TikToker April Holt’s Death Almost Went Unsolved… Until Her Mom Got Her Killer To Confess
01:17:31 Share

Hello, everyone, and welcome back to True Crime with Kendall Rae. Thank you so much for joining me today. Genuinely, it means a lot to all of you who support my content and to those of you who are new, welcome. So guys, today I have a case that I am... Ugh.

I am very fired up to tell you about. I have so much to say, so many thoughts. I know that you guys are going to feel the same. This is a case that needs more exposure. And when you hear about this one, like I said, you're probably going to feel angry, but also inspired because today I got to collaborate with April Holt's mom. Her name is Jamie. And

Wow, what a fantastic human, truly a salt of the earth individual with so much strength that I can't even put into words how inspired I have been just by talking to her, seeing everything she's done in such a short period of time. I

Really because just as a mother, she inspires me. Everything that she has done for her daughter, but then also everything that she has done for other people in this short amount of time is so, so impressive. Because when this first happened, the police ruled this as a suicide. And she knew that that absolutely was not the case and never gave up. And at first, the police weren't even planning to investigate it. But thanks to her mother, Jamie's hard work and determination,

April is going to get justice soon. I mean, hopefully, but I'm very confident that that is the case. I just spoke to Jamie on the phone yesterday and was just in tears. And I can't tell you the amount of admiration I have for her and everything that she's been able to do. And her love for her daughter just transcends everything.

space and time. I don't know how else to put it. I'm really thankful that she's going to be working with me on today's episode so you'll get to hear directly from her, which I think is always super beneficial. And to help with her efforts, our team at Higher Hope has awarded her a Hope Grant. This grant specifically is designed to help provide families with one-time financial relief to assist with the financial burdens that come along with having a missing or murdered loved one. And after speaking with her more yesterday and seeing some of the things that she is trying to do to help

others after everything she's been through. I knew I just had to get involved with helping her with some of those other projects that she has already in the works. And I will explain more of that as we go along here. But basically, she is starting her own nonprofit, and I really believe in what she is doing. So we are in the process of working with her on giving her an Empower grant as well, which again, I will explain what that means. And I just wanted to take a moment to thank everyone that has supported Higher Hope so far.

I'm very, very proud to announce that we have already approved seven grants, which is more than we thought we'd be able to do so quickly. I mean, we only launched a few weeks ago. So I really hope you guys can get behind what we're doing and just know that every single cent that is donated to Hire Hope is going directly to victims, to their families, to their families.

to their families and to other like-minded non-profits with similar missions in fact we have a really cool project in the works right now that i'm very excited to tell you guys about as the ball gets more rolling but um yeah good things are happening and if you're interested in supporting higher hope i would be so eternally grateful it will only allow us to help more and more people and

And there are several ways you can do that. We have the ability to take donations on our website. We also do reoccurring donations now, like a monthly payment option if you are interested in that. Also, of course, you can buy any of our merch, including this.

cozy blanket that says stay safe out there. But any of our merch for any of our shows, a percentage goes to Higher Hope. If you want to make a donation, the Get Involved page on the Higher Hope website is where you can do that. And we've also recently added an option to make reoccurring payments if that's something you're interested in. Also, you can become a member to this channel and a percentage of your membership every month will go to Higher Hope. So there are plenty of different ways you can get involved and we will be

Launching more options as we go along here. We are constantly trying to think of new ideas, but really just thank you. I appreciate all those who have trusted me and my team to really make some big changes for victims of violent crime.

And for those of you out there who are in a place where you're not able to contribute financially, completely understand. But just know that supporting this show or any of the Mile Higher Media shows, you are helping us to make larger contributions to the foundation as well. So thank you for that. And I hope in today's episode, when we're talking about April Holt,

and her mother Jamie and what they're doing that it's sort of a good reference point for you to see exactly the type of people that Higher Hope is helping. So let me just start by telling you about April Hull which I can just tell you I mean from what I know about her I didn't get the opportunity to meet her but I got the opportunity to see a lot of her TikToks because she was active on TikTok and obviously talking to her mom and just hearing about who she was I can tell you she

was a wonderful person who did not deserve what happened to her. I mean, it just makes me sick, really. Her full name is April Lynn Holt, and she was born on July 6th, 1994, in Altamonte Springs, Florida, to her mother, Jamie Woods.

and to the man that would raise her as her father, Jeremiah Dickerson. Jamie was living in Chicago when she got pregnant in high school, but then she moved to Florida where she met Jeremiah her first week there, and together they raised April along with her two younger brothers, Dominic and Jared. Then when April was 12, their family moved to Laverne, Tennessee, and they stayed in the greater Nashville area throughout these recent events we're about to go over. Now as for April, she was someone who was very driven in life,

She was always someone who strived to be the best version of herself and wanted to also help others reach their best version of themselves as well. She was someone who had a very bright personality. It really just comes through in the screen. She's someone that I would want to be friends with. And she sort of is described as an outgoing introvert, which is sort of how

I describe myself, like I come across, I think being on camera, being extroverted, I'm

I think a lot of people who make TikToks or YouTube or whatever come across that way, but really deep down, she was much more introverted. She was also very deep, very insightful. She loved reading, journaling, and honestly just loved being home with her family above all else. Personal and professional growth were also two very important pillars in her life alongside her family and her faith as well. After graduating from high school, April decided to take the entrepreneur

entrepreneurial route. And with a lot of hard work and dedication, she opened up her own lash studio and she put a ton of work into her business. And it was

a really successful endeavor for her. Her mom told me that it was just such a huge passion for her. And she was excited about, you know, starting her own business for it, being able to do things like get a candy jar and put on whatever relaxing music she wanted, give the customers their experience. And she was sort of, for many people, actually, their lash tech or whatever, you know, beauty tech you're seeing, esthetician or whatever, can become sort of like a therapist.

someone to talk to. I mean, not an actual therapist, but you know what I mean. Like you can really bond with a good lash tech or esthetician or whatever it is. And April was definitely that person for a lot of her clients. And when April wasn't giving people their beautiful lashes, she was pursuing her other passion, which was social media, specifically TikTok. On TikTok, she had a following of almost 200,000. And after reviewing her content myself, I can definitely see why so many people gravitated towards her.

And making content is just something that brought her a ton of joy. You can just tell that she was authentically herself and genuinely cared about the messages that she was sharing. And a lot of those messages were about self-growth and positivity, spiritual affirmations. She provided her audience with tips about how to level up in life and...

was very inspirational and really just a feel-good content creator. I mean, I certainly felt good watching a lot of her content. She also did center a lot of her content around her faith, which was something that was deeply close to her heart. And I've got to say that even though I'm not religious myself, there were a lot of her faith-based TikToks that resonated with me in different ways, if that makes any sense. Three tips to help you become more spiritually aligned. Number one, start talking to God.

Number two, meditate. Number three, follow spiritual creators and influencers. Be the woman you needed in your life but didn't have. Be the woman little girls look up to and aspire to be like one day. Be the best version of yourself because there's somebody watching you. Be beautiful, be bold, be brilliant.

April's two kids, Serenity and Denzel, gave her a really strong sense of purpose and every decision that she made was in hopes of making their lives better, which also included her decision to allow her parents to adopt her daughter Serenity after she was born because she got pregnant with her very young. She was 17 and just felt like she wasn't in the

the right place in her life to give Serenity the life that she deserved. But Jamie and Jeremiah, on the other hand, just knew that they could love and support Serenity the way that she needed and were more than happy to step in.

But that's not to say April wasn't involved in her life, because she certainly was. She loved her daughter very much and helped out in any way that she was capable of. Then, a handful of years later, came her son Denzel, who she had with her husband Donovan Holtz, and she was in a much stronger place to be able to raise him. April truly loved her kids and made a lot of sacrifices to make sure that they were taken care of.

For example, Denzel was actually diagnosed with Tourette's syndrome and she made the decision that it would be best for him to be homeschooled. And obviously that's a lot of work. So she just wanted to do whatever was going to be best for him. And April herself had actually been homeschooled, so she knew what a sacrifice it was. And I just think it says a lot about her as a mother that she was willing to do that, even though it was going to be a challenge.

if it was going to improve his life. God, I ask that you will cover my family, protect and provide for my family, bless my family, show favor towards my family, heal my family, be with us, fill us with your spirit and energy so that we may live our lives for you. We love and thank you for everything you do and continue to do. Amen. Okay, everybody, we have been MIA for a little bit. We've been going to doctor appointments and figuring out a lot.

But I think the biggest thing, the biggest news we have is... Me.

Well, yes you, but what's the biggest thing? What did we decide on today? What's gonna happen? - I'm gonna be homeschooled. - We're gonna be homeschooling. So we have decided that Denzel is going to be homeschooled this year as he is being diagnosed, as we are going through different medications and just learning to live with his tics and even having some issues at school. So we feel like this is best for him. It was a big decision.

It's like a lot, especially me being homeschooled and then re-homeschooling somebody. I never thought I would homeschool my kids. But we have a huge support system 'cause Grammy and Nana are going to help us and we are super, super excited, right? - Yeah. - So I have three lovely cats who we love so dearly. We got our first cat in 2012.

and of course had to add two more and now they're all over the age of 10. And they don't ask for much. They're just picky about what food they like, which I can relate to. I am the same way. So this holiday season, I am spending my money on our next sponsor, who is donating millions of dollars of cat food to the Humane Society.

This podcast is sponsored by Smalls, and if you're a listener of this show, you know that our cats cannot live without Smalls. Smalls cat food is protein-packed recipes made with preservative-free ingredients that you would find in your fridge, and it's delivered right to your door. That's why Cats.com names Smalls their best overall cat food. And we have truly noticed such a difference in switching our cats to Smalls. Their breath, first of all, if you know, you know, cat breath, it can get rank. But

But since we switched to Smalls, our cat's breath is so much better. And not only that, their fur is so much softer since we switched to Smalls as well. Plus, like I said, Smalls works with the Humane Society and they've donated over a million dollars worth of food to help cats through the Humane Society. And they even give you a chance to donate at checkout, whether that's $3 for treats, $5 for vaccines or $7 for spaying and neutering. And after switching to Smalls, 88% of cat owners reported overall health improvements. And that's a big increase.

deal. So give your cats the gift of great cat food this holiday season. Head to smalls.com slash Kendall Ray and use promo code Kendall Ray at checkout for 50% off your first order plus free shipping. That's the best offer you're going to find, but you have to use my code Kendall Ray for 50% off your first order. One last time, that's promo code Kendall Ray for 50% off your first order plus free shipping.

Now, as for her husband, Donovan, there will be no shortage when it comes to talking about him today because he is the reason that April is no longer with us. And...

He is going to piss you off, man. He is the reason that her children don't have a mother. And he's the reason that April's mom, Jamie, has had to dedicate the last year and a half of her life to fighting for justice when she should have been working through her own grief. And I know I already said this earlier, but not only has she worked towards getting justice for her own daughter and coping with her grief, taking care of the children, making sure that they're coping because what they have gone through, when I get into it, you're going to just be so mad.

But for her to have also spent so much time thinking of ways that she can help others serve her community is just, I don't even have words. She is amazing to me. If I had to describe my daughter, April Holt, I would describe her as a person of peace, a person of magnetic energy that drew people in. She was

was a great listener. She was always cheerful and happy even if she didn't want to be cheerful and happy. She would never walk in her room and bring it down. She always was a shining light no matter where she went. As a lash tech, her clients often said that it was more like a therapy session because she was such a good listener and she would just talk to them and listen and she would just make friends with everybody. She

didn't meet a stranger, she wouldn't hurt a fly. So a few of the things that she liked is she loved to shop, drink coffee, journal. What's weird is that all of her favorites are my favorites. I think that she watched me for too many years doing these things and

She took on the same habits, which I just absolutely loved about her. Me and her, we connected and we loved going to design stores. She loved to thrift shop. So that was one of her hobbies that I actually didn't do that she loved to do. But overall, she was just such a great person. She was just, she was my world changer. The day that she was born all the way up to the day she died, she changed my life and her death has changed my life again.

But her light will continue to shine. So a couple things to note here before we go forward. First of all, you probably noticed that you are actually, if you're watching this episode, you're seeing photos of April's children. And that's because that's what Jamie wanted. And she gave me permission to share their faces. I normally blur children's faces, but they are...

already on the internet and I felt like maybe you guys could connect more if you saw them. And then also when it comes to Donovan, I would normally say allegedly in a case like this because he hasn't been convicted.

But I'm not going to do so because he has given a full confession. And that's thanks to Jamie who got it from him. Actually, he has two confessions, one to Jamie and then also one to the police. But before I get into all of that, I wanted to provide some context. So according to April's TikTok, she said,

She and Donovan began dating sometime around 2014. However, they were friends for years before that. She and Donovan talked a lot about their relationship online, so there's plenty of content out there about that. And from the outside looking in, they definitely appeared to be a really strong couple, very connected and had a lot of...

good advice to put out there. But as we know, social media is a highlight reel and we only see certain things. So it's very hard to judge a relationship based on what you see online. What do you think the secret to our relationship has been? Oh, no, that's the question. It's rolling. Oh, that's the answer right now. Yeah. Being best friends. That came first. If we weren't friends... You're so out of breath. I am out of breath. But honestly, if we weren't friends first, it wouldn't have lasted. Like, that's been the...

The base of the whole relationship foundation was that we were friends. And so even through the bullshit, we can joke around and... He really is like my bestest friend. The bestest. The best friend I could ever ask for.

And I married him. Be attached but disattached. Allow yourself to grow but also allow your partner to grow as themselves as an individual. You are not the same person. Be honest with each other about how you feel through this journey. That's the only way y'all will truly get through it together. Yes. Good one babe. You guys will not always be on the same level and stage of your journey. So understand that you guys are going through different things at different stages.

While y'all are going through this journey together, be open to change within your relationship. Don't go with cookie cutaways. Yes, thank you.

Now, I don't doubt that a lot of what they said was true and a lot of what we saw from them was real. I mean, maybe for a period of time, I'm sure there was a lot of happiness in their relationship. But there were a lot of things that were going on behind the scenes in their relationship that never made it to TikTok, which I totally understand. I mean, that's private stuff that you...

wouldn't want to share but it's a good reminder that when you see the perfect relationship on social media oftentimes you're seeing like I said the highlight reel and that's not to say that they weren't totally honest I mean there were a few things that were more open on TikTok but

But she definitely gave the impression that she and Donovan were doing well, even through their separation. In October of 2021, she posted a video to TikTok with Donovan where the two of them discussed the fact that they were getting a divorce. Now, they actually only ended up separating. But as you can tell from the video that I'm going to play here in a second,

it truly sounds like this was a mutual decision. Like basically that there were no hard feelings and it wasn't going to change the fact that they were best friends at the end of the day. Story time! But I couldn't do it without him because I feel like it's wrong to only put out one side. Here we go. Okay, so the story is that we are getting divorced because of our decision.

It's my best friend. I still love her to death. Like, we still got a child together. We still gonna be hanging out. All the time. Most days of the week, but at the end of the day, we got shit to do. That's it. You feel me? She has a path to go. I got a path to go, but I pass and pay her a live. And we always gonna be next to each other. And who's to say what's gonna happen in the future? All that we know is right now, right now, it's the best, I mean, we're talking it's the best decision for both of us. For her to do what she needs to do, for me to do what I need to do.

So we can grow and heal and elevate. No hard feelings. This is not a messy divorce or anything like that. We don't do that. This is like I said. Like he said, this is my best friend at the end of the day. He has been before the relationship, before the marriage, before the kid. So nothing's going to change that. Look at her, bro. Like I will never lose this forever. For real.

So we're good, y'all. For real, like for real, for real. Promise y'all. But this version of Donovan, the person who sounded like he wanted to give April the world regardless of their relationship status,

that's not who he ended up being in reality. However, the two of them did end up getting back together after this separation and even continued to post videos with one another. And they were videos that would lead you to believe that everything was fine between them. But then in April of 2023, April posted a video to TikTok and she was talking about her boyfriend

struggles with her mental health she didn't specifically mention if donovan was the reason for her mental breakdown and her depression but given what happens shortly after this i wouldn't be surprised if that were a big part of it let's talk about how i'm gonna fake it till i make it while i put on lash extensions because i had a mental breakdown the other night and i plucked

all of my lashes off. So lately, I have been going through just a lot and I can definitely say that I'm in like a depressed state

state. Like I'm just overwhelmed and I know that like I'm manifesting more negative experiences on myself with how I've been so I have to get out of this funk so I'm going to literally fake it till I make it and I've done this before. This isn't the first time. I'm not saying like ignore your problems. I definitely like sat in my depression for some days before deciding that like bitch you gotta get out of this like something

something's gotta happen, something's gotta shake. So I know that one of my issues is that I just have not been taking care of myself lately. My habits and my routines just have not been for me, so I'm going to start doing all of them. And I say faking it, but it's just really starting it until it becomes a habit again because

Something's gotta happen. Some of the things that I do to fake it till I make it is I will say positive affirmations. I love positive affirmations. I feel like they definitely help. So I just be like, today is gonna be a great day.

I'm so positive. I'm so thankful. And it's not that I'm not thankful. I am. But, you know, we're going to act more thankful than we are right now. We have to, like, focus in on the things that we're really thankful for. So, like, gratitude practices to, like, also remind ourselves, like, we're thankful for all of this stuff. We're super blessed right now. I think that the biggest part when you're faking it till you're making it is literally your self-talk. And the reason that I say that Donovan was likely the root of all of this is because

In mid-July, April was ready to leave him for good. That month, she had asked for a divorce, and this time she was serious. This time she was not planning on going back to him. After I gave birth to my daughter in summer of 2022, I experienced a lot of hair issues, a lot of thinning, a lot of shedding, and it made me really self-conscious. I started looking into options, and I found some that seemed really expensive, really tedious,

painful, I mean, things that would have taken me out of work for a little bit of time. So I started looking for easy alternatives. And that's when I on my own found Nutrafol and I decided to buy it with my own money. And I had an incredible experience. So I reached out to them to let them know my experience and to see if they wanted to partner with me.

And I'm so glad we have now been partnered together for about a year, I believe. And I'm still taking Nutrafol every single day to this day, and it has completely transformed my hair, you guys. Nutrafol is the number one dermatologist-recommended hair growth supplement brand trusted by over 1 million people. See thicker, stronger, faster-growing hair with less shedding in just 3 to 6 months with Nutrafol, and that's about the time it took for me to really notice the difference.

Now, everyone's root cause of hair thinning is different, so a one-size-fits-all approach to hair growth just doesn't cut it. Nutrafol has multiple formulas that are tailored to give your hair exactly what it needs to grow throughout these different stages, such as postpartum, menopause, as well as for different lifestyles, such as plant-based diets. It's physician-formulated with 100% drug-free ingredients, and their supplements support healthy hair growth from within by targeting the root causes of hair thinning, including stress,

hormones, aging, nutrition, lifestyle, and metabolism as they evolve throughout a woman's life. So get results you can run your fingers through. For a limited time, Nutrafol is offering my listeners $10 off your first month subscription and free shipping when you go to Nutrafol.com and enter in the promo code KendallRay. Find out why over 4,500 healthcare professionals and stylists recommend Nutrafol for healthier hair.

That's Nutrafol.com spelled N-U-T-R-A-F-O-L.com, promo code Kendall Rae. Once again, Nutrafol.com, promo code Kendall Rae. The relationship between April and Donovan was always on edge. Throughout the years that they were together, the eight, the seven years that they were together, I guess it's eight almost, they were always on and off in a relationship. Donovan had a

obsession with April. And even if she tried to leave, he would often sleep outside of her apartment or sleep in her car if it was unlocked. He just had an obsession with her. And there was a lot of red flags throughout this entire time, just the manipulation that would go on of him pulling her away from her family or the things that she loved and just keeping her from all of us. It was kind of like

He always had something for her to do or some place for her to be if we wanted her by us. Even when it came to her daughter, Serenity, he would pull her away from us. We just, he told Serenity once that she couldn't call him dad.

There were so many red flags in that aspect. And then with their financial state, it was always a lie about bills being paid that weren't. And then April had to play catch up to cover the bills that he said he paid. So there was always some kind of tension going on. And when they'd walk in a room, you could feel it.

Very seldom did they come in both happy. There was always something going on and you could question it. But he never did physically harm her. But I don't believe that just physical harm is abuse. I think that manipulation is abuse. And I think that slowly after time, that just eats away at somebody just as much as a physical abuse relationship will. And that brings us to Friday, July 28th, 2023, which honestly was, as far as we know, a

Not a very unusual day. That day, Jamie, her mother, was hosting a lock-in at her church where she worked as a ministry leader. And a lock-in, for those of you who aren't familiar, is a social event for the church's youth group, which often takes place overnight. I actually tagged along with one of my friends to a lock-in as a kid, and it was pretty

actually a pretty fun time. Now, as for this particular lock-in, April was originally supposed to help out as a chaperone. Jamie says that her daughter was starting to get into ministry work herself, and so this was an evening that the two of them were really looking forward to. Now, April ended up not being able to go to the lock-in. However,

They did have plans the next day to go to the Barbie movie, which had just come out, which was a huge craze. I'm sure many of you have seen it. Now, this detail really got to me because...

If you've seen the Barbie movie, not only is it very empowering to women, it's also just hilarious, but it's very deep. It has a very complex message. And I was lucky enough to see it with my mother and my sister as well. And it was a very special movie and experience for us to go and see the movie together. In the movie, there's a really strong emotional message about the relationship between mothers and daughters.

And being a new mother when I saw it, it really tore me up. I mean, I was sobbing in the theater watching it and it was really special to, you know, see it with my own mother. And it broke my heart to hear that Jamie and April never got to go and see the Barbie movie together. And that's because that day she had to cancel those plans with her mom because...

Denzel had a football game and Donovan was working afterward, so he wouldn't have been able to go and watch their son. And April was that type of mom. I mean, if her son needed her, she wasn't going to let anything come in the way of that. And I'm sure in her mind, she was thinking there'll be other chances to go see the Barbie movie with my mom. And a large part of her decision, too, was the fact that she had decided she was going to be leaving Donovan for good forever.

And she knew how important it was that she continued to show up for her kids during this time. So that day at 12.59 p.m., she texted her mom and said this. How did the lock-in go? They should all be picked up by now, right? LOL. Denzel's game is at 6 p.m. tonight and then Donovan works, so I wouldn't be able to go to the movie afterwards. If they win tonight, then tomorrow's 4 p.m., so I'll be able to come to church and in on blast.

Now, Jamie actually saw this message after she had just taken a shower and wanted to take some time to relax after she had just done this exhausting lock-in with a bunch of kids. So she had planned to respond to her daughter a little later, but she unfortunately never got that chance. Because about an hour later, she got a call from Donovan saying that April was unresponsive and not breathing and that she was in an ambulance on the way to the hospital. Hearing this, Jamie was shocked.

She immediately ran to her car to meet them at Southern Hills Hospital. And the entire time she was just, you know, racking her brain, trying to come up with an explanation for what could have happened. But nothing that she could come up with in her head made any sense.

I mean, what could have made her otherwise perfectly healthy daughter stop breathing? So it was only when Jamie actually got to the hospital that the pieces started coming together. April was on life support by the time that she arrived, and she saw bruising on her neck and ankles, as well as broken blood vessels in her cheeks. And immediately, she just knew that someone had done something to her daughter. But that was not the narrative that she was being told immediately.

She was being told that her daughter had tried to take her own life. It then took an additional six hours of waiting at the hospital for Jamie to learn the full details of what Donovan claimed happened. And let me tell you, those details are excruciating. According to Donovan, he was making lunch for his son Denzel. And then he asks Denzel, who's like seven at the time,

to check on his mom because she had supposedly been in the shower for a long time. And what this poor child walked into, oh my God, it makes me infuriated thinking about the trauma that he is going to deal with the rest of his life for seeing his mother in this condition. Because when he walks into the bathroom,

He sees his mother, unresponsive, with a black trash bag over her head that had been duct taped around her neck. And I need to point out that when Donovan called 911, and even when April first arrived at the hospital, he had made no mention of this bag being around her head, which you would think was a detail you would definitely miss.

divulge, right? But no, this detail comes out hours later. And immediately, Jamie knew that her daughter did not do this to herself. She just knew that her daughter would never have done this. She would never leave her children like that. And there had to be more to the story. And there was. She was right. Two weeks later, Jamie learned from Denzel that earlier on the morning of his mother's death,

She and his dad had gotten into a big argument in the bathroom. She says that he had actually gotten down on the floor and was trying to look, you know, under the door crack to see if he could figure out what's going on because there clearly was some loud, intense fighting going on.

and he said that at first he could just see their feet. And then after listening a little bit longer, he got down on the floor again, looked under the door, and this time he claims he saw his mother lying on the bathroom floor. After he sees that, he goes to his bedroom to wait. And then shortly after that, his dad leaves the bathroom and goes with Denzel to make the two of them lunch. And then shortly after this, like I explained, Donovan...

donovan asked him to go to get april and that's when he found her clinging on to life with a trash bag over her head but in the hospital jamie at the time didn't have all these answers all that she knew was that something happened and her daughter was now fighting for her life and they didn't know if she was going to make it and then what's crazy is jamie actually had to be the one to contact the police

and let them know that they needed to investigate this. But then when she found out that there was a trash bag taped around April's head, she knew that something more had to have happened. There had to be a lot more to this story that she wasn't being told. But at this point, of course, she didn't know exactly what had happened. And obviously her and her family's main focus was April and they were just spending a lot of time

praying for her to wake up. However, on July 31st, 2023, April passed away from her injuries, leaving everyone in their family devastated, angry, and also just confused. The day that I got a call from Donovan was July 29th of 2023, when he called to tell me that April was found not breathing in the shower and that she was in the hospital on the way to the...

I immediately felt like something was off because she had just texted me an hour and a half prior and said that she would meet me at church the next day. So I really didn't understand what had happened. I didn't know if she fell and hit her head or if she just wasn't feeling good or I really had no idea what any of that meant. I just had a feeling in my gut that something was wrong. And when I arrived at this hospital to find that she was on life support, I was in utter shock. I didn't

have any clue that this is the extent of the injury that had taken place. I knew then though that something wasn't right. This was not adding up. Donovan was sitting there rocking his, rocking, just rocking like and holding his head like he didn't, like he didn't want to tell me what had happened. And then he had this story that didn't make sense saying her throat was hurting and she wasn't acting like herself.

But like I said, I had just, she had just texted me an hour and a half prior and was perfectly fine. So none of it added up. I knew from that moment that something was not right. And that is when I started to search for the details that I needed.

And we didn't find out till hours later even about the bag and he was not the one to tell us. And so the bag that was over her head. And so I knew that there was more being hidden than just that. I've already pretty much made it clear that Donovan was responsible for this. And I will give you more information as to how we know that. And I did mention a confession. So we will get to that.

This episode of True Crime with Kendall Ray is brought to you by Huggies Little Movers. Huggies knows that babies come in all shapes and sizes, and of course their tushies do too. Huggies' best-fitting diaper is their Little Movers with its curved and stretchy fit. Parents out there know that there's nothing worse than an ill-fitting diaper, especially for your active babies. We love Huggies in our house because we can rely on them to keep our daughter covered while she's moving around. Huggies' best-fitting diaper is their Little Movers with its curved and stretchy fit.

Huggies has been our number one diaper since my daughter was born because they have never let us down. And I think that's really because they offer...

up to 12 hours of protection against leaks, which is just a massive game changer. My daughter sleeps 11 to 12 hours a night, and I have never once gotten her out of her crib in the morning and had a leak in a Huggies diaper. And the key difference is that Huggies little movers are curved, so babies feel comfy no matter how much they're moving around. So get your baby's butt into Huggies best-fitting diapers. That's Huggies little movers. We got you, baby. But before we move further, I just want to say...

It is next level evil for a killer to send a child, their own child, up to see a situation like that. To knowingly send your poor child up knowing exactly what they're going to walk into. To try and make it seem like they were the ones who uncovered it for whatever reason to, you know,

remove yourself from it whatever it was but to send I just I can't get over it I can't even find the words it makes me unbelievably angry to the point where I am probably breaking out in a rash underneath my sweatshirt because who does that sends a child up to see their mom in that condition with a bag taped over her head that's evil there is no other words for it I mean committing a murder

Horrible, evil, beyond measure, right? But that is just a whole other level to bring a child into it and mess them up for the rest of their lives. He made that conscious decision to traumatize his child for the rest of his life, to involve his son in the murder that he committed. And it's just inexcusable. There really aren't any words that I can find to describe how

Horrific it is. It's diabolical. But anyway, like I was saying earlier, Jamie just knew that something was off here, that she was not getting the full story, that her daughter would not have taken her own life. And not only that, the bruises and injuries on April's body were not consistent with someone who suffocated themselves. And she could just tell from Donovan's behavior during this time that something was off.

For starters, it turns out that a week before her daughter's death, Donovan had pawned April's wedding ring. And sure, they were getting a divorce and everyone feels differently about...

what happens with the ring afterwards. But in my opinion, it was her ring and it was her decision to decide what to do with it. Jamie also says that while he was in the hospital room, he gave her April's phone and told her that she could make all medical decisions going forward. And maybe at first glance, that could seem like a kind thing to do to allow her mother to make all these decisions. But to Jamie, it felt like he was being cold-hearted

She felt like he didn't want to have any part in the situation. He didn't even want to be around April. And she even says that he left the hospital several times to go back to the apartment the day that it happened. And he never gave an explanation as to why. And he did that before police were even able to go over there. So it definitely makes you wonder what he could have been doing over there.

conveniently before the police were able to gather any evidence she also says that donovan was just going on and on about how april wasn't acting like herself that day something seemed off and just really trying to push that narrative that she had taken her own life like

trying too hard to convince everyone that was the case. But of course, Jamie's motherly intuition was telling her that that could not be true. Even in November of 2023, when the medical examiner's office came out with their ruling that April's death was the result of suffocation and the manner of death was suicide,

She didn't let go of her suspicion. Last Friday, I received the report that I've been waiting for for over three months. I was extremely upset, extremely angry when I got the report, my daughter's autopsy. It tells you that the type of death was suspected suicide. This is, let me give you a little backdrop. My detective decided to take it upon himself to show up at my daughter's autopsy and give them a

Backstory of somebody he didn't know anything about of somebody that he didn't even have the details on this case because we didn't have all the details on the case until later on. So that my daughter had minor blunt force trauma of the body. It says that her circumstances of death is that my daughter descendant.

secured the bag around her head. He gave them this information when there's no proof of that at all. And he decided to go in there and give them this information. It says there are multiple petechial hemorrhages that extend across the bilateral cheeks. She had her veins where her blood vessels were red and they were hemorrhaging on her face, which is a sign of smothering or strangulation. And it says right here, there are multiple

across the bilateral cheeks. My detective said, well, I didn't see any, I didn't see any signs of struggle. So here's where it says there is a puncture wound surrounding her ecomiosis within the right fossa. I'm not a medical person. So you just, I'm just a mom. So,

There are two small purple bruises that are on the anterior aspect of her right forearm. There is a puncture wound in the left arm. There is a large purple ecomiosis with a six centimeter abrasion that extends across the lateral aspect of her left thigh. Multiple small faint purple contusions are on her lower extremities, on her bilateral lower extremities. Showing, first of all, in the first page it says that she had blunt force trauma

Now we're seeing that she's got bruises all over her body. Summary of case, and that's the page that I'm on, says the summary of case, the descendant had a reported past medical history of alcohol and marijuana abuse.

The detective decided to make this statement up completely on his own, never given this information. My daughter, yes, my daughter drank wine. And yes, my daughter would take a half a gummy every day of marijuana. I'm not a mom that denies or even is ashamed of what my children do. If they want to have a glass of wine and they want to take half a gummy, if that's going to help them through life, well, then go for it.

But to go into an autopsy and tell them that she has a reported, where is it reported? I would love to see that. Past medical history of alcohol and marijuana abuse. There is nowhere stated in any medical record that she has this. He has made that up himself. Again, that's the Nashville Metro Police Department.

And then right here, so this is the really interesting part, where they decided to say law enforcement was not suspicious of any foul play. Went into my daughter's autopsy, who has all of these exterior elements and says they're not even suspicious of any foul play. So I immediately filed this paper right here.

And what this paper says is it is a request for reconsideration of suicide as a manner of death. I have written down here an explanation of how the police have decided to take it upon themselves to tell them what the meaning, what the definition or what her meaning of her cause of death was. And then here is an explanation of the circumstances that surrounded what happened that day because they didn't decide.

decided to inform the people of the autopsy that she was laying on the ground with her

soon-to-be ex-husband in there with her, fighting with her before her death. They didn't decide to tell that she had this bag over her head. They said she put the bag over her head. From the moment that her daughter died, she has made it her mission to seek the truth and to seek justice. And from the way things are moving, it looks like justice is in fact coming. And you want to know what she did in the meeting with detectives when they told her that the case was closed?

She and her husband got up from their chairs and they left. And to me, that says a lot. Now, Jamie's investigation into her daughter's murder has definitely not been easy. It's been a steep climb and there has been no shortage of roadblocks along the way. She knew that she needed more people to know about the case. She needed family.

support, community support beyond her own community. And she did what many families do when they're in a situation like this, trying to fight for justice, and that's turn to the internet. Now, she had no idea how to use TikTok, had never been on TikTok. And her and I were joking the other day about how it's really a confusing app. I am so lost when it comes to any type of TikTok creation to the point where I've just given up. But she decided she was going to do whatever she can

to try and gain some momentum to try to gain some support and she knew that her daughter was big on tick tock so she decided that that would be a really good place to dive into you know building awareness around the case and getting the word out she just figured you know if this is an app that april used to reach people maybe i can too and i'm so glad that she did and her message has truly been about awareness and

advocacy for April. She has shared countless videos expressing what she believes to be the truth about her daughter's death and even did so when no one was willing to listen. And it was actually through TikTok that she found out about my platform and decided to

end up reaching out to me because so many of the people that were seeing her videos were recommending this channel which i'm really grateful for i'm very proud of my audience for being able to see cases like that out there and try to get them to me and we actually started the process of working together months ago and we unfortunately had to put a pause on things because she was so outspoken on tick tock that she was

put under a gag order. And as you can imagine, being silenced in a time like that is such a setback, such a punch to the gut. And the fact that we weren't able to share her case sooner is, it's just awful. It really makes me mad. I'm glad we're able to do that now since she is no longer under a gag order. But yeah, it was a real setback. And

I have a lot of complaints for the system for doing things like that. I mean, sometimes a gag order is very necessary, but for a mother who's just trying to get the word out about her daughter and seeking justice, it's really frustrating. ♪

In the past two and a half years now, I've lost quite a bit of weight and I've also lost some weight in the ladies, if you know what I mean. And so I've been looking for a bra that's going to give me a little lift, but I've never had good luck with push-up bras. They've always been so uncomfortable and I have finally found a push-up bra that I actually like and makes me feel really confident. And that's the Skims Fits Everybody Push-Up Bra. And I'm telling you guys, when you're looking for a bra that's going to give you a little lift,

With this push-up bra, you're going to see that extra oomph, but you are not going to feel uncomfortable. That's the biggest thing for me is I'm always going to pick comfort over style or fashion or whatever I'm going for there. I have to feel good in it or I'm just not okay with it. But the Skims Fits Everybody Push-Up Bra is amazing and the padding just makes them look so natural. It gives me the perfect fit.

I put it on and I instantly feel so confident, but not only confident, I feel comfortable, which is everything for me. It doesn't make my boobs feel so heavy like I'm wearing pillows on my chest. I just truly can't recommend it enough. So shop Skims bras at Skims.com. It's now available in 62 sizes. Super impressive. So that goes from 30A to 46H. And if you haven't yet, be sure to let them know that I sent you. After you place your order, select podcast in the survey and select my show in the drop down menu that follows.

And we had actually talked about me doing the episode without her, but at the end of the day, we decided that it would be much more beneficial to wait until the gag order was lifted because I knew she would be the best voice for April and really able to connect with the audience. I think it always helps to hear directly from families. And I'm really glad we waited because the universe works in interesting ways because in that time, she was able to get a confession from

from Donovan and record it. So I want you to hear now from Jamie about how this gag order came to be and what she did as a result. In the early stages of the investigation, I knew that the police hadn't been called in for six hours.

till six hours after April was at the hospital. And that was only by the fact that we alerted them that there was a bag over her head. We knew that Donovan had to return to that apartment three times prior to them getting there. And we wanted to make sure that they were doing the proper collection of evidence afterwards. When we found out that none of this was being done, including video camera footage, many other factors, like they didn't notice that their divorce paper's on the counter. They didn't notice a lot of

key factors in this entire thing. And so I decided to take it into my own hands in order to make sure that people understood that this was a case that was being dropped. I went on to TikTok, which I've never been a part of before. I've never actually had a TikTok account. I only knew of it through April. And I decided I was going to start to advocate for what I needed for this case. And so as soon as

I started putting the word out there because no news channels, no social media, nobody would take on the case. So when I decided that I was going to start putting this out, Donovan went and got an attorney and he put a gag order against me that I was given. The court did give me this gag order and they told me I wasn't allowed to talk about April or I could not see my grandson Denzel anymore. So that is when I decided, okay, well, I'm going to come up with a creative way of still being able to get my voice heard.

So I'd put tape over my mouth every day and I would say things like, I'd write on the tape, justice for April Holt or help me remove this gag order or let my silence be heard or

please share this story or whatever it would be, I put it across my mouth and I would still be heard even with a gag order. And in the background of all of that, I was still researching two to three hours a day in order to get justice for my daughter. I had never stopped. I just had to do it silently. Let's also keep in mind though that while Jamie was fighting for justice, she was also fighting for custody of Denzel. She and Jeremiah had hired an attorney to try and get custody of him. But since April's manner of death was ruled a suicide,

The judge granted Donovan full custody. And Jamie was only granted once a month visitations, which is just a pain that no one should have to deal with. I mean, imagine being in her shoes. You know deep down in your heart that your child has been killed by someone. You know who it is. And then not only are you dealing with all that pain, no one's listening to you. You feel like you're fighting this uphill battle. But then...

Your child's child has to go and live with the person you know is responsible for their death. And you are only able to see them once a month. Oh my God, I can't even imagine the anger. As a reminder, she and Jeremiah did have custody of April's daughter Serenity because they had adopted her long before all of this. And of course, they're doing their best to try and help her get through this insanely difficult time together.

But none of this was easy for any of them. She said that some days were better than others, but the bottom line is...

these children had lost their mother and the narrative surrounding her death was false and Jamie and Jeremiah knew it. And a lot of those falsehoods were being perpetuated by the Metro Nashville Police Department. The MNPD is a huge reason why this was such an uphill battle for Jamie. Like you heard her say in that clip from TikTok, they straight made up information and failed to consider the entire facts of the case

before determining the manner of death. They also said that they couldn't find any proof that contradicted Donovan's statements, and therefore they would not be changing the ruling on it. And hearing this made her angry, of course, but it only fueled her desire to

get to the truth even more. So after requesting the full case file, she began conducting her own investigation and even launched a formal complaint with the Office of Professional Accountability and the Community Oversight Board. I mean, by this point, the police were just straight up disregarding her questions and concerns and

She felt like this was the next step that she just had to take. And after four months of waiting, she received a 47-page report that provided one key piece of information that she didn't have before. And this piece of information changed everything. In this report, it was determined that two of Donovan's fingerprints were found on the duct tape used to tie the plastic bag up.

around April's neck. Yet, hmm, the police were saying that they couldn't find any proof that contradicted Donovan's statements. Hmm, I think anyone, anyone with a brain cell could tell you that that's pretty strong proof that contradicts his statements, right? Now, I do have to say that

This was not determined to be a new roll of duct tape, so there is an argument that his fingerprints were there from another time that he picked up the roll. Okay, sure. Like, I guess it leaves this tiny bit for reasonable doubt, but not enough to not question his statement. And then Donovan also told authorities that he had removed the duct tape from her neck after he found her, which could be another explanation. And of course, these were explanations to consider at the time, because...

they didn't have a confession yet which i am getting to very shortly and i really want you guys to pay attention to this next bit because when jamie learned about this information about the duct tape and the fingerprints her mind of course didn't go to the other explanations her mind like probably all of you out there went to the explanation that was most obvious to her right and that's

that his fingerprints were on that duct tape because he was the one to put it around her neck. So let's get into the confession and then...

The arrest. So in June of 2024, Jamie decides to confront Donovan about the new information that she had. From the report, she sent him a screenshot that showed his fingerprints were on that duct tape, and she gave him two options. Option A, he could just tell her the truth. Option B, she could take that information to the cold case unit, which they should have already had that, right? And this ultimatum worked. Donovan went with option A.

He called her up and confessed to murdering her daughter, just as she had always suspected, just as she had always knew. She even recorded their conversation because there was no world in which she was going to let him get away with this any more than he already had. And once she had that confession recorded, of course, she took it right to police, who obviously

finally agreed to reinvestigate April's case, which at that point, really, did they have any other choice? I mean, here he is confessing to it. Now, for legal reasons, I obviously can't play the confession for you. Maybe one day it'll be out there. I'm not sure. But here's Jamie to tell you more about it. The day that I got a confession from Donovan, he had texted me that morning and he had explained to me that he wanted to

talked to me about Denzel and his football and I said okay and then it wasn't until about 3:30 that afternoon when he called me on FaceTime through Facebook and he first asked me if anybody was around me and I explained to him no, nobody was around me. I had known that something was up that day when he had said he wanted to talk to me because he never wanted to talk to me and so I had kept Serenity's phone with me for recording in case I needed to.

Now, prior to me doing this, I did look up the state laws of finding out that Tennessee is a one party state and only I needed to know that I was doing a recording, which is very important if you decide to do something like that. Otherwise, they can throw out your evidence. So when he called and he just started to talk to me about Denzel and that about his football and his asthma and that he went into telling me about that morning.

Now this phone call was over 47 minutes long. It was very long. And I knew I had to sit there and I knew I had to stay calm. Even with somebody explaining to me that they've murdered my child. This is only done through walking through the spirit. And that's the only way I was able to do it. I knew that Denzel was still in his care and that this was very important that I stayed calm. So he explained to me how they were having intercourse, which is what he claims, which I do not believe.

and that he had choked her and she was no longer breathing. When he noticed she was no longer breathing, he said he panicked and didn't know what to do, so he drug her to the shower. From that point, he put a bag over her face and he taped it. And then he went into the living room and he ate lunch and dressed Denzel. And then a short while later, he then told Denzel to go and check on his mom. He said she was taking too long in the shower.

So Denzel went to go check on his mom and the door was locked. So Denzel unlocked the door and found his mom in the bathroom with the bag over her head. That is when 911 was called.

I do not believe that this was a sexual act considering the fact that he had the tape and the bag with him in the bathroom. I also do not believe that it was a sexual act because somebody that we love, that's our spouse, we would not drag to a shower and we would not put a bag and tape over their head like they are trash, like they are disposable. We would have resuscitated them and called 911 right away. We wouldn't have went into a living room and ate

steak and broccoli for lunch and dressed our child. We wouldn't have sent our child in there to find their mother in such a way. That was extremely hard. I'll be honest, when he told me that he killed her, I already knew. I'd been dealing with this grief, this understandment, this pain for over almost a year now. And so I knew that that's what happened. So I wasn't in shock with that. I was just

relieved that now I had it in recording, in a recorded form that I could bring to the police. Now, when I heard what Donovan was claiming had happened for the first time, I was absolutely floored.

I mean, the nerve of this man. For so many reasons, this story is incredibly unlikely, but there's one reason in particular that I haven't mentioned yet that makes it, in my mind, just not a possibility. When I talked to Jamie on the phone, she told me some information that really cleared things up for me, really connected the dots and made me even more confident that Donovan's story of what happened, like I said, just...

cannot have possibly happened. I'm going to share this information with you because Jamie gave me permission to, and I think it's important. I think this will solidify things in your mind even more than they probably already are. But I will warn you, it is upsetting and we're going to be talking about Essay. So three days, only three days before April was murdered by her husband,

It turns out that she was actually sexually assaulted. So the person who sexually assaulted April was actually not Donovan. It was another man who I won't be mentioning by name as much as I want to, but it was really bad. He was someone that she was providing interior design services for, and I'm not...

I'm not going to get into any details of it, but it was so bad that she did end up going to the hospital the day after it happened. And the reason I bring this up is because Jamie, myself, I'm sure most of you out there can agree that in no world would she have wanted to engage in sex, violent sex, according to Donovan, who, by the way, she's in the process of leaving, of divorcing,

Why would she want to do anything like that? Why would, you know, you're still recovering at that point. Three days later, there is no way that that happened. I just, I don't buy it for a single second. Let's just run that back a little more clear because I'm obviously getting emotional. But for Donovan's version of events to be true, April would have had to consent to sex, violent sex, according to him personally.

just days after being sexually assaulted. Okay? No way. No way. And to add to that, April had sort of already moved on. I mentioned earlier that Donovan and her had actually separated for a period of time. And during that period of time, April was seeing someone else. And April started talking to this person again after she asked Donovan for a divorce. So,

So, and this is just something to think about because I don't know for sure, but is it possible that Donovan found out, became angry, and possibly killed her because of that? Like a situation of, if I can't have her, no one can? So it's just something to think about. And as for what Jamie believes, she believes what Denzel told her from the beginning. She thinks that the two of them got in an argument in the bathroom, just like her grandson heard and saw...

And that's where all of this took place. Basically, that this whole sex gone wrong story could very well be a ploy by Donovan to downplay everything, to say it was an accident and he just panicked. But anyway, regardless of the specifics,

A confession is a confession, and thankfully the police took this confession seriously. In their renewed efforts, the MNPD obtained their own confession in July where Donovan admitted to strangling April. Because of Jamie's perseverance and inability to take no for an answer, April is thankfully on a path towards getting justice now. What she has done is a testament to motherhood and that bond and also to never giving up.

And I can't tell you how many families I see that are going through this right now. How many families out there who could be watching this, who I hope, you know, gain some inspiration from Jamie and the work that she put in. And I know I sound like a broken record. I always say how no family should ever have to be the one fighting for justice, that the police should just do their job and it shouldn't be in their hands. Their only responsibility at that point, in my opinion, should be justice.

dealing with their grief, trying to process what they have gone through and taking care of themselves mentally and physically. And so many people, that's just not an option. That's just not the reality. The reality is a lot of families out there do have to be the ones that are fighting for answers, who are searching for their loved ones, who are pushing to get the information, who are pushing police, calling them nonstop, even when they stop answering their calls. And I just hope that

Jamie's story can be inspiration for so many out there. At the end of the day, I really wanted to talk about this case, not only because April was an incredible person who deserves to be talked about and remembered, but also as a reminder for those out there who are fighting that your fight is not for nothing and to never stop.

And that's a really big message that Jamie wants to share with anyone who is going through something like this right now, that you can make a difference. However, of course, this is not the end of the road. There is still a lot to do, as I'm about to explain, you know, a lot more hoops to jump through. But getting a confession and an arrest is

is a huge step forward. And yes, an arrest was made. In September of 2024, Donovan was arrested in San Antonio, Texas, where he had been living and was later indicted on the charges of reckless homicide, falsifying a report, and tampering with evidence. He was extradited to the Davidson County Jail in Tennessee, where he is currently being held on a $75,000 bond. In that same month, April's manner of death was reclassified to homicide.

Donovan's arraignment hearing was actually supposed to happen before I recorded this episode. It was scheduled for October 23rd. However, it has unfortunately been postponed because apparently the state hasn't gotten him an attorney yet, which is just...

So frustrating. I mean, the legal system just never ceases to infuriate me more and more, more and more with every case. Moving forward, though, Jamie is looking to have Donovan's charges increased from reckless homicide to first-degree murder, and she also wants the charge of child endangerment to be added. And I definitely agree with her on both of those changes needing to happen. I'm sure most of you do as well. Jamie is now working with a new district attorney, and she's hopeful that...

Maybe she'll have a better experience with them. And this is the third one since she started her efforts. And I hope this is something that they're going to be able to accomplish. This new DA is a woman and she's hoping that maybe there'll be like a maternal instinct or heart that will make her want to help April woman to woman. The last two DAs have been men and of course, many great men out there.

Many not so great men out there, right? And to say that they have been disrespectful and unprofessional in this case and towards Jamie and her daughter would be an understatement. I'm not going to get into everything that they have said to her and done, but just know it's bad.

It's a it would really, really piss you off. But anyway, on a positive note, another really cool thing that Jamie is doing right now is opening a nonprofit grief center and it's called Grieve With Me. And it's, of course, in April's honor. And I was so excited to hear about this. I think it's so cool. I mean, keep in mind, her daughter was murdered. It's been like a year and a half. Right. And

In that time, she has not only done so much work and made massive amounts of progress in her daughter's case, but to then also try and think of ways that she can help others, raise awareness about domestic violence, and then open this grief center. She is amazing to me. And when I spoke to her on the phone yesterday, she had just gotten the keys to the building that morning, which really was a miracle because she didn't know how she was going to financially swing it. So...

It's just such great news. However, there's still a lot of work to be done there. She needs to get furniture and get the space ready, but...

I'm just so blown away by how quickly she was able to pull all of this off. She's already gotten the 501c3 approval and is working on getting more funds to facilitate the opening of the center as quickly as possible. And she was explaining to me that the goal of this center is to provide free resources to people experiencing grief, such as youth grief groups, art therapy classes, and eventually grief camps. But it's really going to be just a safe place where she wants people to be able to go and just sit, maybe drink a cup of coffee, and just be able to

Speak to others who are going through something similar and relax a little bit. Create that sense of community. And if this is something that you guys are interested in supporting, and please, please consider doing so. I'm telling you, Jamie...

is going to put every single cent to good use to helping others in her daughter's honor. And if you have any ability to make even the smallest donation, please consider doing so. I'm going to have that GoFundMe linked below. And I know that she will be so, so appreciative of any help. I obviously can't say enough good things about her and everything that she plans to do, but

This is not going to be cheap or easy. It's a lot to take on and she's going to need a lot of support. And I thought this is really cool. But the reason that she is naming the Grief Center Grieve With Me is because it's actually the title of a children's book that her and April's daughter Serenity have written together. It's not been published yet, but I just thought that was really, really special. And not only that, all the proceeds from that book are going to go right back into the nonprofit to help others.

It's just so awesome. And just when you think she can't get any more impressive, through everything else she has been through and everything else she is working on, she has actually already written a book about grief. And it's published. You can buy it now. And please consider, because...

All the proceeds from that are also going towards the grief center. It's called Grieving Through Grace, which is both a memoir and guide to the grief journey after the loss of a child or a loved one. So of course, I will have that linked below if you are interested in picking that up and reading it yourself. I'm actually going to link everything that she has, including her TikTok and her Facebook page, which...

are two places I encourage you guys to check out and follow maybe so that you can stay up to date on everything related to April's case and everything that she's doing. And additionally, my foundation, Higher Hope, has awarded Jamie our Hope Grant. We have been working with her over the past couple of weeks to get this grant in her hands. You know, after all of the sacrifices that she has made emotionally, physically, financially, we are just grateful to have been able to award this to her.

And by the time that this episode goes live, she will have already received those funds. And like I mentioned at the beginning of this episode, we also decided that we wanted to get involved in the creation of her grief center through one of our empower grants, which is directly for nonprofits. And that will support the grieve with me center. Now this grant is in the early phases. We are still discussing the best way to use these funds and how to work together. So be sure to follow her on,

And us, Higher Hope Org on social media to stay up to date on how that plays out. And like I also mentioned, one of Jamie's biggest goals here is to spread awareness about domestic violence, which truly there can never be enough awareness about domestic violence as it's truly just an epidemic of violence.

all around the world. Through her social media, she's really working to talk more openly about DV and help educate others about what signs to look for. And of course, I wanted to update you guys when it comes to Denzel, because I'm sure you're wondering, and I am happy to tell you that

He is now in her full custody and he's in great hands. When we talked yesterday, she's doing everything she can in the world to help him through such a difficult experience for both kids, Serenity as well. She actually got that custody back the day that Donovan was arrested. So now Serenity and Denzel are together in her care and she's working as hard as she can to give them the most normal life that she can. My call to action is

through Kendall's audience and through everybody on here that is watching, is that we are able to give hope to families that have lost hope in getting justice for their families' cases, that have been ruled a suicide, they've been closed in any kind of way, that they don't take that as a final answer, that as a final no, that they continue to fight because there's always a stone that's been left unturned and you have to find out what that is.

So you have to dig deep. It's going to take a lot. It's going to take hours. It's going to take days. It's going to take months. It could even take years, but it's worth getting justice for your loved one or your family member or your friend. And so I just want the call to action be, let's spread hope. Let's spread domestic violence awareness out there. Only 50% of people that are strangled even show a physical symptom.

It is atrocious to think of all of the things that are out there that are happening every single day, every single second. And yet nobody is in their suffering in silence. And so we need to be their voice. In addition, I want to open a grief center in April's memory. It's going to be called Grieve With Me after a book that her 12-year-old daughter has written with me. It's a children's book on grief that we are just in the process of publishing.

So the Grief Center is a nonprofit. It's called Grief With Me. We are now funding for it, and there's a GoFundMe site for this Grief Center. And we are excited to open it, hopefully before the holidays when people are grieving most. We know that there are people, 57% of people are going through some sort of grief right now.

And so we want to be able to offer a place that's for our youth and for all ages. It'll have a youth center and a stress-free grief lounge. It'll have grief art therapy and free resources. When you're in grief, you just need a place to just be and comforted by other people that are grieving. And so that is our hope, that we are able to do this. Our last call to action, that we are just...

going to be so focused on making sure it's taking place, is getting policies and procedures changed within the EMT service, making sure that the police are called at every call, that there's a domestic partner involved when somebody is not breathing. There was no reason cops were not called for six hours and that we had to be the one to alert them. That should be automatic. In addition, we want to have the policy changed that

When there is an autopsy that the detective is not allowed in and they have to meet with the medical examiners afterwards so that the autopsy is strictly medical and then they can collaborate later on. But this needs to be done over medical facts only.

I think that all of these things are possible. Actually, I know they are. It's just going to take the voice of many of us and some strength and willpower, but we will make it happen. So please stand with us with all of these calls to action. And I know that in time, change could be made. Without change, everything stays the same. With change, things are better. So we just would appreciate and love every single person for all the love and support that we've been given during this tragedy.

Our tragedy is going to be turned to light. And we know that April's light is going to shine forever, which puts a smile on our face and our children's face.

And she'll be so proud of what all of us are doing. Now, I don't think it's lost on anyone that MNPD failed April, especially in the beginning of this case. When no signs in her life pointed to her wanting to take her own life, they spread the narrative immediately that she did. And that's not only harmful to her memory, but it's also harmful to her children and all of their family. Not to mention the fact that they just...

completely dismissed Jamie when she told them that she knew her daughter was killed. And it really took Jamie having to get a confession on her own for them to pay attention to her at all. And imagine if she wasn't able to get that confession, which really could have happened. There would be no justice. There would be no path to justice, I should say, at all for April at this point. Plus, let's not forget that they put Denzel in danger by allowing him to be in Donovan's custody

for an entire year before he was finally removed. April is now buried a few minutes away from their church and she is missed every single day. Jamie says that she finds herself watching her daughter's TikTok videos to feel close to her and I'm so glad that she has those.

I'm sure there's so much comfort in just being able to hear her voice. She's also found a lot of healing through her faith and continues to pray that justice will be served. April was someone who was just trying to get out of her marriage, and the jealousy and anger of one man prevented her from doing so. But one thing I wanted to mention here as well is as a result of her passing, April has saved four lives through organ donation, which is so beautiful to me. Jamie said she knew that's what her daughter would have wanted, and...

It's really a massive impact to make on those people's lives. And ultimately, I am hoping for the day that we can all know that there has been justice for April Holt. But before I leave you all today, I wanted to say that if you are a victim of domestic violence and in need of helping get out, you can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-7000.

That's BEGIN to 88788. But that is all I have for you guys today on April's case. More to come. I am confident that there will be justice for April very soon.

That is going to be it for me today, guys. Thank you for joining me for another episode and make sure you follow the show on Spotify and Apple podcasts. It really does help me out. If you want to watch the video version of this show, you can find it on my YouTube channel, which will be linked, or you can just search Kendall Ray. I will be back with another episode soon, but until then stay safe out there.