MORE: Death of Huber Heights man found in Springfield park ruled a homicide
Holt’s cousin, Gene Cameron, said he was a caring person.
“He was a kind-hearted, very loving man,” Cameron said in a Facebook message to the Springfield News-Sun. “He was all about taking care of his family by any means.”
Holt didn’t deserve what happened to him, Cameron said.
“I love my cousin very much and I’m heartbroken over what happened to him,” he said. “All I can think about is what he went through that night. I know he was terrified.”
READ: Springfield man found dead in Mabra park
The family hopes justice is served, Cameron said.
“He will definitely be missed and forever loved,” he said. “I really hope they get to the bottom of it and find whose responsible.”
The Springfield Police Division is working hard to solve the case, Graf said during a press conference.
“I want to express condolences to the family and friends of (Holt),” Graf said.
The division hasn’t released information about how Holt died. Graff declined to answer specific questions about the circumstances of Holt’s death during the press conference.
He did ask the community to call the division with any tips people might have.
EXTRA: Springfield police investigating body found atlocal park as homicide
Just before Holt’s body was found Tuesday, authorities in Huber Heights responded to a home on Shull Road where two boys, one being Holt’s 14-year-old son, had been tied up in a home invasion. The home had been ransacked, according to 9-1-1 calls.
“We want to try to have a good timeline and piece together where Mr. Holt was upon leaving that area home at 11 at night to when his body was found,” Graf said.
Springfield and Huber police are investigating both cases, but say they are unsure if they are connected.
Holt has a past in Virgil Mabra Park, according to police records. In 2013, Holt was playing dice in the park — also known as Rose Park — when two men pulled up to his car, pointed a semi-automatic weapon at him, handcuffed him and made him get in the back of their car, police said at the time.
Investigators said the men eventually took thousands of dollars from a storage unit where they had taken Holt and abandoned him.
Holt’s murder is the fourth in Springfield since March. Graf said the department is fighting violent crime, but it is impossible to predict where the next incident might take place.
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