Murder of Curtis Holder by Barbara Holder examined on Snapped

Oxygen is re-airing the Snapped investigation into the murder of Curtis Holder, whose brutal death was orchestrated by his wife, Barbara Holder, and conducted by hired killers Mark Dixon and Johnny Lopez in League City, Texas.

On May 30, 1997, Barbara Holder called the cops to say her husband, 47-year-old Curtis, had been murdered during a home invasion. The cops found a gruesome scene at the home, where Curtis was discovered lying on the kitchen floor.

Curtis had suffered 93 stab wounds. He was lying face down on the floor in a pool of blood with a plastic bag over his head, and he’d been stripped from the waist down.

The house had been ransacked with multiple drawers and furniture upended. However, there appeared to be no sign of forced entry.

A few days later, neighbor Cindy Keelan informed detectives that Barbara had asked her to mind her 5-year-old daughter. Barbara had told Keelan that she was being interviewed by the police about the murder, but she noted that caller ID stated that Barbara was at a motel. The eagle-eyed neighbor was suspicious so she contacted the cops.

Barbara had previously told the police that she suffered from depression and was suicidal, so they rushed to the motel, concerned that she would attempt to kill herself. Instead, the cops found her in a room with another man, Mark Dixon.

The motel room also contained a number of items stolen from the Holder house and neighboring houses. There were also some knives, which looked like the possible murder weapons.

Barbara told the police she had just met Dixon at a bar that night, but he told the cops that they’d been having a romantic relationship for months and were in love.

Police suspect Barbara Holder had Curtis Holder murdered for money

Eventually, the police learned the truth. Investigators said Barbara believed she would receive $700,000 in life insurance money from Curtis’s death, so she decided to have him murdered.

She manipulated Dixon into committing the murder, and a third individual, teenager Johnny Lopez, was recruited by Dixon. Lopez would be given $50,000 from the insurance claim.

On the day of the murder, Barbara told Curtis to come home to speak urgently about one of their children. Meanwhile, Dixon and Lopez lay in wait.

Lopez later told the cops that Barbara had specifically told him to remove her husband’s pants and underwear. This was believed to be a final humiliation.

Barbara claimed that her husband had been abusive to her for years. She also claimed he was secretly gay and tried to blame the murder on a vengeful gay lover, but the police found no evidence for her claims.

The police suspected that Dixon was easily manipulated by Barbara, who forced him to steal as well as murder for her. At the time, psychiatrist Mitch Young described Dixon as someone who would do anything for Barbara and asserted that he was “borderline retarded or mildly retarded.” However, Young stated that Dixon knew right from wrong.

Barbara Holder and Mark Dixon got life for killing Curtis Holder

Holder and Dixon were both found guilty of capital murder and sentenced to life in prison.

Dixon had admitted to stealing from the Holders’ neighbors, but he refused to admit guilt for the murder. Holder still maintains she is innocent.

Lopez pleaded guilty to murder and was sentenced to 40 years.

This episode of Snapped re-airs Friday at 7/6c on Oxygen.