Family of deceased 19-year-old say they never thought daughter would be found as accused killer appears in court
EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) -- A Black Forest man accused of strangling a 19-year-old girl to death a little more than a decade ago found himself in an El Paso County Courtroom Thursday for a pre-trial hearing.
Joel Hollendorfer was arrested and charged with the murder of 19-year-old Kara Nichols in October of 2012 and is accused of burying her body at his mother’s Black Forest property near Burgess Road according to court records obtained by KRDO NewsChannel 13.
Nichols was missing since 2012 until investigators found her remains buried three feet in the ground at the Black Forest property. The 19-year-old’s remains were wrapped in three separate layers of black plastic bags.
During Wednesday’s court hearing, an investigator assigned to the cold case testified that Hollendorfer told his ex-wife back in 2014 that he “accidentally killed an escort he hired.” That’s what Hollendorfer’s ex-wife told investigators with the FBI earlier this year.
According to the Wednesday testimony from an investigator, the ex-wife told the FBI that Hollendorfer asked her to go for a ride with him in his new truck back in 2014. During the ride, she said Hollendorfer admitted there was a time he strangled an escort to death and buried her on top of a horse grave on the Burgess Road property in Black Forest.
The ex said she was willing to interview with investigators now because they were divorced and she was living far away.
On Feb. 7, 2022, Hollendorfer was taken into custody on unrelated charges and interviewed again about Nichols' disappearance. He denied ever meeting Nichols. According to court records, investigators were able to get location data from Nichols' phone, showing her in the area of the Burgess Road home where Hollendorfer was residing, and the owners of the property were listed as Joel's parents.
Days after the interview with the ex-wife and nearly 10 years after Nichols' disappearance, a crew searched the Burgess Road property in Black Forest for the second time and remains were found.
Despite considerable decay, a coroner was able to identify the remains as Kara Nichols due to dental records.
“I did not think that she would ever be found,” Julia Nichols, Kara’s mother, said to press on Wednesday. “It's very important to keep in mind who she was and not the tragedy and the awful circumstances she found herself in.”
Kara’s mother and father flew out from Chicago to attend Hollendorfer’s court appearance to see if there is enough evidence to go to a trial. Then the parents spoke publicly on the case for the first time.
“The most important thing is that the perpetrator is not given bail, no bond,” Paul Nichols, Kara’s father, said Wednesday. “This is a gentleman that has been out on the streets in Colorado Springs for ten years, putting the community at risk. This man never should get out of prison.”
Hollendorfer has not pleaded guilty or not guilty in this case as of yet. He is currently facing a single murder charge and another charge for tampering with physical evidence.
During Wednesday’s hearing, Hollendorfer’s defense pointed out that the state's arguments rely on the ex-wife's testimony which they called "hearsay." The defense says the evidence provided is not direct proof of murder. They argue that Hollendorfer buried the body out of fear after an accident.
It was gut-wrenching, very gut-wrenching to think that this awful thing happened to my daughter,” Paul Nichols told 13 Investigates. “To hear the defense try to defend this man. It was very difficult. I had a hard time not going to tears for a lot of these hearings. You don't want to have to relive this to go through and hear the details. We did not know all the details. I don't want to hear what's about to come. But then there's hope that there will be justice for my daughter, and of course, to see it end.”
