Holland Convicted in Carjack-Murder of Elderly Woman

After little more than 90 minutes of deliberations, a Ventura County jury on Monday found Alan Brett Holland guilty of murdering an elderly Oxnard widow so that he could steal her car and purse.

During the penalty phase of the trial next month, the jury will decide if Holland, a 30-year-old former North Hollywood resident, should be sentenced to death or spend the rest of his life in prison for shooting 65-year-old Mildred Wilson in the parking lot of Ventura’s Poinsettia Mall in July 1996.

Wilson, a widow who lived in a trailer park in Oxnard, was shot once through the heart during the robbery.

Monday’s verdict comes after only three days of testimony.

Although prosecutors brought in 26 witnesses, Holland’s defense attorney, Willard Wiksell, called none during the short trial.

After the verdict was read, Wiksell said he plans to present extensive evidence during the penalty phase to ask the jury to spare Holland’s life. Wiksell plans to show that his client suffered severe brain damage as a boy, which in turn has “seriously affected his judgment.”

Summing up the case, Wiksell said evidence presented against his client had been “very compelling.”

Some of that evidence included Holland’s fingerprints left in Wilson’s abandoned car, a receipt of a purchase he made with Wilson’s stolen credit card and the gun used to kill Wilson found on Holland the day he was arrested.

But perhaps most difficult to refute was an alleged confession Holland made in jail.

“I didn’t mean to shoot her. I didn’t know that she would die when I shot her,” Holland allegedly told a deputy. “I don’t want to go to prison. I am not responsible. I just want to die.”

Holland was chained to his swivel chair in court Monday and showed little emotion when the verdict was read.

Along with murdering Wilson, Holland was convicted of the special circumstances of using a gun in the crime and killing Wilson during a robbery and carjacking.

The jury’s verdict came after they listened to closing arguments earlier in the day.

During his closing statements, prosecutor Don Glynn recapped the evidence against Holland, saying the fingerprints, the credit card purchase, the gun and Holland’s confession could lead the jurors to only one conclusion.

“The bottom line is that Mr. Holland is the paradigm of evil,” Glynn said. “He committed this crime and the only justice is if you find him guilty as charged.”

None of Wilson’s family members were in the courtroom when the verdict was read. The retired nurse’s brother and sister-in-law, who had sat in on closing statements, were in Los Angeles when the verdict was reached and could not return in time.

Superior Court Judge Vincent O’Neill Jr. told jurors Monday that the penalty phase, which is scheduled to begin Jan. 12, would likely last much longer than the guilt phase of the trial.