The forensic reports recently made public on the mother and father of a local teen behind bars as a suspect in their shooting deaths has brought about two very different reactions from the prosecution and defense of the local teen.
Some family of Madison, namely relatives of his mother April Owenby who was killed in Eclectic last September, have been on a media blitz to clear his name of what they say are two erroneous murder charges.
Holton has been in jail nearly a year and his trial date is nowhere in sight as prosecutors work to build their case against the 18-year-old they so far have attempted to prove shot, killed and staged the death of his father and mother.
However, brother of April, Michael Evans said he believes Madison’s father, Michael Holton a former mayor and fire chief of Eclectic murdered his wife and then took his own life, changing the narrative from a double homicide to a murder suicide.
He along with April’s father, Charles Owenby, spoke to The Herald the day of Madison’s eighteenth birthday contesting his innocence, and advocating his release from jail.
Evans talked at length on previously unreleased information he said helped give context to the image they knew of Michael Holton as a man burdened by substance abuse, in a failed marriage unable to cope with his ex-wife’s new life.
But 19th Judicial Circuit DA Randall Houston said the release of this new information and that from autopsy and toxicology reports obtained by The Herald have complicated a tough case.
Madison’s attorney however expressed the opposite and said the revelation would, he hoped, speed up a process he said was dragging along, namely Madison’s prosecution.
“They (the reports) didn’t come from us and I would be subject to being disciplined by the bar if they had,” said Houston, referring to the release of the information.
Asked why it was so significant Houston said, “We’ll probably have to move the trial to another damn county.”
Information found within the toxicology report of Michael Holton showed three substances were found in his system at the time of his death –all opioids and like drugs – while autopsy results revealed a battered April Owenby with bruises to various parts of her body, and Michael with marks that could indicate a struggle was taking place prior to the shooting.
Which is what Evans said he believed occurred.
“I will tell you that it should not have been released until after it was evidence (at) trial,” Houston said. Asked why, he said “It taints the jury pool that’s why…that’s the theory that the bar has.”
Holton’s attorney, Tom Azar, said the information was new to him, but something he had been seeking.
Azar said the information was part of the case’s discovery and the “unwritten rule” he said throughout the state was that evidence is not provided to the defense until after a grand jury indictment.
“The DA’s office has not provided that,” said Azar. “I’ve been asking for it but they haven’t provided anything.”
Azar sounded less confident the trial would change counties because of the information in the toxicology and autopsy reports being made public.
“I can’t say no, certainly if the DA asks for a change of venue,” Azar said. “It’s hard as the dickens to get a change in venue.”
As for the grand jury Holton is expected to undergo, no one has been able to say just when that will be as one-by-one they pass by and Madison’s case is postponed.
“I was told January, I was told April, I was told July and here we are in August,” Azar said.
However he said it was not uncommon for murder cases to take a long time before entering a courtroom in any trial capacity.
“Unfortunately murder cases frequently take a year, year and a half, to get to grand jury,” Azar said.
As for the evidence presented to The Herald and the forensic reports it obtained, Houston said there was not much he could say or verify by law.
“We’re not allowed to talk about forensic science,” Houston said. “I can’t talk about it.”
The same he said applied in the instance that the defendant were to admit to anything within the same period of discovery.
Once it was introduced into evidence though he said that would change, but until then nothing relating to the reports could be confirmed or denied.
“There’s a difference between a confession and a inculpatory statement,” Houston said, and he followed by saying those were in many cases misinterpreted by law enforcement.
“Once that starts going around you end up having to move the case to another county,” he said.
However he said all of the rules were in place to protect the defendant, in this case Madison.
“It’s to protect the rights of the defendant,” Houston said.
On the information presented by Evans of Michael Holton’s “suicide manifesto,” Houston said he had not seen what was described as the roughly seven-page document detailing Michael Holton’s troubled past and intent to end his life at 37.
“If it’s there, nobody showed it to me,” Houston said. “I haven’t seen it, nobody has shown that to me.”
However, had he seen it, he said he would not be able to talk about it.
He said given the assistant DAs he has working on the case, had the “manifesto” been significant they would have presented it to him.
Azar said, “(I) had heard there was a diary for lack of a better description, that Michael Holton is alleged to have written that talks about suicide … it’s supposed to exist and it’s supposed to talk about suicide.”
On the allegations of Michael’s history of drug abuse, and the forensic evidence showing its presence in his system, Houston said it was a commonly used tactic of a defense.
“Defense attorneys use that kind of information, in general use that to discredit the victim, that’s a common ploy in the criminal justice system,” Houston said. “It’s a common ploy to paint the victim as a drug addict…it’s not unusual for their to be allegations of that sort.”
Azar said the last he saw his client was roughly two weeks ago at the time of the interview, but at that time he was being held in general population at Elmore County Jail.
Madison’s family said until this time he has said the evidence will prove his innocence.
Azar said he believes that to be true as well.
“I do agree completely with that… evidence will clear him.” Azar said.
And though he said none of the evidence the DA’s office is in possession of has made it to him, one detail gives him strong support of Madison’s innocence.
“I do know that there was no blood evidence found on Madison which immediately leads me to believe that he did not enter the room where his parents were killed,” Azar said.
Though he has not seen pictures of the scene, he said his 20 years in law enforcement working on suicides and homicides backs up his theory.
“What took place at the Holtons’ residence would have created quite a bloody scene,” Azar said. “There would be at a minimum trace evidence, blood on him or his clothing.”
Houston said the evidence they procured, if it was evidence of a murder would be presented to a jury for the “people of Elmore County” to decide, if not moved to another county.
He said with a murder involving sides of a family things could get mired in emotion.
“Any time you have a murder that involves family it’s not unusual for one side to see it one way, one side the other,” Houston said. “We’re not here to deal with the emotions for either said side.”
Whether the prosecution was still pointing to Madison as the prime suspect, Houston said that would be coming from a forensic report, which he said was off limits for discussion.
“What we’re going to do is we will look at it very closely before it goes to grand jury … (present evidence) and let them make the decision,” Houston said. “There’s no question it’s going to be a difficult case.”