Terrence Jermaine Holder
A man was found guilty on Friday of killing two people who opened their Alabama home to him and his homeless girlfriend.
Jurors convicted Terrence Jermaine Holder, 41, of capital murder for shooting Kristy Lynn Pickett, 26, and Tommy Ervin Shyrie Sr, 58, at the couple’s residence in Warrior, Alabama, according to AL.com. The jury recommended life in prison without the possibility of parole. Officials did not announce a sentencing date.
Jefferson County deputies announced in June 2019 that they found two people dead at a home in the 3500 block of Bethel Road.
“Detectives developed evidence that led them to identifying Terrence Jermaine Holder as the offender,” authorities said. “Holder was a casual acquaintance of the [victims].”
Neighbor Tina Hicks told WVTM before the arrest that the residents were nice people. She described being woken up and told about the presence of police officers and fire trucks at the scene.
“Very shocking,” she said. “It floored me, as good a neighbors as they were.”
The couple was found dead at their home June 14, 2019 after Pickett’s mother could not reach her. Pickett’s mother called 911 when she arrived at the home and no one answered the door. Deputies made their way inside. Pickett was found shot in the head in the hallway. Shyrie was in the bedroom, shot in the face. He spent his last moments apparently attempting to hide by a bed, prosecutors said.
The victims had been dead for days, officials said.
Prosecutors said that Pickett and Shyrie had been letting Holder and his girlfriend, who were both homeless, stay at the residence.
Holder gave different accounts of what happened and implicated two others, though he confessed, authorities said.
He remains locked up at the Jefferson County Jail, records show. He was also separately charged for allegedly promoting prison contraband in 2021.
[Booking photo via Jefferson County Jail]
