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The Unthinkable: The Murder of Liese Dodd

The Unthinkable: The Murder of Liese Dodd

 

                Heidi Noel was very close with her twenty-two-year-old daughter in 2022, Liese Dodd. Liese was herself preparing for motherhood at eight months pregnant. Heidi was planning the baby shower and preparing for the new little girl’s arrival. Liese hadn’t chosen a name yet for her daughter, so they were just affectionately calling her “baby bean”. Heidi worried about her daughter, however.

                Liese had recently moved into an apartment of Bolivar Street in Alton, Illinois, with her on and off again boyfriend Deundrea Holloway, also twenty-two. Deundrea had a history of physically abusing Liese and likely had some untreated mental health issues. He didn’t treat Liese well and it is unclear if he was the father of her unborn child. Heidi hoped that her daughter could find closure and end the relationship for the sake of her own wellbeing and that of baby bean.  

                Liese Dodd was born on August 14th, 1999, in Alton, Illinois, a part of Southern Illinois that is certainly not immune to crime. Mostly drug and property related offenses occur here, however. She was described as a happy girl with a lovely childhood. She had a great love for animals, dedicating her tenth birthday to donations for a local animal shelter. She graduated from Jersey Community High School in 2017.

                After high school, Liese became a friendly face at a local Dairy Queen and Nick’s Pancake House in Jerseyville. She always wore a smile for her customers, despite some coworkers noticing bruises and signs of abuse as she began to date Deundrea. At first, she denied the abuse, but when her manager at Dairy Queen saw him punch her in the face, she could no longer deny the domestic violence situation she was in.

                Deundrea had substance abuse issues and was often homeless. At times, Liese also was homeless with him or couch surfing. They once lived in a tent near Lake Litchfield for a short time. The violence became a regular part of their relationship. Co-workers and family members noticed the bruising and black eyes. They begged her to leave him, but that is always easier said than done. The U.S. Department of justice estimates that in domestic violence cases that end in homicide, 75% of those victims tried to leave their partners in the last year (Fersch, 2025). When pregnancy is involved, a woman’s risk of being killed or seriously injured by an abusive spouse increases even higher.

                Some of the prior instances of domestic violence included an instance in July 2021, in which Liese was hospitalized with a broken nose and two black eyes. That September, she went to her mother’s home to try to escape the violence of her partner. Inevitably, she returned to her on-and-off again relationship. In May of 2022, while heavily pregnant, Deaundrea introduced his girlfriend to his sister P.J., who believed the baby she was carrying was her brother’s child. Other reports state the baby was not Deaundrea’s and was conceived during a time when the couple was not together.

                Around that time, the couple moved into an upstairs apartment on Bolivar Street in Alton, Illinois. Liese and her mom Hiedi were excitedly preparing for the birth of her daughter, due in late July. Hiedi had just sent out the invites for the baby shower. Their happiness was marred, however, by ongoing uneasiness in the relationship between Liese and Deaundrea. On June 7th, 2022, he seemingly left the apartment without saying a word to Liese. Liese was upset, texting her mother that she was afraid he had left her for good. Her mother texted back that maybe it was a blessing and to be grateful that perhaps it didn’t end violently between the two.

                When he still hadn’t arrived back home on June 8th, 2022, Liese became more concerned and contacted his family. Deaundrea had a history of some mental health issues and she was concerned. She also asked the landlord to check the camera footage to see when he left last. The footage showed him leaving with his uncle who lived in nearby St. Louis, Missouri. Liese was then able to reach him and get him from his uncle’s home. Footage from the apartment building’s cameras show them entering the house together the evening of June 8th, 2022, at approximately 9:11 pm.  That is the last time Liese is seen alive.

                At 11:57 pm, Deaundrea is seen on the footage exiting the apartment building with a white laundry basket and going to a nearby dumpster to dispose of the items. His sister and mother would later testify that he showed up that morning at 2:30 am (6/9/2022) pounding on their door. While at his mother’s house, he changed clothes, cut off his dread locks, showered, and put a for sale sign in the window of his girlfriend’s car. He gave the keys to the car, Liese’s identification and debit card to his mother. His mother questioned the odd behavior and didn’t understand what was happening. His sister described him as “being ins a daze”.

                After trying to reach her daughter all morning on 6/9/2022, Hiedi Noel went to her daughter’s apartment. Her mother’s instinct knew something wasn’t right. She also knew that her daughter had been fighting with her abusive boyfriend the night before and she was concerned. As she entered apartment #4, she made her way to the bedroom and found her daughter lying cold and motionless on the floor. She bent down and felt that her daughter was cold. When she went to unwrap the scarf covering what she thought was her head, she made the horrifying discovery that not only had Liese been murdered, but her head was missing!

                A hysterical Hiedi exited the apartment building and immediately dialed 911. First responders soon arrived and confirmed the gruesome findings. On footage, Hiedi begs the officers to, “Please find her head”. Nearby, construction workers found the white laundry basket Deaundrea had thrown out early that morning containing bloody clothing, a serrated knife, and the head of Liese.

                The police interviewed the downstairs neighbor to learn if they had heard or witnessed anything the night before. The neighbor described frequent arguments at the residence, including one the night before. They describe muffled yells that were not overly loud followed by louder screams around 9:45 pm. Then, the neighbors said they heard four or five thuds that reminded them of someone chopping wood. After that, they said it was silent the rest of the night.

                A search warrant was executed in Deaundrea’s mother’s home. Evidence collected included the clothing he had changed out of from that night and his hair that he had cut off that night. This evidence matched what could be seen on the surveillance footage of the apartment complex.

                The manhunt for Deaundrea didn’t last long. Gillespie police, nearby Alton, picked up Mr. Holloway on marijuana possession charges. He refused to be cooperative and was behaving in a manic fashion with the officers, although he was only being held on drug possession to his knowledge. His belligerent behavior led him to be restrained after he started banging his head on the wall and harming himself.

                Once he was transferred to the Alton Police Department, he was interviewed about the death of Liese Dodd and her unborn child. He refused to cooperate and talk and asked for a lawyer. This ended the interview process. On June 13th, 2022, he was charged with the following:

·         2 Counts of 1st degree murder

·         2 Counts of homicide of unborn child

·         1 Count of dismembering a body

·         Offenses related to motor vehicles

·         Concealment of a homicidal death

His bond was set at 2 million dollars.

                While his family stated that they “knew he was capable of violence” they told the public that they had tried to get him mental health care in the past. They stated that he had been failed by the system and his mental illness was the cause of this tragedy. In jail, he remained violent and non-compliant. He was initially found unfit to stand trial and sent for mental health care.

                In January of 2024, after being found mentally fit, Deaundrea Holloway plead guilty. The Illinois supreme court had taken a life sentence off the table, stating that the unborn baby could not be considered a second victim to pursue a life sentence. In January 2025, Holloway was sentenced to sixty years in prison: thirty years for murder, twenty years for homicide, and ten years for concealing the body. He will have to serve a minimum of fifty-two years before he is eligible for parole.



                This is a crime so heinous and brutal in nature that it can only be described as simply unthinkable. Perhaps the mental health system did fail. I argue, however, that the victim here is not Holloway but is Liese and Baby Bean as she is so lovingly referred to even after her death. If you or anyone you know is experiencing a mental health crisis or domestic violence, please seek help. Please speak up.

 The National Domestic Violence Hotline provides a directory of assistance providers where one can find local resources, or call for help at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233)


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