John Holloway interview

Wednesday, April 27, 2022 – 4:35 p.m.

John Holloway was married to the victim from 2015 to 2017.

Detective Armstrong interviewed him by telephone about his relationship with Wendy Holloway.

Participants:

• Detective T. Armstrong
• John Holloway

Detective Armstrong: Would you state your name and address, please?

John Holloway: John Holloway. 1515 University Avenue, Sacramento, California.

Detective Armstrong: Your occupation?

John Holloway: I'm an architect. I have my own company, Midnight Blue.

Detective Armstrong: Thank you for taking the time to speak with us, and please let me offer my condolences.

John Holloway: Thank you. I hadn't spoken to Wendy in quite some time, but this has still hit me pretty hard.

Detective Armstrong: How did you meet your ex-wife?

John Holloway: We were both at Stanford. I was a business major and struggling through a pretty basic computer course. I went to this tutoring company to get some help, and Wendy was the tutor.

Detective Armstrong: And y'all started dating?

John Holloway: Yes. I was in awe of her. She seemed so determined, so driven. I mean, she was smart as hell, but then again, everyone at Stanford is smart. She was just so focused on success. I started going to tutoring even when I didn't really need it, just to spend some time with her. Finally, I got up the guts to ask her out.

Detective Armstrong: And how long did you date?

John Holloway: Not very long. Maybe four months or so before we got engaged.

Detective Armstrong: That must have been some romance.

John Holloway: Yeah, we were pretty smitten. Wendy never did anything half-speed. It was all or nothing. It was always a big rush to be around her. You just got caught up in that energy.

Detective Armstrong: But then you divorced her about two years later. What happened?

John Holloway: Things were just different. You know how sometimes the things that attract you to a person initially can drive you crazy later? That was us. That drive, that determination, that focus. It just became too much.

Detective Armstrong: What do you mean?

John Holloway: She was just hard. I don't mean difficult, although she could be that. Hard like stone. Cold might be a better way to put it. She was so focused on her success that it hardened her. It was tough to love someone who was basically a robot. She was like the Terminator, completely focused on her goal and couldn't really be bothered with much else.

Detective Armstrong: Was that the only problem in your relationship?

John Holloway: I suspected that she was having an affair with this guy at work. Like I said, Wendy didn't do anything halfway. Having a little crush on someone at work is probably normal, but there was no way Wendy would stop at that.

Detective Armstrong: Why did you suspect she was having an affair?

John Holloway: His name just came up a lot. Things like that. One day, there was this biography in her car, and I asked her about it. She said he had given it to her to read. Well, she detested biographies, always made fun of me for reading them. She loved fiction. But now there's this book? She said she only took it from him so he would quit bothering her about it, but it always seemed weird to me. Maybe he left it in her car. Maybe she did take it from him. It just seemed weird. I guess, all in all, it was the usual stuff that makes spouses suspect adultery.

Detective Armstrong: What was this guy's name? Do you remember?

John Holloway: Let's see … Frank something. Adams? Abrams? Adamson? One of those, maybe. It's been a while.

Detective Armstrong: Did you ever find out for sure whether they were having an affair?

John Holloway: Not specifically. She didn't really deny it very much. We got a no-fault divorce because that was just easiest, but I probably could have gotten her for adultery if I really wanted to push it. I'm almost positive there were other men besides the guy from work, but frankly, I really didn't want to know.

Detective Armstrong: I understand. What do you know about her relationship with her brother, Peter?

John Holloway: They had a strained relationship when I knew her. There were some tensions because the family was split down the middle when the parents divorced. Peter stuck with his dad while Wendy sided with her mom. Boys versus girls. When their father moved out of the family home, Peter lost his ally, and I think he blamed the women for running his father off.

Detective Armstrong: What about later? As they grew up.

John Holloway: High school was tough for them, I think. The way Wendy told it, she got great grades without any real effort. Peter struggled. He spent his time playing sports and goofing around, which he really couldn't afford to do since things in the classroom didn't come as easily to him as they did to Wendy. I'm sure that he bristled at all the comparisons that must have been thrown at him. Probably every family has that to a certain degree.

Detective Armstrong: Can you think of any specific instances or details about this rivalry?

John Holloway: Not really. Wendy was pretty closed off about her past. I could tell that things bothered her, but she never wanted to talk about them. I'm no psychologist, but I often felt like that was why she was so driven to succeed—so she could escape something in her past. A couple of times at holidays, Peter made comments about how she stole some science project from him in high school and things like that, which you would think he would have gotten over already. But I don't have any specifics about what happened or when.

Detective Armstrong: Can you think of why anyone might want to kill her?

John Holloway: I've thought about that a lot since I found out what happened to her, and no, I can't. I mean, she was a difficult person. She could be conniving and scheming. She could be downright hateful when she felt like it. But still, how do you just bash someone's head in? I can't imagine anyone who could be capable of such a thing.

Detective Armstrong: How did you find out about Wendy's death?

John Holloway: Reggie called me when he got back from the funeral. He was surprised I hadn't been there. That was the first I heard of it. I guess no one thought to call me, it's been so many years.

Detective Armstrong: Who is Reggie?

John Holloway: Sorry. Reginald Thorne. He's a professor at Stanford. Wendy and I were good friends with him back when we were married, and he and I still keep in touch occasionally.

Detective Armstrong: When was the last time you saw your ex-wife?

John Holloway: Oh, jeez. I don't think I've seen her since our divorce was finalized. That's nearly five years ago now.

Detective Armstrong: Did you speak to her on the phone or exchange letters or emails anytime since then?

John Holloway: Not really. We used to talk on the phone occasionally right after the divorce, but eventually, we just lost touch with each other. I bet it's been three or four years since I talked to her.

Detective Armstrong: Okay, thank you for your time, Mr. Holloway. If you think of anything else that might help us, please contact me at the Yoknapatawpha County Sheriff's Department.

Interview ended – 4:51 p.m.