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In January 2020, Curtis Allen Holliday was arrested for repeatedly assaulting his wife, Chi Thi Lien Le.
After the arrest, he was ordered to stay away from her.
Despite the order to stay away from her, Holliday's behavior got worse, leading to a tragic and horrible event just a few months later.
In April 2020, Texas investigators made a horrifying discovery.
The body of Chi Thi Lien Le was found stuffed in a commercial freezer at Holliday's business.
Her body was “frozen with frost on the skin,” according to an official autopsy report.
Le's death was discovered in April 2020 when her aunt, Simone Le, realized she hadn't spoken to her niece in weeks.
Her aunt was extremely worried so she called the police and explained that it was unusual for Le to miss their regular phone conversations.
She asked for an officer to check on the couple’s home.
That's when police started their investigations which led to the startling discovery.
Investigators found a letter written by Le before her death.
In the letter, she said she was afraid for her life and named her husband as a possible suspect if she 'disappeared"
“If suddenly nobody can find me, or find me dead, please check my husband,” she wrote.
She explained that Holliday had threatened to kill her many times, and her fear grew stronger as they were going through a divorce.
Timeline of Events and Domestic Violence History
Le met Holliday on WeChat in 2015.
She moved into his home and started working at his business, where they bought and resold household goods returned by customers.
A year later, Le, who was a Vietnamese immigrant, gave birth to their daughter.
The couple got married in 2019.
However, after their marriage reports have it that Holliday started abusing Le.
Holliday's violent behavior toward Le was well-documented.
Court documents revealed that he had assaulted her twice in late 2019, once around Thanksgiving and again on Christmas Day.
These incidents of violence were part of a broader pattern of abuse, including striking her, restricting her access to food, locking her in a room against her will.
He also threatened her that if he killed her, no one would know, care, or notice.
Prosecutors believe that Holliday ignored the court's order to stay away from Le and killed her by choking her in April 2020.
After she died, he wrapped her body in plastic and put it in a freezer he had recently bought for his business.
When questioned at Harris County Jail about his missing wife, Holliday insisted he was innocent.
He claimed he found her dead and panicked, which led to the bizarre choice of hiding her body in the freezer.
Legal Proceedings and Plea Deal
On June 10, 2024, just before the jury selection for his trial in Harris County District Court was set to start, Holliday, now 62 years old, admitted to killing his wife.
In return, he was given a 10-year prison term which many have criticized.
“I was jealous and angry that [Chi] had decided to leave me for another man,” he explained in his guilty plea.
He still confirmed that he did not kill her but found her already deceased.
Holliday admitted to putting his wife in the freezer but insisted that she had died by suicide.
However, authorities doubted his claim, partly because of a Facebook message noticed by Le's aunt before her death.
The post read "If suddenly nobody can find me, or find me dead, please check my husband. He has threatened to kill me many times."
At the time of his plea, Holliday had already served two years of his sentence and is expected to be released in another eight years.
His lawyer, Dick DeGuerin, argued that they accepted the plea deal to avoid a potential life sentence.
DeGuerin described the plea as "guilty with an asterisk," saying that Holliday was innocent and his wife had taken her own life.
Reaction and Impact
Assistant District Attorney Lindsey Bondurant expressed satisfaction with the plea deal, saying, “We are pleased that we were able to get that accountability. He took responsibility.”
However, the leniency of the sentence has caused anger and worry among advocates for victims of domestic violence.
Amy Smith from the Harris County Domestic Violence Coordinating Council criticized the brief prison sentence.
Andy Kahan from Crime Stoppers, Houston, highlighted that this case sends a frightening message to victims of domestic violence.
He said that a 10-year sentence for taking a life is not enough.
Despite the guilty plea and some form of justice being served, many believe the punishment doesn't match the severity of the crime.
This has sparked a call for better protection and support for victims of domestic violence.
Do you think the sentence was light? Kindly share your thoughts in the comments.
Also, check out the story of a boy who was murdered by his parents, who then fed his remains to pigs.
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