Tennessee Man Sentenced After Wife's Death: Confession Unravels Staged Suicide

A Tennessee man receives a two-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to charges related to the death of his wife, initially ruled a suicide.

Nashville, TN

A heartbreaking case that once was ruled a suicide has taken a dramatic turn in Tennessee. Donovan Holt, 33, has been sentenced to two years in prison and eight years in community corrections after pleading guilty to charges that include reckless homicide, tampering with evidence, and false reporting in connection with the death of his wife, April Holt, 29.

April was found unresponsive with a plastic bag around her neck, and authorities initially believed her death to be self-inflicted. However, doubts emerged when her mother, Jamie Dickerson, noticed troubling injuries that did not match a suicide. According to Nashville and Davidson County court records, these concerns eventually led to further investigation. Dickerson recalled how, upon seeing her daughter on life support, the bruises on April's neck and ankles, along with broken blood vessels on her face, made it clear that her death was not accidental.

The case took a crucial turn when Holt confessed in a recorded phone call that he had strangled April, dragged her to the shower, and taped a plastic bag over her face to stage her death as a suicide. His admission, which he made in June 2024, prompted authorities to arrest him in San Antonio on September 19, 2024.

At the sentencing hearing on February 18, the court handed down Holt's sentence. While the victim's family expressed their agreement with the sentence, they also voiced their dismay that the charge of reckless homicide prevented a possible upgrade to a first-degree murder charge. April had left behind two young children—a son, 8, and a daughter, 12—and her tragic story continues to resonate deeply within the community.