James Lynn Holt
A man with a violent history was charged Monday with murdering his 87-year-old grandmother, Sally Baldwin of Creswell, when she died 17 days after being brutally beaten and robbed.
The charges, which included first-degree murder, first-degree burglary and first-degree robbery, come only four months after a 12-year-old boy was charged with murdering an elderly woman in Creswell.
Baldwin was at home the evening of Friday, April 5, on a quiet street with well-manicured lawns. Police said they found her with significant injuries just before 10 p.m. that evening. Seventeen days later, on Easter Sunday, she died as a result of those injuries. Lane County Medical Examiner’s Office determined the manner of death to be homicide, caused by complications of immobilization due to multiple blunt-force injuries from the assault.
James Lynn Holt, 44, of Eugene, was scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday afternoon.
Police arrested Holt on an unrelated warrant four days after the April 5 attack. The warrant was issued on Feb. 4 for violating his probation, including leaving the state without permission, failing to report to community corrections and for changing employment or residency without permission, according to court records. Probation was set to expire on Nov. 15, 2020.
Details surrounding the case are still coming into focus.
A Go Fund Me page online — apparently set by Baldwin’s relatives — described the grisly assault scene, as well as updates on Baldwin’s medical status while she was in a 24-hour care facility. The page requested money for extensive medical procedures, including facial and mouth reconstruction and raised $1,375 in 21 days. The website was updated to reflect Baldwin’s passing two days after her death. Attempts to contact the page organizer were unsuccessful.
But what is known is that Holt has a history of domestic abuse.
In May 2011, Holt damaged Sarah Elizabeth Fitzer’s windshield and her computer, attempted to strike fear into the her and caused physical injury, according to court records.
Holt was convicted in 2011 of (a) menacing, constituting domestic violence; (b) fourth-degree assault, constituting domestic violence; and (c) third-degree criminal mischief. He was sentenced to 38 months probation.
Then, in April 2017, Holt unlawfully entered the home of Richard Holt, his father, on Bear Mountain Road. According to court records, after several years without contact, Holt made ”odd statements” to his father, forced entry into the house, shoved his father around and hindered his father from making a report with law enforcement.
He was convicted in 2017 of (a) fourth-degree assault, constituting domestic violence; (b) first-degree criminal trespass; and (c) interfering with making a report. He was sentenced to six months incarceration, according to court records.
