STAFF REPORTS
On Saturday October 21, 2023, at 1:30 p.m. on the vacant lot located at 1512 W. Pearl St. there will be a rally for anyone affected by crime in Hood County.
The event location has been chosen because it is where the old Greyhound/Trailways bus station stood in 1988, and where Granbury resident, Holly Palmer, 23, was brutally murdered nearly 35 years ago. Dolly Spinner, one of Holly’s younger sisters, is organizing this event with the help of other local residents and officials. Holly’s other sisters, Mary Ellis and Wynn Honey Spinden, will be in attendance to lead the opening and closing prayers for the program.
This event coincides with National Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Sheriff Deeds, Mayor Jim Jarratt, and several other local officials will be in attendance, along with families and friends of cold case murder victims and other victims of crime. The main guest speaker is Spinner who was 21 years old when her older sister Holly was murdered. This crime totally changed her and her family’s life.
Spinner wanted to organize this event to give victims (of any type of crime) a voice about how crime has affected them. Spinner has been waiting 35 years for an answer about who murdered her beloved older sister, Holly. She’s happy that there is now movement on her sister’s case with the help of Lt. Russell Grizzard at Granbury Police Department.
Spinner said, “Some of the families of cold case murder victims in Hood County did not have a voice back then and they need to be heard. There are people with more recent cases who have been victimized and they’re still waiting for answers too.”
“I also want to be a voice for the voiceless, others who may be scared to say anything or speak up about how crimes have affected them and their families. We have to keep officials’ feet to the fire; there needs to be accountability for solving these cases. The District Attorney’s office also needs to do a better job of working with law enforcement and prosecuting cases in Hood County. There are people who have been victimized, and their assailants have yet to see the inside of a jail cell,” said Spinner.
People are encouraged to bring signs in support of crime victims.