Holly Harvey and Sandra Ketchum were young lesbian lovers and when Holly Grandparents tried to end their relationship the two teenage girls decided to murder them.
According to court documents Holly and Sandra would stab the elderly couple several times each causing their death. The teen killers would take off in the couple’s vehicle and would be picked up by police a short time later. Both of the girls were sentenced to multiple life terms however each was eligible for parole. As of this writing in 2021 both are still in prison
Holly Harvey 2023 Information
MAJOR OFFENSE: MURDER
MOST RECENT INSTITUTION: ARRENDALE STATE PRISON
MAX POSSIBLE RELEASE DATE: LIFE
Sandra Ketchum 2023 Information
MAJOR OFFENSE: MURDER
MOST RECENT INSTITUTION: PULASKI STATE PRISON
MAX POSSIBLE RELEASE DATE: LIFE
Holly Harvey and Sandra Ketchum Other News
Two teenage girls accused of stabbing one of the girls’ grandparents to death pleaded guilty Thursday to murder during a court hearing, ending a case that garnered national headlines. Holly Harvey, 15, was sentenced to two life sentences in prison after pleading guilty to two counts of malice murder. Because of her age, she was not eligible for the death penalty. She will not be eligible for parole until after she serves 20 years in prison.
Sandy Ketchum, 16, who has been described as Holly’s lover, was sentenced to serve three life sentences to be served consecutively. At the end of her hearing, which lasted less than 10 minutes, Fayette County Superior Court Judge Johnnie Caldwell sentenced her to three life sentences for murder and armed robbery, to be served concurrently — meaning she could be eligible for parole in 10 years.
During the court proceeding, the girls spoke about the stabbings, and the blood, which Harvey said felt like a bucket of hot water. Carl Collier, 74, and his wife, Sarah, 73, were each stabbed multiple times Aug. 2 inside the couple’s house in north Fayette County.
The girls then allegedly fled in the Colliers’ truck and were arrested the next day in Tybee Island. As part of her plea, Harvey detailed how she killed the couple. For half an hour, she choked back sobs and spoke softly as she recounted the killings to Fayette County Superior Court Judge Pascal English. Harvey and her friend had stayed out all night and spent the morning of the killings listening to music in the basement bedroom of her grandparents’ north Fayette home.
That was when Ketchum suggested stealing the grandparent’s truck “to get something to calm us down,” Harvey said. “‘We’ll have to kill them to do that,”‘ Harvey said she responded. “But I didn’t mean nothing by that,” she told Judge Pascal English. Ketchum suggested hitting them in the head with a lamp, and then suggested getting a knife, Harvey said. “I got the biggest knife I could find out of the kitchen,” she said, adding that they practiced stabbing a mattress to see if the knife was sharp enough. When the grandparents came downstairs to get a suitcase, Harvey said she stabbed her grandmother. “My eyes were closed the whole time,” she said.
Her grandfather then pinned her down and Harvey said she stabbed him in the chest. She pursued him as he ran upstairs and tried to call for help, pulling the phone out of the wall, Harvey said. “He grabbed the knife and I thought he was going to stab me,” Harvey said, adding she took the knife from him and started attacking him. When the judge asked Holly Harvey why she did it, the teen said, “For Sandy,” and added, “So that we could be together.”
Judge English asked Holly Harvey after sentencing her if 20 years in prison “was a good deal” for killing her grandparents. She answered no. When he asked what she thought should happen to her, Harvey replied, “I think I should be dead.” The judge muttered, “We both agree on that.” Ketchum’s hearing was much shorter. She was not forced to detail the crime because she was immediately cooperative with authorities, showed remorse and was prepared to testify against Holly Harvey at trial — factors which justified a lighter sentence, Prosecutor Scott Ballard said during her hearing.
Outside the courthouse, Tim Ketchum, her father, said she did the right thing. “I can’t explain it. I’m not that type of person,” he said. “I didn’t raise her to be that type of person. I want to say to the community I’m very sorry this happened.” The teens had faced two counts of felony murder, two counts of malice murder and one count of armed robbery. The maximum sentence the girls could have received was life in prison without parole. The girls were to be tried as adults in the killings.
Holly Harvey had been living with her grandparents while her mother served a prison term. Police said the girls were lesbian lovers and killed the Colliers because they disapproved of the relationship and refused to let the girls go to the beach together. The girls were arrested 17 hours after the slayings at a beach house on Tybee Island, about four hours away. Police say they found a sort of to-do list scrawled in ink on Harvey’s arm: “kill, keys, money, jewelry.”
Holly Harvey And Sandra Ketchum Videos
Holly Harvey And Sandra Ketchum Photos
Frequently Asked Questions
Holly Harvey Now
Holly Harvey is currently incarcerated at Arrendale Prison in Georgia
Holly Harvey Release Date
Holly Harvey is sentenced to life in prison however she is eligible for parole in 2024
Sandra Ketchum Now
Sandra Ketchum is currently incarcerated at Pulaski Prison in Georgia
Sandra Ketchum Release Date
Sandra Ketchum is serving a life sentence however she is currently eligible for parole
Holly Harvey And Sandra Ketchum More News
The two teenage girls arrested on Tybee Island for the murder of an elderly couple appeared in court yesterday. Sixteen-year-old Sandy Ketchum and 15-year-old Holly Harvey were led into a Fayette County courtroom wearing shackles and bulletproof vests.
The girls are facing murder charges for the stabbing death of Harvey’s grandparents, Carl and Sara Collier. Investigators say the Colliers disapproved of the girls’ romantic relationship, and they also say Harvey manipulated Ketchum to get her to help.
“I found a poem written, I don’t remember the date, the poem talked about Holly’s depression and the fact she cried herself to sleep at night,” said Lt. Bruce Jordan of the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office. “And she wished for everyone to suffer the way she suffered, and all she wanted to do was kill.”
Investigators released photos of the girls’ arrests and say the teens had a bag with them containing bloody clothing and the knives believed to be used in the killings. The teens are being held in separate detention centers under suicide watch.
Both girls will be tried as adults.
https://www.wtoc.com/story/2141400/investigators-release-photos-in-teen-double-murder-case/
The girls should of gotten the death penalty!
I think the judge gave them the appropriate sentence. They both need to rot in prison.
This crime was terrible. Holly was a girl with a terrible past. Her Mother showed no love or gave Holly a normal life. Even pimping Holly out to make money off her at the age of 12. When she went to live with her Grandparents, I do not know if they knew the extent of how Holly was raised & they did not give her much encouragement or understanding. Maybe they were just not prepared to deal with a girl with so many problems.They even took away her medication for depression & said God & prayer would help her better. This girl needed extensive professional help. Her only friend was Sandra Ketchum & they developed a relationsip together. Sandra was a follower & would do anything Holly wanted. With so much rejection from The Grandparents & others, it made things worse for Holly. She felt like she was a failure & a nothing. I do not belive this was all an excuse for what happened to the Grandparents but these girls were so mixed up & were on drugs a lot of the time. Not really an excuse but it did not help the situation. It really was a tradgity & the girl do deserve to be in prison for what they did. I just hope Holly will get treatment as well as Sandra. A very sad story indeed.
I completely agree, what a sad story. how horrible that we let our children be exposed to such terrible childhoods (neglect, sexual exploitation) and expect them to act in a sensible and reasonable manner throughout their life.