Daughter of Murder Victims Breaks Her Silence as Cold Case Charity She Inspired Celebrates First Year Accomplishments
AUSTIN, Texas, Nov. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- FHD Forensics and sister organization, Genealogy For Justicetm (G4J) are proud to congratulate Holly Marie, the daughter of homicide victims Dean and Tina Linn Clouse whose book about her life hit bookstores today.
"Baby Holly," who vanished about the time her parents were murdered in late 1980, appeared on ABC's 20/20 special, Baby Holly Found last week with David Muir to reveal how she was adopted by a loving family before learning of the murder of her parents. She waited 40 years to learn the truth after it was unveiled by their genetic genealogy identifications.
As Muir asked about the families' decision to launch a humanitarian project as the best way to remember Dean and Tina, Holly explained, "So we can end suffering like my family had to suffer all those years."
FHD Forensics' President, Allison Peacock was also interviewed about her role in identifying Tina Linn Clouse, her advocacy for Dean and Tina's families as they searched for Holly, and the work the families now support to help bring similar closure to other unidentified remains investigations.
"Genealogy For Justice arose out of the search for Holly," said Peacock. "It leverages crowdfunding and philanthropy to underwrite John and Jane Doe investigations, offering hope to waiting families." In addition to her work helming FHD Forensics, investigative genealogist Peacock is the G4J Advisory Board Chair.
As the manager of the Dean and Tina Linn Clouse Memorial Fund, the 501c3 organization is not only focused on closing unidentified remains cases, but also on advocacy for victims and survivors of cold cases. As their first year drew to a close last month, several accomplishments were celebrated. Among the highlights were:
- Closure of their first underwritten Jane Doe case, giving the family of Virginia Higgins Ray a Mother's Day miracle.
- Financially supporting the ongoing DNA testing of six other John and Jane Doe cases
- Sponsoring a community engagement campaign to test people with ancestral ties to Georgetown, South Carolina in order to name a young John Doe who died there about 100 years ago and whose body wasn't found until 2017.
- Sponsoring expert witness testimony in a court case to gain financial support for a child left behind by a trafficking perpetrator.
- Educating the public about DNA sharing at a missing and unidentified persons event
"We are so passionate about the work we do and we can't wait to see what this next year will hold," says the organization's founder Isabel de la Luz. "Raising over $45,000 in funding in our first nine months was a great start and unfortunately our queue of cases needing funding is getting longer every day."
In addition to these milestones, Peacock and G4J created a podcast to discuss the use of genetic genealogy to close cold cases. Season One of the Family History Detectives podcast features intimate interviews with Baby Holly's family members.
Holly Marie's faith based, true crime memoir, Finding Baby Holly: Lost to a Cult, Surviving My Parents' Murders, and Saved by Prayer is now available wherever books are sold. A portion of book sales has been pledged to Genealogy For Justice by the author.
"There are a lot of people out there with missing family members. With DNA there is just no reason why these missing people can't be found," explained Sherry Green, Holly's aunt.
Tax deductible donations to help fund the resolution of John and Jane Doe cases can be made on the Genealogy For Justice website.
Media Contact:
FHD Forensics
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SOURCE FHD Forensics
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