bury him has been sentenced to prison.
Gregory L. Holm, 40, was sentenced to serve a one-to-15-year term at the Utah State Prison. Third District Judge Kenneth Rigtrup also ordered him to pay nearly $10,000 in fines.Holm was charged with murder, desecration of a human body, forgery, theft and tampering with evidence. He was allowed to plead guilty, however, to a reduced charge of manslaughter as part of a plea agreement. The other charges all stemmed from his attempt to cover up his father's death.
Hikers found the body of Harold Holm, 86, on Sept. 6, 1992, partially buried in Lost Creek Canyon in Morgan County. Rope was tied around his feet and neck. An autopsy indicated that several of his injuries, including fractured ribs, were received before he died.
The victim's 7-year-old granddaughter told police she accompanied her father to the desert after her father told her they were going to "play a game and bury grandpa." She said she helped her father cover her grandfather with sand and noticed that his eyes did not close when the sand landed in them.
Holm said Monday he regrets the pain he has caused to his family and daughter and promised to make the most of his time in prison. He said he is an alcoholic and was unable to quit drinking.
"I deeply regret what happened to my father. I loved him very much. I miss him very much. There isn't anything he wouldn't have done for me," Holm said.
Greg Holm had threatened to pour gasoline on his father in 1990 and was charged with burning his father's car that same day. He also held a SWAT team at bay for 13 hours on Feb. 4, 1992, after they believed he was holding his father, mother and daughter hostage.
After it was over, however, Harold Holm stood up for his son and denied they were being held against their will.
Prosecutor James Cope said, "It's obvious that his father on more than one occasion tried to do too much for him. His father paid the ultimate price."