Former U.S. Navy Air Traffic Controller Convicted Of Murder

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Former U.S. Navy Air Traffic Controller Convicted Of Murder By Mike Mitchell

		March 31, 2011 - A federal jury convicted Ryan Holness, age 30, of Lexington Park, a former U.S. Navy Air Traffic Controller Maryland, on Monday of interstate domestic violence related to the murder of his wife, attempted witness intimidation, and attempted obstruction of an official proceeding. According to evidence presented at the two week trial, Ryan Holness lived in Lexington Park, Maryland and worked for the United States Navy. Serika Dunkley Holness lived in Brooklyn, New York with Holness? mother and brother. During his marriage, Holness had several girlfriends in Maryland, Virginia, and New York. A few months before Serika Holness? murder, Holness obtained a $500,000 life insurance policy on his wife. Holness was the sole beneficiary on that policy.

Holness devised a scheme to bring his wife from New York to Maryland for the murder. On June 4, 2009, late at night, Holness and his wife traveled together from Brooklyn, New York to Maryland. Serika Holness was found murdered, stabbed multiple times in Crumpton, Kent County, Maryland, during the early morning hours of June 5, 2009. Trial evidence showed that in an effort to conceal the murder, Ryan Holness told the police an elaborate tale to disguise his participation in the murder. According to trial testimony, Holness told police that on June 4, 2009, at approximately 9:00 p.m., he and his wife left Brooklyn heading towards his residence in Lexington Park, Maryland. Holness claimed that he needed his wife to come sign the lease at his Maryland apartment. Serika Holness did not live with Holness in Maryland, although Holness fraudulently claimed that his wife and two children lived at the apartment that he leased. According to trial testimony, Holness said that while on the New Jersey Turnpike, he and his wife stopped at a rest stop to get gas. Witnesses testified that Holness claimed that a masked assailant, armed with a gun and knife, forced his way into the couple?s car at the rest stop and ordered them to drive to Maryland. After stopping along a county road, as directed by the carjacker, Holness claimed that the carjacker dragged him out of his car, bound his hands and feet and then stabbed Serika Holness several times as she tried to flee.

Holness told police that he wanted to help his wife, but claimed that the carjacker kicked him in the head, causing him to black out for several hours. By the time Holness woke up, he did not know what had happened to his wife. He further claimed that he freed himself several hours later and ran into a nearby house for help.

Evidence presented at trial showed that a K-9 tracked Holness? scent away from the murder scene to a nearby river, where Holness discarded the knife. Finally, DNA and other evidence confirmed that Holness participated in the murder of his wife.

Holness also wrote a third party confession letter while incarcerated by state authorities, which was entered as evidence. The confession letter, purporting to be from the real killer, contained details that only the true murderer would know, including some details that were never revealed publicly. Holness asked another person to mail the letter to the Washington Post.

		Holness faces a maximum penalty of life in prison for the murder and 20 years in prison for attempted obstruction of an official proceeding, attempted witness intimidation. U.S. District Judge William M. Nickerson scheduled sentencing for June 9, 2011 at 10:00 a.m. Other News Stories (For the latest news please checkout our home page) Spanish Government, Iberia, and Airbus Launch Bio-Fuel Initiative Bombardier Enters Alliance With Fokker To Support The Dash 8/Q-Series Aircraft Eurocopter Sells First AS350 B3e To Slave Lake Helicopters Richard Simmons Takes On Air New Zealand Passengers A New Flight Deck For The High Performance Piston Aircraft Market Legal Resident Tries To Sell Unmanned Aerial Vehicle On EBay UK Scheduled Flights On Time Performance Continues To Get Worse Eurocopter To Acquire Vector Aerospace Corporation British Airways Strike Vote To Send Clear Message To New CEO Family Members Conspired To Export F-5 Fighter Jet Engines To Iran Gulfstream Aircraft Receives AMO By The Cayman Islands Stop Work Order Issued On The JSF F136 Extra Engine Program By DOD Beechcraft Debut King Air 250 Along With Other Aircraft At Sun ?n Fun Jeppesen Teams Up To Provide NavData To Sport And Experimental Aircraft Pilots Earthbound Remedies Inspired By Spacebound Bacteria Electronic Flight Strip System Goes Into Operation At Jersey Airport Passenger Travel Up On U.S And On Foreign Airlines Serving The United States FAA Installs 150th Alaska Weather Camera To Promote Safer Skies Fire At MIA Continues To Cause Flight Cancelations And Delays Garmin Raises The Bar With GTN 650 And 750 Touchscreen Avionics Airbus Military A400M Completes Low Speed Take Off Tests AOPA Pays Tribute To Air Traffic Controllers FAA Suspends Air Traffic Controller At Washington National Airport 54th Annual Avionics Convention Opened In Reno Nevada Going To The Bathroom On U.S. Commercial Aircraft Could Be Fatal After Two Years, Fired Pilot At Ryanair Gets Job Back AirTran Stockholders Approve Southwest Merger New Orleans Control Tower Given Notice Of Workplace Safety Violations Air Force F-22 Breaks Sound Barrier On Camelina Based Biofuel Gulfstream G250 Completes Aircraft Natural Icing Tests Sikorsky Aircraft Opens New CH-53K Helicopter Assembly Plant In Florida To Date No Flight Restrictions In And Out Of Japan Airports