William Dathan Holbert

William Dathan Holbert
U.S. Marshall's Service Fugitive Photo
Born William Dathan Holbert
(1979-09-12) September 12, 1979[1]
Hendersonville, North Carolina, United States
Other names William Adolfo Cortez[2]
Criminal penalty 47 years
Details
Victims 5+
Country Panama
Date apprehended
 July 26, 2010[3]

William Dathan Holbert (born September 12, 1979), also known as Wild Bill, is a self-confessed murderer from Hendersonville, North Carolina. He is currently serving a 47-year sentence for the killings of five Americans in Panama.

Prosecutors allege Holbert, a former associate of the National Alliance,[4] confessed to killing five people in Panama and one person in Costa Rica to get their money and properties. Prosecutors say Holbert befriended the victims, shot them in the head, buried their bodies, and then stole their homes and businesses.[5]

Holbert and his ex-wife, Laura Michelle Reese, were arrested by authorities as they attempted to make their way into Nicaragua via Costa Rica on July 26, 2010.[6][7][8][9]

Holbert now operates and chairs "Los Reos Unificados," a syndicated Christian inmate organization, on the national level in the Republic of Panama. Holbert also operates "Panama Human Rights," an international human rights organization for prisoners. In September 2014, Holbert's lawyer issued a statement saying that Holbert had been appointed Chaplain of the Catholic Church in the Public Jail of David; however, the Directorate General for Prisons immediately issued a statement of denial indicating that was not the case.[10][11]

After six years of his confession for the killing five people in Panama, the Superior Court of the province of Chiriqui in Panama set a trial date for Dec. 5 2016.[12]

Holbert was sentenced to 47 years on the 14th of August 2017 for the killings of the five victims in Panama.

Media coverage

Dateline NBC season 20 episode 7 "Rescue on the Mountainside/Stealing Paradise", original air date October 2010. Kate Snow investigates Cher Hughe, a resident of Panama and her ties to Holbert and Reese's criminal ways.[13]

In 2016, a detailed account of Holbert's crimes written by Nick Foster, The Jolly Roger Social Club: A True Story of a Killer in Paradise, was published.[14]

References

  1. ↑ Winner, Don (July 28, 2010). "Identities of William Dathan Holbert and Laura Michelle Reese Confirmed - 100%". panama-guide.com. Retrieved 28 March 2014.
  2. ↑ Foster, Nick (13 July 2016). "Catching Wild Bill and Jane: The End of a Killing Spree in Panama | Literary Hub". lithub.com. Retrieved 28 January 2017.
  3. ↑ Hawkins, Kristal. "The real-life 'Hostel' murders". crimelibrary.com. Archived from the original on 9 February 2015. Retrieved 28 March 2014.
  4. ↑ "Ten Years After the Founder's Death, Key Neo-Nazi Group a 'Joke'". Huffington Post. July 25, 2012.
  5. ↑ Getlen, Larry (10 July 2016). "How a small-time crook became a ruthless killer — with a passion for real estate". New York Post. NYP HOLDINGS, INC. Retrieved 28 January 2017.
  6. ↑ Sheridan, Michael (August 2, 2010). "Fugitives William Dathan Holbert, Laura Michelle Reese busted in Panama as suspected serial killers". New York Daily News. Retrieved 2010-10-22.
  7. ↑ "William Dathan Holbert, Jailed American, Admits Killing 5 People In Panama Resort Area: Authorities". Huffington Post. August 2, 2010. Archived from the original on 13 March 2016.
  8. ↑ "Wild Bill:Terror, Death Deception". Telemetro News. October 6, 2010.
  9. ↑ "Mission Statement". Panama Human Rights. May 9, 2015.
  10. ↑ "Desmienten que "Wild Bill" haya sido designado como capellán". telemetro.com. Retrieved 5 September 2014.
  11. ↑ Sabloff, Nicholas (August 5, 2010). "William Holbert Panama Murders: More Bodies Found At Hostel Of U.S. Man Accused Of Serial Killings". huffingtonpost.com. Retrieved 28 March 2014.
  12. ↑ Margulis, Abigail (21 October 2016). "Trial date set for confessed serial killer, WNC native 'Wild Bill'". Citizen Times. www.citizen-times.com. Retrieved 28 January 2017.
  13. ↑ Snow, Kate (22 October 2010). "Stealing Paradise". Dateline. NBC News.com. Retrieved 28 January 2017.
  14. ↑ Foster, Nick, "The Jolly Roger Social Club: A True Story of a Killer in Paradise" (Henry Holt and Company LLC 2016).


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.