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Benton County Sheriff's Office via AP
Zachary Holly was booked on charges capital murder, kidnapping and residential burglary in the Nov. 20 death of Jersey Bridgeman, 6, in Bentonville, Ark. on Monday.
Zachary Holly, the Arkansas man charged Wednesday with the rape and murder of 6-year-old Jersey Bridgeman, had been babysitting the little girl the night before her disappearance, as he had many times before, according to a court document released after his first hearing Wednesday.
Jersey's death came just months after a high-profile child abuse case in which her father and stepmother, David Bridgeman and Jana Bridgeman, convicted of chaining the girl to a dresser at night. Jana Bridgeman is serving a 12-year prison sentence, plus three years for a probation revocation. David Bridgeman is serving an 18-year prison sentence.
Jersey had since moved in with her mother, DesaRae Bridgeman, and began kindergarten this fall in Bentonville, about 215 miles northwest of Little Rock. They lived next door to Zachary Holly, 28, and his wife Amanda, friends of the family who frequently babysat Jersey and her 2-year-old sister, as they did on Nov. 19, according to interviews described in the affidavit of probable cause released Wednesday.
When DesaRae came home from work at about 11 that night, she went to get the girls, and after she chatted with the Hollys for a few minutes, Zachary carried Jersey to her home, while DesaRae carried the younger sister — and they placed them in the same bed, the document says.
Jersey was reported missing the morning of Nov. 20. Minutes after a search for her began, Jersey's body was discovered in an abandoned house two doors away.
The probable cause document released to the public is heavily redacted, but it reveals that the crime lab in Bentonville worked through the Thanksgiving holiday to develop a DNA profile from sperm cells found on Jersey's body.
Holly called Bentonville police on Nov. 23, according to the affidavit, and later showed up at a station, gave a statement — the details of which are entirely blacked out in the document — and then was booked on charges of capital murder, kidnapping, rape and residential burglary.
In Wednesday's hearing at the First Circuit Court in Bentonville, Ark., he was denied bond, NBC affiliate KARK-TV reported.
Bentonville Police Department via AP
Undated photo of Jersey Bridgeman.
One neighbor, Julie Pickard, told The Associated Press Tuesday that Holly wept the day Jersey's body was found.
"He was crying for a long time," said Pickard.
The fact that Jersey was abused by parental figures and a neighbor is suspected in her death fits into an unfortunate pattern, according to Beverly Engle executive director of the Children’s Advocacy Center of Benton County in Arkansas.
"Ninety-six percent of people who offend on children are people that the child knows. We all have been so trained in the stranger-danger aspect, which certainly does happen, but I think the reality is that’s about 4 percent," said Engle, who interviewed Jersey last year when allegations of abuse against her father and stepmother surfaced.
"Jersey was a precious, adorable child and it is very grieving to know even in the moments before her death what she may have experienced, knowing this person or trusting this person,” Engle said.
'A little old soul': Girl found dead after dad, stepmom jailed
Holly is being held in Benton County Jail, and on Tuesday was attacked by another inmate, jail Capt. Chris Sparks told The AP Wednesday. He said Holly wasn't seriously injured, and that the other inmate, who was in jail on a parole violation, could face charges.
"Obviously this case has gotten a lot of exposure in the media and all the inmates know what he's in for ..." Sparks said. "We're going to do our best to try and keep him safe, just like we do every other inmate."
Holly was not required to speak at the hearing, and KARK reported that he remained silent as his lawyers, including public defender Jay Saxton, asked to review the decision to deny bond.
This article includes reporting by NBC News' Elizabeth Chuck and The Associated Press.
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Leave a Comment:
This makes me so sick!!!! People, choose your family friends better!!!! Don't tell me the mom didn't feel a bad vibe or something off about this piece of crap!
Don't blame the mom Dolores, these types are often very normal, charming and particularly nice even.
It makes us all sick, but I don't know if you can tell a pedophile by looking. I don't know what kind of vibes they send off. Right now I am thinking life is one big crapshoot.
How can anyone believe in an all-powerful, all-knowing being who loves us when something like this happens? You godders can take your "mysterious ways" of gaawwd and shove it. I would RATHER burn in hell than bow down to a powerful entity that would allow something like this to happen to this little girl. I'm not worried about "hell" though, the afterlife is nothing but childish, wishful thinking. This child is not in a "better place," she lost the only chance at life she will ever have.
Unfortunately your probably right.
God does not run our lives. God gave us free will to do as we choose, and will judge us on our choices when we pass.
If God could have stopped this than he could stop any evil from happening. Where should he draw the line.
I hope God has put her with the Angels.
In this little ones case, it sounds like her free will was taken from her the moment she was born. Someone somewhere decided she would be born into a family that was ill-equipped to care for her. Do you see what I am trying to say?
I see Johnny, so "god" sat back and watched this little girl getting raped and murdered thinking "gee that's too bad what's happening to this little child, but I ain't breaking my "free will" policy for anything, no way, no how." Well SCREW YOUR "GOD!" and his "free will."
That sick sum bitch deserves to die a slow painful death. Put him in a cell with me and I will break as many bones as possible before stomping his adams apple and crushing his skull.
Gee, so glad I live in one of them thar un-Christian blue states. You know, the places with no morality because we lost touch with God, says the preacher from Arkansas. Oh, boy.
Please let me win the Powerball tonight so I can buy a couple politicians and the warden of this prison off. I would like to see this scum die the most horrible death imaginable.
I hope his death is painful and long.
There is so much evil in this world ,This type of evil is like a cancer it needs to be cut out before it spreads.To all the pedophiles and other scum out there your time will come.
Gee, think of how nice it would be to pick his punishment..........
That poor little girl never had a chance in this life. Dear God, let her RIP.
And throw her parents that chained her like a dog, and the animal that murdered her into the middle of the ocean with cinderblocks tied around them. ANIMALS! (Wait, even animals aren't this bad.)
Sickening. Just sickening.
Torture this DOG!! Then shoot him!
"WHY!!!!!!!!!!"
Can we just torture this scum now by cutting off his toes and fingers first, rip out his tongue then we'll go from there!!
If I had to guard this pos I think I would be turning my head a lot! I hope someone takes him out!
This type of stuff is epidemic. The new America is going down hill fast. I wonder if this guy watch porn all of the time. It seems like porn and this kind of goes hand and hand.
Depends what kind of porn. If someone watches lots of normal adult porn and never kiddie porn, I would say it is proof that he ISN'T a child molestor.
Burn this @!$%# to the stake !!!!
Very Sad Story,R.I.P. Jersey,As for the offender,you will get yours,one way or another!
bring him to Texas, Parry will take care of his arse
PLEASE GOD let there be NOTHING LESS than a painful castration and torturous nightly visits from big Bubba...before this piece of *BEEP* is sent screaming to hell by electric chair, and PLEASE send me the bill!. I'd live in extreme poverty to pay the bill off..just to see this douchbag fry.
Stories like this break my heart because I was abused myself for 4.5 years, until I was 8, by a male neighbor. He used to babysit all the time, to this day I do not understand that my parents didn't think it was weird that a man wanted to babysit. He was married with two kids but it was never his wife, who would be the obvious choice who babysat. I am not in any way trying to upset men on here, but I would always leave my child with a woman not a man. Men who babysit, in my opinion, have ulterior motives whether the child is male or female. My childhood sexual abuse has affected me my whole life and I have had a lot of problems around it. Keep children safe, they cannot help themselves, we are the adults, we help them.
There is honor among thieves. Those who start taking bets on this guy being killed in prison within the first three months will be richer than the Powerball winner.
This disgusting, foul piece of trash has a special place in Hell waiting for him. This little girl, after much abuse, finally had some chance at life and he took it away from her.
There is no punishment that could possibly suit his crime.
God rest your soul, little one. You deserved so much better.
This poor, poor little girl. She just never had a chance in life at all.
My dad told me years ago to never have a boy or man babysit. Not that all men are bad, but it only takes one to harm a child. Obviously, women and girls need to be chosen carefully too.
This is an awful, awful crime. How could he do this to a little child? RIP little one! My goodness, you just had a terrible and short life.
This guy is going to be found dead in his cell. I doub't he'll even make it to trial.
@SK8 - and it may be at his own hand. Besides the murder and rape, he sounds very unstable. Wonder if he is on suicide watch. If so, hint to guards - look the other way.
A very typical response to someone accused of such crimes; people calling for blood before a trial begins. There is DNA evidence linking him to the girl and a big black redacted evidence list. I sense low confidence within DA's office.
Reading the article makes it seem as if he wouldn't hurt her, but then the DNA evidence makes him a prime suspect. I think this man's intelligence level needs to be made public. If he turns out to be stupid enough to commit this crime with no effort or thought put into covering his tracks then he is most likely guilty and get what's coming to him.
Without any evidence against him, he would still be suspect #1. The article makes it clear he knew the girl and when tragic events like this occur this kind of guy is suspect. However, one must assume that this man acted without any foresight. The premise of this guy kidnapping the girl, breaking into a residence two houses down the road, raping her, murdering her and just leaving her there to find is unbelievable; but that is based upon this man's intelligence.
Intellegence, or lack of it, has nothing to do with what happened.
You must be a lawyer
Slay that fuc***
I am having a hard time understanding how he managed to get her back out of the house after 11. Did both the mom and this guys wife just not notice anything? I also hope they do a careful physical of the 2 yr old.