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Margorie Holland, who was part of the Texas National Guard, was strangled to death in March 2013 while she was 15 weeks pregnant. The mother-to-be's unborn child also died with her at the time.
Initially, detectives believed Margorie's death was an accident, given that she was found at the bottom of the stairs at her Apple Valley, Minnesota, home that she shared with her then-husband Roger Holland. It appeared as though Margorie had fallen to her death. However, a later investigation revealed a web of lies concocted by Roger before evidence of a complicated marriage between the two surfaced.
An upcoming episode of Fatal Vows on ID will revisit Margorie Holland's tragic murder case on Tuesday, February 14, 2023. The synopsis states:
"It's a military match made in heaven for Roger and Margorie, but a tangled web of financial secrets and twisted lies ruins the young couple's future; while the rise of their careers and romance seems meteoric, the ensuing fall is deadly."
The episode, titled Death Outranks Love, is scheduled to air on the channel at 7 pm ET.
Margorie Holland was found unresponsive and wrapped in a blanket at the bottom of the stairs
He husband claimed to have tried CPR before calling 911
Margorie Holland and her husband Roger first met while serving in the military and were members of the Texas National Guard. The couple resided in Apple Valley, Minnesota, and were married for three years at the time of the incident.
According to reports, Roger called 911 at around 10 am on March 7, 2013, claiming that 37-year-old Margorie, who was 15 weeks pregnant at the time, had fallen from the stairs and was unresponsive.
Roger claimed that he had gone out to get breakfast and returned to find the to-be-mother unresponsive, face down, and wrapped in a blanket at the bottom of the stairs. He further claimed that he rolled her over and administered CPR before calling 911.
Margorie Holland was immediately rushed to Fairview Ridges Hospital, where, at around 11:30 in the morning, she and her unborn child were pronounced dead.
A subsequent autopsy revealed that the mother-to-be was strangled to death
Authorities initially believed she had fallen down the stairs, given the state in which Margorie Holland's body was found. However, a subsequent autopsy revealed that her thyroid cartilage was broken, including a few blood vessels in her eyes, which suggested strangulation and not a fall down the stairs.
The victim was also covered in multiple scratches and bruises, including a black eye, scraped arms, and bruised knees and elbows. She also had dried blood in her nose. In light of these new findings, the case was then officially ruled a homicide.
Officials also noticed fresh scratches on Roger's face and neck the day they responded to the 911 call, which he tried to justify by saying his wife accidentally scratched him while cramping.
Digital evidence was used to incriminate Margorie Holland's husband in both her and the unborn child's death
Authorities also found that Margorie and Roger Holland's marriage was falling apart and that they were in debt. Moreover, deleted messages from Roger's phone revealed that the night before the murder, Margorie had texted him saying that she planned on divorcing him.
Other deleted messages retrieved from his phone reportedly showed "numerous arguments" between the couple, in which Margorie complained about recurring problems in their relationship:
"Holland had lied to her, that she did not trust him, and that she was concerned about their financial situation."
Reports further stated that both their internet search histories were examined - Margorie's revealed that she was looking for safe abortions while Roger had searched to see if someone could break their neck if they passed out and fell from the top of the stairs.
Moreover, during the initial stages of the investigation, Roger told authorities that he had gone out to Taco Bell to get her food, but ended up going to McDonald's after she texted him while he was driving. The text messages were found on his phone, but both messages were sent before video surveillance footage showed Roger Holland leaving his apartment.
Roger Holland was arrested not long after and charged with two counts of first-degree murder in connection with Margorie Holland's death and two counts of second-degree murder for the death of her unborn child. He was convicted on both charges and given two consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole that same year.
