A man who was arrested in Las Vegas in December 2021 for killing his friend, has been sentenced for up to 45 years in prison.
Eric John Holland, 58, was driving a stolen truck when police found the severed head and body of his friend, Richard Miller, 65, in his trunk.
A Clark County District judge sentenced Holland to a minimum of 18 years and maximum of 45 years for the charges of second-degree murder and felony theft.
In court, Holland expressed his remorse over killing his friend, who he had shot several times, after which he carved up his body and stored the parts in coolers in his trunk.
At the sentencing, Holland shared his apologies with Miller’s family, but Miller’s daughter, Amanda Dawn Potter, who was present in the courtroom, was not consoled by the apology.
Holland had pleaded guilty to a reduced charge, and avoided a trial for murder that could have resulted in a life sentence.
Holland expressed to the court that there was a reason for the killing, that the men had a backstory, and that detectives should investigate it. He didn’t go into detail because of the victim’s family being present at the sentencing.
Holland was, however, interviewed in prison by the Las Vegas Review-Journal, at which point he revealed how the murder happened. During an argument, Holland said that Miller threatened to kill him and they both had guns. Miller and Holland had a history, and Holland had accused Miller of killing his own ex-wife, Jing Me Zhu, who had disappeared. Holland believed that Miller was responsible for her disappearance, even though Miller insisted that she had returned to her country, China after they were divorced in 2019. Holland said that he killed Miller during their argument because of his belief that Miller killed his wife.
Miller’s daughter, Potter, said the story was no secret. She already knew about Holland’s claims and didn’t believe him.
“I don’t really trust anything that comes out of that guy’s mouth,” Potter said.
