Longtime Boyfriend of Florida Woman Brutally Murdered in 1999 Arrested After New DNA Tests Conducted: Police

After 25 years, new DNA procedures have helped crack a murder of a Florida woman, leading to the arrest of her longtime boyfriend, according to authorities.

On Dec. 3, 1999, Sherry Holtz, 50, was last seen at a bar in Sanford, according to WKMG.

Her body was found the next day, a half mile from the bar, authorities said.

Her neck had been cut — the cause of death — and the autopsy showed evidence of blunt force trauma, strangulation and sexual battery.

In a recent news conference, Sanford Police spokesperson Bianca Gillett said, “This was, there’s no other way to describe it but a brutal homicide, OK? She was found laying on her back on a concrete slab approximately 20 feet into the wood line. Her clothing was pulled off, exposing most of her body.”

DNA testing was done at the time, but it was inconclusive. However, samples were preserved and with improved processes, the DNA pointed to Holtz’s long-time boyfriend, 73-year-old Gary Durrance.

Durrance and Holtz lived together with roommates, who told detectives in 1999 that Durrance had kicked Holtz out the day before she disappeared.

Durrance told police he hadn’t seen her since Dec. 1.

“Roommates had stated that night that Gary Durrance was in the house on Crow’s Bluff the night of the homicide. However, they couldn’t put him there for the whole night,“ Gillett said. “Some of the indications were that he left late on the 3rd or early on the 4th at some point and returned between 2:30 a.m. and 7 a.m. on the 4th, so we’ve got gaps in that alibi.”

New tests on the DNA were conducted in June, Sanford Police Chief Cecil Smith said.

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The results lead to an arrest warrant for Durrance, which was issued on July 18, officials said.

Durrance was arrested in Volusia County and charged with second degree homicide, authorities said.

He was booked into the Seminole County Jail and was being held without bond. He is due in court on Sept. 10.