DOUGLAS COUNTY, Colo. — On July 25, a jury convicted Casey Childers. 41, of kidnapping and killing Rachel Holeman, 29. Childers kidnapped Holeman in 2021 with the help of Shantel Edlund, 46, and Leo VanBuskirk, 23.
Holeman is from Montana and the others are from Wyoming.
The Fort Collins Police Department initially took a missing person's report and during the preliminary investigation, police found that Holeman was in Colorado with Childers and Edlund to distribute drugs. Fort Collins police then determined Holeman's last known location was in Aurora and turned the investigation over to the Aurora Police Department (APD), said the 18th Judicial District Attorney John Kellner.
Aurora investigators determined that Holeman was kidnapped by Childers, Edlund and VanBuskirk around Nov. 6, 2021, near Colfax and Victor Street in a Chevrolet Malibu.
On Nov. 7, 2021, Douglas County deputies responded to an unrelated burglary and the deputies passed the Malibu they suspected was involved in the crime on the road and it was caught on dashcam. A deputy ran the license plate of the car, which later helped investigators connect the car and the location to Holeman's disappearance, Kellner said.
Then on Dec. 29, 2021, police in Sheridan, Wyoming, did a traffic stop on the Malibu that was registered to Edlund. During the traffic stop, police arrested all three on unrelated drug charges and warrants.
Based on a statement made by Edlund and dashcam video, APD, Douglas County Sheriff's Office and Douglas County's Search and Rescue Team flew a drone and were able to locate Holeman's body more than a month after her disappearance, the district attorney said. The coroner determined Holeman died from a gunshot wound to the head.
Childers was identified as the shooter and was convicted of:
- First-degree murder after deliberation
- Second-degree kidnapping
- Conspiracy to commit second-degree kidnapping
Following the conviction, he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole with an additional 48 years for the kidnapping and conspiracy conviction. Both sentences will run concurrently with the life sentence.
Edlund pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit second-degree murder and was sentenced to 18 years in the Department of Corrections.
VanBuskirk pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit second-degree murder and second-degree kidnapping. He was sentenced Aug. 8 to 25 years in prison.
