Jonathan Holt pleads not guilty to new counts of burglary, possession of child porn
Jonathan Daniel Holt, who allegedly murdered and kidnapped a Gresham barista in October, now faces additional charges of burglary and possession of child pornography.
Holt pleaded not guilty to 10 counts of second-degree encouraging child sex abuse and one count of first-degree burglary Thursday, Jan. 10, in Multnomah County Circuit Court.
Gresham police arrested Holt, 25, of Gresham, on Oct. 19 for allegedly kidnapping and killing his neighbor Whitney Heichel, 21.
Police discovered evidence for the new charges while investigating Holt in connection with Heichel's disappearance.
After confessing to the murder during an interview at the Gresham Police Department, Holt told authorities he broke in Heichel's apartment, which she shared with her husband, and stole an iPhone from a dresser drawer, according to a search warrant affidavit.
The court's charging documents say the incident happened between Aug. 26 and Sept. 4.
Holt said he put a new SIM card in the phone and used it as his own before discarding it at Roslin Lake, where he allegedly murdered Heichel on Tuesday, Oct. 16.
Authorities searched Holt's apartment shortly after his confession and seized an iPad, a gaming laptop and several external computer and flash drives, which Holt said contained child pornography.
The 10 new counts of encouraging child sexual abuse are for each of the pornographic videos and images found in Holt's electronics. The burglary charge is for him reportedly breaking into Heichel's apartment and stealing the phone.
Police say Holt, who was an acquaintance of Heichel and lived in the same apartment complex, waited for the woman on the morning of Oct. 16 and asked for a ride as she was leaving for work. Five minutes into the ride, Holt pulled out a handgun and forced Heichel to drive to Roslin Lake in Sandy, where he shot and killed her. Holt then drove her car to Larch Mountain and hid her body.
Authorities searched for three days before finding her body shortly before Holt's confession.
Holt is being held in Clackamas County Jail on six counts of aggravated murder with a firearm, as well as two counts of robbery, one count of kidnapping and one count of sexual assault.
A trial for the murder is scheduled to begin April 1, 2014, in Clackamas County Circuit Court before Judge Ron Herndon. The new charges are being prosecuted in Multnomah County and the trial date is set for Feb. 25.