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In September 2016, 11 minutes after a deputy left the house, Michael and April Holton were shot in their home in Eclectic, Alabama, after Michael called them over to bust his 17-year-old son Madison for throwing a drug-filled party in their absence. The teenager was handcuffed by his father, who agreed with the cops to sign a juvenile warrant the next morning.
Authorities found Michael dead at the scene and April critically wounded. However, she died the next day. Their deaths were initially suspected to be murder-suicide because the couple was estranged and going through a rough divorce until Madison was charged with the crime. The charges were dropped two years later when further evidence suggested that Michael likely shot his wife before killing himself.
![April [left], Madison [centre], and Michael [right] (Image via @DatelineNBC/Twitter)](https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2023/07/f9221-16898759083495-1920.jpg)
The shooting deaths of Michael and April Holton are set to be explored in an upcoming Dateline: Secrets Uncovered episode this Thursday, July 20. The episode, titled 11 Minutes, will air at 9 pm ET on Oxygen.
Here's a look at the official synopsis of the episode:
"Madison Holton's parents call a family meeting to confront their rebellious teen; when it's done, two of them are dead and police are left with a mystery."
Michael and April Holton's murders: Five fast facts to know about the mysterious shooting case from Alamaba
1) Michael and April Holton called the Sheriff's Department before the shootings
Michael Holton, a member of the Eclectic fire department and former mayor, and his estranged wife, April, were living in separate houses and going through a rough divorce in September 2016. On top of that, they had to deal with their rebel teenage son Madison Holton, who pulled the last straw when he threw a drug-filled party on September 11 at his father's house while he was at work.
After receiving a concerned call from someone's parent, Michael returned home along with April to bust Madison and called the Sheriff's Department. An officer arrived at the house and found that the teen had been handcuffed by his father. The parents and the officer agreed to sign a juvenile warrant the following morning, after which the latter left the house.
2) Officers received a 911 call reporting a shooting at Michael and April Holton's house
According to the Cinemaholic, 11 minutes after meeting Michael and April Holton at the house, officers received a frantic 911 call from one of their neighbors reporting a shooting incident. When cops arrived at the house, they found Michael shot to death and April critically wounded. She died of severe head trauma the next day.
Reports state that Madison, who was still handcuffed when cops arrived, told them that his parents got into a physical fight and that he saw his father holding a gun against his mother.
3) Authorities suspected that the incident was a murder-suicide
At first, authorities believed that the shootings of Michael and April Holton were a murder-suicide after looking at the crime scene. However, since the former was shot in the back of the head, they believed that to commit suicide, he would have had to fire the gun using his left hand, which seemed improbable. Moreover, given that Madison was the only other person present, they suspected his involvement.
4) Madison had no DNA evidence or blood on him and was handcuffed when the shooting occurred
Madison Holton was arrested and charged in the September 2016 shootings of his parents, Michael and April Holton, a month later. The 17-year-old maintained his innocence and even requested a polygraph test three to four times but was denied.
According to reports, Madison was handcuffed the first time officers arrived at the house before the shooting to bust him for his party after Michael called them. He was still handcuffed when they arrived after the shootings had occurred. Moreover, there was no blood evidence or DNA on him that could link him to the crime.
5) The murder-suicide angle seemed probable because of the estranged couple's failing marriage
Back then, Michael and April Holton were going through a contentious divorce and reportedly lived in separate houses. The latter had even started dating someone new, which was key information authorities learned from Michael's journal entries. The former mayor wrote how he couldn't "go on knowing that you are with somebody else" and "it was either me or the both of us."
In fact, Madison's uncle, Chris Owenby, who supported his claims of innocence, alleged that Michael probably snapped that fateful day, shot April, and then killed himself. Christ believed that Michael "couldn’t face the world knowing that he killed his wife and the only option left for him was to end his own life." Aside from that, there were fresh scratches on his face and his DNA was found under April's fingernails.
Dateline: Secrets Uncovered on Oxygen will further delve into the case.
