Five months after disappearing, a mother of 10 was found dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.
The body of Donna Jean Holiday, 55, was found in a field west of the city Sunday morning by a man running with his hunting dog, said Centerville Sgt. Neal Worsley. A gun was found near the body."The cause of death appears to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head," Worsley said.
Police had been looking for Holiday since she disappeared June 30, when she was last seen by one of her sons walking on Centerville's Main Street. Holiday left a six-page letter addressing each of her children, ranging in ages from 14 to 34.
In the note, the woman explained she was leaving because she felt she was impeding her family's progress and needed to get out of their way, said her husband, Bob Holiday.
Donna Holiday was described as a tireless mother, a loving wife, a dutiful homemaker and selfless in her church service. However, she also suffered from depression, which resulted in a break-down last December. A psychiatrist prescribed what her husband described as a myriad medications to control the illness.
Centerville police handled her disappearance as a missing person case, which included an exhaustive search of Davis County by canine units, including the area where the body was found. Some 200 volunteers scoured the foothills from Centerville to Farmington and west to the Great Salt Lake.
Police believe the body had been lying in the same spot since the day Holiday disappeared but was hidden by foliage, Worsley said.
A positive identification was made Monday by the state medical examiner's office through dental records.