GUILTY CA - Yolanda Holtrey, 59, and Michelle Luke, 49, slain, Westminster, 1 Jan 2017 *Arrest*

[Lawdini01234]

Hi there. I've been following this with a lot of interest, since I also knew Chris and his family from their time in Hawaii. Not meaning to sound cliché but I always thought there was something not right about him. The wife was a bit unusual as well.

(Edited - felt best not to share some content) It's possible that there _may_ have been some sex (perhaps one or both were blackmailing him) involved. But they did struggle for money. So like others have said, could be about money too.

And the fact that the family were waiting outside + her interview, highly suspicious.

Thanks for the insight! It was hard to tell much about them by the social media accounts they had. Maybe privacy settings or maybe just not into social media but very mundane.

 

[gecko808]

Thanks for the insight! It was hard to tell much about them by the social media accounts they had. Maybe privacy settings or maybe just not into social media but very mundane.

NO worries, can you remove the quote though please? after I wrote the initial post I wanted to take out the more personal stuff. Thanks

 

[hblibrarylady]

I know the victim's house. It is part of a street that goes all out with Christmas decorations, the type you see on the news. People come from all over to see the houses. I have walked by her house for years.

A coworker of mine has dealt with the suspect. He says the man is a very in your face type of guy and was very quick to anger.

I find it strange that his wife and son were outside while he was inside beating the two women to death. Makes me almost think that maybe his wife was supposed to the lookout. Wouldn't that take a bit of time? Wouldn't she notice blood on her husband when he got back in the car? News said that the blood on the floor and furniture is what made the first responders believe a crime had taken place.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

 

[JoeFromLB]

I wonder if the photo of him that the media has been showing is his mugshot or perhaps his driver's license pic.

He has a look that's a mix between "pissed off" and "couldn't care less", if that's possible.

I also wonder if we'll hear anything about motive before this comes to trial. Speaking of a trial, in California that could take years in a case like this. Three to five years is normal, and often longer.

 

[bookratr]

I was wondering if this crime might be work related. The wife worked with the victims. I wonder if she didn't like her coworkers and her husband decided to take matters into his own hands. One of the victims was beaten so badly she was unrecognizable. Maybe one of them said something that set him off at the party....although this doesn't explain why the wife and son would wait outside on a cold rainy night while the suspect went back inside.




Sent from my SM-T280 using Tapatalk

 

[Blondie in Spokane]

I know the victim's house. It is part of a street that goes all out with Christmas decorations, the type you see on the news. People come from all over to see the houses. I have walked by her house for years.

A coworker of mine has dealt with the suspect. He says the man is a very in your face type of guy and was very quick to anger.

I find it strange that his wife and son were outside while he was inside beating the two women to death. Makes me almost think that maybe his wife was supposed to the lookout. Wouldn't that take a bit of time? Wouldn't she notice blood on her husband when he got back in the car? News said that the blood on the floor and furniture is what made the first responders believe a crime had taken place.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

Welcome! And thanks for the info. Yes, I too think the wife was a lookout and i can't imagine that he wasn't wasn't covered with blood when he got into the car. (I totally forgot the son was with them....hard to imagine.) and the wife's odd behavior during that interview sure seems suspect.

 

[ShamRocker]

The article says that Chis comes back at 3:00 am., drags the bodies out of the house at 4:30 am and leaves the house at 5:00 am. Nowhere do I see anything in any of the articles which explains why they think that he killed them while his family waited outside. I'm wondering how they know that. I mean how do they know that he didn't kill them at 3:00 in the morning when he came back.
What was he doing for that 1 1/2 hours from 3:00-4:30 am. I wonder if that article which claimed that he chopped up the victims could have been true. Maybe that is what he was doing for that 1 1/2 hours. The don't say how he dragged the bodies out. Were they in bags? or what?

 

[ShamRocker]

Hi there. I've been following this with a lot of interest, since I also knew Chris and his family from their time in Hawaii. Not meaning to sound cliché but I always thought there was something not right about him. The wife was a bit unusual as well.
.

I know him as well. I know him here in California. There are some things I've held back from discussing here also because it may be a little to personal. Could you tell me though about when did they leave Hawaii to move to California.

 

[ShamRocker]

(I totally forgot the son was with them....hard to imagine.)

I know that the article does say that his "family" was waiting in the car but does anything ever actually mention, "son", as you have said. Because I don't recall seeing that in any article. I have been fairly obsessed with this case, being that I did have a personal connection to him. Maybe I'm wrong but did you actually see "son" in print? Just curious. Maybe I missed that.
I'm very concerned and sad about his son because I did know him. He and his father had what seemed to me to be a great relationship.

 

[hblibrarylady]

Because the news reported that his family not his wife but his family was outside waiting for him and he has a wife and young son, it was assumed both were outside.
Am I allowed to mention comments about the crime from a city Facebook page? I haven't done so because I do not know if what is being posted there is fact or just rumor and hearsay.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

 

[hblibrarylady]

Because the news reported that his family not his wife but his family was outside waiting for him and he has a wife and young son, it was assumed both were outside.
Am I allowed to mention comments about the crime from a city Facebook page? I haven't done so because I do not know if what is being posted there is fact or just rumor and hearsay.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

 

[Gardenista]

Because the news reported that his family not his wife but his family was outside waiting for him and he has a wife and young son, it was assumed both were outside.
Am I allowed to mention comments about the crime from a city Facebook page? I haven't done so because I do not know if what is being posted there is fact or just rumor and hearsay.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

No, but you could mention the page

 

[SoccerDad100]

My son has played soccer with his son for a while. Chris is a bit odd but seems like such a nice guy. It is really hard for me to reconcile the guy I know with the person that did this. It's just hard for me to believe that he did this. The only thing odd that I ever witnessed with him was the over the top pressure he would put on his kid on the soccer field. Chris was far too heavy handed in his son's developent and was known to tell off coaches and pull his kids from teams. In fact, often after an episode where he would be far too hard on his kid, he would acknowledge his mistakes and say he "screwd up his own kid." I don't know if his soccer antics screwd up his kid but this little New Year's Eve episode will surely do it. I feel really bad for the little boy.

As for his wife, what a bizaar interview that was. Most people would be competely distraught and barely able to speak or make sense of the whole thing but within hours of his arrest she is smiling away saying things like "I dont remember" him leaving in the middle of the night and "I feel like maybe he was sleepwalking." That just didn't seem like a denial to me. I think that she without a doubt knows something or she would have been more obstinate and strong willed in her denials but instead she was smiling through the entire interview and was all to eager to chat away with the reporter about the incident. For me, she just went into way too much detail to seem believable. That interview will come back to haunt her.

As for the "maybe he was sleepwalking" thing, my guess is that it was taken out of context and that she meant to use it as an excuse for his being caught driving around in his car by the surveilance cameras at 3AM to 5AM, not for engaging in the killings (I think she is denying that he was involved).

Lastly, one of the articles menions his "wife and son" waiting outside for him.

 

[Blondie in Spokane]

Welcome SoccerDad.....thanks for your insight.

 

[hblibrarylady]

If this isn't ok to post here, mods please remove this link.
Here is a link to our city Facebook page where friends and neighbors who knew the victims and suspect have been posting. By reading the posts, you can understand how the police were able to arrest the suspect so early in the case.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/HuntingtonBeachCommUNITYVoice/permalink/1382646061768053/

 

[gecko808]

I know him as well. I know him here in California. There are some things I've held back from discussing here also because it may be a little to personal. Could you tell me though about when did they leave Hawaii to move to California.

Hi there. When did they leave? I think it was 2013. Mainly to help their son have more of an opportunity in soccer than there was (and is) in Hawaii.

 

[SoccerDad100]

Welcome SoccerDad.....thanks for your insight.

ThankYou

 

[JoeFromLB]

Ireland has a pre-trial hearing scheduled on April 28, 2017.

Case number: 17WF0007

http://www.occourts.org/online-services/case-access/

 

[JoeFromLB]

The article says that Chis comes back at 3:00 am., drags the bodies out of the house at 4:30 am and leaves the house at 5:00 am. Nowhere do I see anything in any of the articles which explains why they think that he killed them while his family waited outside. I'm wondering how they know that. I mean how do they know that he didn't kill them at 3:00 in the morning when he came back.
What was he doing for that 1 1/2 hours from 3:00-4:30 am. I wonder if that article which claimed that he chopped up the victims could have been true. Maybe that is what he was doing for that 1 1/2 hours. The don't say how he dragged the bodies out. Were they in bags? or what?

According to the D.A., he killed them at approximately 1:20 am while his family waited outside in the car.

copied from Orange County D.A. site: IRELAND, CHRISTOPHER KEN In the early morning hours of Jan. 1, 2017, Ireland is accused of attending a New Year’s Eve party at 59-year-old Yolanda Holtrey’s home in Westminster. At approximately 1:20 a.m., with his family waiting outside, the defendant is accused of murdering both Holtrey and her friend, 49-year-old Michelle Luke, inside the home by striking them each multiple times with a sharp instrument. Ireland is accused of disfiguring Luke’s ear during the attack. The defendant is accused of leaving the victims’ bodies in the home and driving away from the scene. At approximately 3:00 a.m., Ireland is accused of returning to the home and lining his vehicle’s trunk. The defendant is then accused of dragging Holtrey and Luke’s bodies from the home to his trunk shortly before 4:30 a.m. Ireland is accused of using an accelerant to set fire to Holtrey’s home before driving away from the scene at approximately 5:00 a.m. The defendant is accused of driving to a dead-end road in Newport Beach and discarding the victims’ bodies in a vacant lot. At approximately 5:30 a.m., neighbors called 911 to report the house fire. First responders put out the fire and noticed blood on some furniture and the floor inside the home. Accelerants were also located, prompting Orange County Fire Authority arson investigators and Westminster Police Department (WPD) to investigate the suspicious circumstances. Officers were not able to locate the homeowner or Luke. On the morning of Jan. 2, 2017, WPD found the victims’ bodies in the lot in Newport Beach. Ireland was arrested later that day by WPD, who investigated the case.

 

[bookratr]

According to one of the victim's friends, she was told by police that the wife and son were not outside in the car during the crime ,media has it wrong., robbery and the house being sold were not the motive, drinking was involved and he led the police to the bodies. He was also caught on camera by the neighbors cameras and the camera inside the victim's house.

Sent from my SM-T280 using Tapatalk