Murder of Holly Jones

Holly Jones was a 10-year-old girl living in the west end of Toronto, Canada.

Who got abducted, attacked, and murdered in the spring of 2003.

On May 12, 2003, Holly volunteered to walk her mate Claudia's residence after a play date.

Holly was growing in freedom, moving toward adolescence, and was anxious to show her maturity. Claudia lived a short distance from Holly, so they stepped along the same route that Holly utilized to go to school. Upon seeing Claudia off, Holly started walking back residence.

When Holly left her home at 6 pm to walk Claudia's residence, it was still daylight, but as the darkness rose, her parents started to worry. Hours after she still didn’t come home, they reported her disappearance, urging a large-scale police investigation, and an Amber Alert that was published the next morning.

On May 13, 2003, a man walking his dog on the shores of the Toronto Island fumbled across two bags, each containing corpse parts. Police recognized the remains as Holly Jones’ remains. Police scanned the waterfront where the remains were discovered for information, begging the public if anyone knew anything about Holly’s disappearance and killing. The area covering Holly’s neighborhood was on high alert in the weeks following the murder, with announcements of multiple attempted kidnappings. People lived in suspicion for their children’s lives, and schools were forced to take powerful security regulations.

Law enforcement began again to search for proof, starting a controversial policy, which was a wide-scale request for voluntary DNA collection, from men within the region that Holly had gone missing. Only a few men denied taking part in the policy. The police were able to terminate all but one of these men, a 35-year-old software developer called Michael Briere. He had no previous criminal record. Police put Michael Briere under the supervision and collected a DNA sample of his saliva after he disposed of a soda can in a public trash bin. His DNA matched blood was discovered under Holly’s fingernails, urging police to charge him.

While under inquiry, Michael admitted to everything in full detail about the killing of Holly Jones. After viewing child pornography, he went on to walk outside just as Holly passed in front of his residence, and he made a split-second decision, that finally ended her life. He sexually abused and choked her within an hour of taking her captive, then hid her corpse in his refrigerator, and dismembered her. Over three days, he disposed of her corpse by dumping the bags in the harbor, then disposing of the rest on garbage day.

Michael Briere was charged was first-degree killing on June 20, 2003, and was held without bail, in protective supervision. In the ensuing months, Michael waived his rights to an initial hearing, and pleaded guilty on June 17, 2004, hoping to spare the Jones family from a painful trial. He accepted an automatic life sentence, and will not be able of parole until 2028.