Wife of man accused of killing Whitney Heichel files for divorce
PORTLAND, Ore. – The wife of the man accused of killing a 21-year-old Gresham woman has filed for divorce, according to a court document.
Amanda Holt filed for divorce in Multnomah County Circuit Court Friday, Oct. 26 from Jonathan Holt who police accuse of sexually assaulting Whitney Heichel and then shooting and killing her.
Heichel left for work the morning of Tuesday, Oct. 16 and vanished. Her disappearance initiated an intensive search by members of her church, the Jehovah's Witnesses, and police.
Her body was discovered the following Friday on Larch Mountain and police arrested Jonathan Holt, accusing him of murder.
Through a family spokesman last Friday, Amanda Holt thanked the community for its support.
"Amanda wanted to express her gratitude to the community for its support of her – beyond just those in the church family," spokesman Jim Vaughn said.
According to court documents, Jonathan Holt told police he dumped Heichel’s body and also admitted to having child pornography. Police said they watched Holt ditch two handguns in an attempt to hide them.
I don't blame her for filing for divorce. I would have thought she would file sooner, rather than later. However, I'm sure she is in a great deal of shock to know that her husband went out, sexually assaulted a neighbor, then murdered her, and also has kiddie porno. The sad thing is, it's a sad reminder that in this day and age, how do you know who to trust? I mean, from the photos, Mr. Holt looked like any other normal guy, being a neighbor, how many other people would have possibly given him a ride? I am glad that in the end, Clint, and the rest of the family were able to get closure, I just wished it would have been a happy ending, rather than the outcome we are now learning about.
I'm wondering if Mr. Holt has other skeletons in his closets; and I mean ACTUAL SKELETONS......
It's got to be quite a shock to the system to find out your husband is a monster.
She is doing the Right thing, Period. I just love how all you Arm Chair Theologians are giving your Interpretation of the interpretation of the interpretation of the interpretation of the interpretation, etc, etc, of the Bible that No One has ever produced an Original Copy as Evidence that thier Version is Correct. Have Any of you ever played the game where youare in a group and you tell one person something and they tell another until it gets back to you and it is nothing like what you originally said? That is the Current Bible People! And do not try to tell me that Clergy are Scholars because thay are nothing but Politicians in Reality.
@swede760 Oh yeah, the telephone game, we used to play that at church (Mormon) when I was kid, the end result was almost always quite contrary to what was originally told.
I am glad she is filing for divorce. I do not believe that this marriage was ever right. . I am sure that alot of people noticed that this sicko was not right.She has a right to a happy life.
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@HarryJuku I'm sure the JW's will arrange another marriage for her.
 @JLO  @HarryJuku they dont arrange marriages, no reson to talk about something you know nothing about
@HarryJuku....in case you're wondering why women find you repulsive, it's because you're a disgusting person.
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 @pdxd  @Kachina  @harryjuku if they ban that then they have to ban the religion of evolution in schools...  religion is very much a part of politics altough its supposed to be seperate....
 @meeranda Thanks!  Was looking for a better delimiter, and this is it.
I'm not trying to defend the JWs or anything, I just would like to point something out. A cult is an organization that worships a HUMAN leader. JWs only worship an abstract god. You should at least get your facts straight. You kind of look like an idiot posting all the time calling them something they're not.
People have tried to outlaw it, but it's part of freedom of speech, and the supreme court has consistently refused to outlaw it.
@Kachina @harryjuku I don't know as though I ever saw J.W. missionaries knocking on doors. I was raised Mormon, haven't practiced in over 10 years, every so often, they call my cell phone, or send stuff in the mail (and trust me, I've told them to never contact me). I have wondered if perhaps "religions" that actively "recruit" are indeed cults. But I agree with Kachina, you control who you open your door to, you have control of who you shut out of your life. And I do believe that once religion is out of politics, there will probably be laws banning unsolicited missionaries knocking on doors, but I don't foresee that happening anytime soon.
 @Kachina  @Billy Just tell them you're disfellowshipped, they'll GTFO with a hurry, it's almost entertaining in fact.  (My actual phrase is "Oh, come on in, I haven't had a decent Bible discussion since I was disfellowshipped!"). Â
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Yes, I can be a Richard/rearward sphincter when you're intruding on my space.  Sorry, if you come preaching to my door, you just lost the right to *any* politeness.
@Billy Batts Point taken, Billy. This story is about a man who did not follow his own religious teachings, so this is not about his religion. I don't think he had any christian beliefs or he wouldn't have done what he confessed to doing. And I really don't want to attack anyones religion, I don't think it is my place to judge them or anyone else. I am not JW, nor do I believe what they do. Yes, they can be annoying and pushy when they show up at your door. I just try to pleasantly decline their offer to talk and close the door.Â
@HarryJuku @Solipsist01 You and only you, control who you open your door to, and who you let get under your skin. Don't open the door.
@Kachina I usually don't agree with anything Harry Juku writes but he does have a point. Just ask any EX J.W. and they will use the word "Cult" in describing there journey through the J.W. "religion". Also his comment about them showing up his door his spot on. There should be a law against that.
@HarryJuku @Solipsist01 You're entitled to your opinion, I'll concede that. But not sure what qualifies you to determine what religion is acceptable, what is a cult, etc. You sound like a hateful moron.
I'm sorry for Amanda's heartache that she is going through. Not only is she grieving for the loss of a husband, but for what that husband did to another woman.
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She really does need love and support at this time.Â
I feel so bad for Amanda. She must be questioning every moment of her life with Holt. I hope she's not consumed by the nightmares that hindsight is likely to bring. May she find peace soon.
Good luck on your new life without your ex. There is a good man for you somewhere out there, go find him. Don't mind the post from that fool "Frank S". He doesn't have a Christian attitude regardless of what he says. Judge not,lest ye be judged!
Amanda, take back your birth surname. Wipe the slate clean symbolically for yourself. You will heal and you will have future happiness. It is already beginning with the filing of your divorce papers, even though it might not feel that way right yet. Best of luck for your happy future....it IS coming.
Why does she want a divorce?
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Ok, bad, bad joke. Sorry...
@brautigan You really didn't have to say anything at all. You should have just read this and move along. Jokes in the eyes of a murder are cold, heartless and just plain out disgusting. Why would you? You even ADMIT it is tasteless, so why did you click "POST". Pathetic as hell.
 @brautigan That was a joke?
One can only imagine the hell this woman has/is going through and my Dorian is off to her. There is no way this woman can heal what has happened in a lifetime and it pisses me off that she is another victim!!!
 @boned  I agree she is a victim, what I don't agree with is that she can't heal.  If she is a strong woman and has the support that she needs, she CAN heal, and I hope that she does.
@boned : Thanks for getting it correct! She is also a "Victim" in all of this and we shoul recognize that above all else. r/s, GLB
Good for Amanda. Â I couldn't even begin to imagine: Â wake up one morning and discover the man you married sexually assaulted someone and killed them. Â Creepy. Â
 @stagnation13 For a moment, imagine: he went home to his wife and acted like nothing was wrong for a few days?! His victim was killed on a Tuesday, he was arrested several days later. She is lucky, he could have killed her as well.
I'm very disappointed that a devout Christian woman that is a member of the Jehovah's Witnesses is leaving the man she pledged her life to in accordance with God's word. She is leaving her husband is his darkest hour. Marriage means nothing to Christians any more.
 @Frank_S Jesus said that adultery is the only reason someone has to file forr a divorce and is free to remarry again, its in the book of matthew check it out...
@Frank_SÂ ? I can't tell if this is sarcastic or not.
@Frank_S I'm pretty certain there is a biblical loophole for divorce if your husband is guilty of sexually assaulting another mans wife (remember that commandment about coveting?) and then murdering her (remember those other commandments about adultery and murder?), I'm pretty confident that the Big G and Big JC will use their discretion to allow her to divorce him.
@Frank_S Thou shall NOT commit murder, thoushall NOT commit adultrey. Youi REALLY expect her to "stand by her man"? He FAILED her vows to him by RAPING a woman, MURDERING her, adn you think the "Christian thing to do is to stand by him?"Â Sorry, I am 100% CHristian and a firm big believer in the Lord, but there is NO way my GOD would want me to stand by a murderer of HIS children (We are ALL God's children), and a RAPIST. This was certtainly NOT an agreeable relationship with the lady he MURDERED.
@Frank_S Seriously? Marriage obviously meant nothing to this man - who created his "darkest hour" for himself. To expect this woman to stick by him and honor the marriage vows that he, himself, did not honor, is pretty ridiculous. You're twisting christianity to fit your own selfish values. If SHE had been the evil one, would you feel the same about him standing by her?
 @Frank_S Ich glaube du bist Jonathan Holt!
 @Frank_S Wenn sie sich in der Bibel auskennen, und das tun sie anscheinend nicht, darf man sich wegen HUREREI scheiden. Und das ist hier ganz OFFENSICHTLICH!oder würden sie sich nach sowas von ihrem Partner nicht scheiden? dann stimmt was bei ihnen nicht!!!!!!!!!
 @Frank_S Wenn sie sich in der Bibel auskennen, darf sich ein Christ wegen Hurerei trennen. Und das ist hier der Fall aber GANZ OFFENSICHTLICH!  würden sie sich nicht trennen, wenn ihr Mann auch so was machen würde??Â
 @Frank_S It's people like you that make religion look like what it really is.. Nonsense !
 @Frank_S Whew!  Good thing I caught your sarcasm.  For a minute there I thought you were serious. O.o
 @Frank_S "...[I]s his darkest hour." that he created wholly himself.  Christianity (or any religion, in point of fact) should *never* be used to absolve someone of personal responsibility for their actions.
 @Frank_S Since your judging her, You might notice that god allows that when one cheats. Her husband raped someone. I think that meets the qualifications.Â
 @Frank_S That is the vilest thing that anyone has said to a woman who is facing the ultimate betrayal of her husband. In the bible, it says that a man can "put aside his wife" in divorce, but a woman can't. So be it that she can in this day and age.Â
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And I'm Christian - and I totally support Amanda.
@Frank_S Everybody else is disappointed that he killed Whitney. You're just broken and intellectually twisted.
@Frank_S You are kidding, right?  No offense if you are a JW, but it is a cult and not true Christianity.Â
 @Frank_S @ JenniiS @moeJ, Mormonism is a cult too, just as the Jehovah Witnesses are, because they don't believe in the God of the Bible.  Â
@Debbie457 @Frank_S Please specify which version of the bible that the God must adhere to, so as to inform the rest of the people which bible they should read to avoid being a cult. And I hate to break it to you, but I think there needs to be more evidence than you provided to declare something to be a cult. We are all entitled to our opinions, but let's try to keep the opinions semi-educated.
 @Debbie457  @Frank_S Wait, so you get to determine who is and isn't a Christian?  That means I get to too!
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Sorry, but if it's not your religion, you don't get a say . Â I can't go around and tell people they're not Jewish, or Christian, or Buddhist, whatever. Â It's that person's religion, they get to define it.
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I seem to recall the LDS use the same Bible (and, much like the Catholics (is that a cult too?) have more than what the Protestants/Baptists do).  Whether you like it or not, LDS, JW are both sects of Christianity.  Go read about the use of "cult" vs "sect"; your use of that language to a well-established church says a lot.
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Let's not forget by any definition of the word, Christianity was indeed a cult for several hundred years; just because it's a majority in this country does not change that status except in a sociological way, not a religious way.  Pretty much a great example of "mote in one's own eye" sorta thing, don'tcha think?
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Cult indicates popular opinion status when misused this way;  compare Jonestown to LDS; small numbers of followers very local; millions of members on probably 100+ countries.  You may not like it, but they are as legit as any other organized mainstream religion.
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FTR, I'm an agnostic.  To me, all this bickering over cult/not cult is childish, reminding me of grade school squabbles.  My whole religious view pretty much comes down to "harm none unnecessarily"; that sounds pretty compatible with Christian theology to me, so why can't Christians forget about what their neighbor is doing, and concentrate on their own backyard?  If you think it's a cult, then don't join, go about your business as usual.  If god is as omnipotent and omniscient as everyone seems to claim, it's reasonable (and in fact, quite prudent) to assume he is aware of who is and isn't in a cult, and quite capable of correcting it, or judging in the after life as he sees fit.  In other words, **god's got this sh(1)t covered,** back the Hell off, k?  Otherwise you're presuming to be smarter than god.
 @Debbie457  @Frank_S He is not a JW or he would know better.
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 @Debbie457  @Frank_S The only difference between a cult and a religion is the number of people practicing it. The only difference between religion and mythology is wheather the culture that follows it is alive or dead.
 @Debbie457  @Frank_S I find it offensive when people try to classify whether people's religion is a cult, whether they are Christians, etc. Unless you are God or Jesus, that is not your call. I'm not a JW, but that doesn't mean that I'm going to bash that religion.
 @Frank_S Jesus loved me before the earth was created. Because Jesus loved me first, I can therefore love following his example.
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Because of His grace we have been married 21 years. Every day that we live, learning to love each other like He loves us, our love grows stronger. I love my spouse more and more every day. Learning to live and love following Jesus in a fallen world has been rewarding in more ways than I had ever imagined.
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Many people who call themselves Christians and really are not. Even true Christians, (followers of Christs ways) are still capable of sin against God. It's about relationship with Jesus not religion. Religion changes people from the outside in (wrong), relationship with Jesus changes people on the inside and is witnessed on the outside, otherwise known as fruits.
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Frank, your assessment of marriage meaning nothing is biased in your misunderstanding of Jesus's love for you. For those of us seeking Him, our marriages remain very meaningful.
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Thank you for your comment.
 @3X07  @Frank_SÂ
Jesus wasn't alive before the earth was created. That is all.
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@MCpizzaslice @3X07 @Frank_S Mormons believe that God had 2 sons before creation of the earth, Jesus & Lucifer, and that the two sons had different views for the world, so 2/3 of the souls went with Jesus' plan, and 1/3 of the souls went with Lucifer's plan. Just sayin'.....
 @3X07  @Frank_S Frank, what did you do?
 @Frank_S Lol what a troll post.Â
 @Frank_S Get the hose dear and turn it on full blast, there is a nutcase at our front door!!
@Frank_S What a troll you are. No matter what anyone says we won't change your mind, so let's not feed into your crap.
 @lizz  @Frank_S Lizz I'm sure for you marriage is just a convenience thing, but to a Christian marriage is for life. Read Matthew 19.
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You really cant be that stupid? Do you not read the Bible you preach and quote? audultery, is a reason the Bible says you may divorce, and do you not know the commandment??? thall shall not kill. You need to go back to bible class... and lets forget the.. thall shall not Judge.
 @Frank_S  You are a masochistic idiot, and as lizz says we are feeding into your crap and you enjoy it. But just in case you didn't notice what one poster put earlier: According to Matthew 19:19 adultery i.e. sexual unfaithfulness, (just in case you didn't know what the term meant) was the only valid reason for divorce. Therefore in light of what happened, Amanda has full right to divorce her husband, in God's eyes. Period.
 @Frank_S  @lizz Read the whole chapter frank and then come back on here. If you can.
@Frank_S @lizz do you feel better about yourself now that you've publicly-insulted a grieving, frightened woman? What kind of man are you? What in hell is wrong with you?
@Frank_S Well I've been married almost 42 years and it has not been a convenience as you state... it is for life for the two of us, so there..
 @Frank_S It may be his darkest hour but obviously this man wasn't thinking about God's word when he killed Whitney, so why point the finger at his wife?  Why does she have to be the bad person?  What does she have to gain by staying married to a man who sexually assaulted and murdered another human being?  Absolutely nothing.  God is not going to hate her for getting away from this man. Â
 @stagnation13 So what. She married the man and it shows that her vows to him were meaningless. Some Jehovah's Witness.Â
@Frank_S @stagnation13 Frank, HIS vows to her? What are they? If he was true to his vows, why did he feel the need to RAPE and MURDER? You REALLY think God approves of his sins and that the wife should stay? He will get life if not the death penalty and then what does she do? Stay home and knit booties?
 @Frank_S  @stagnation13His vows to her were meaningless!!!
 @Frank_S  @fracas Frank, you worry me. I think you may want to seek help in interpreting the Bible.
@Frank_S @fracas Jehovah's Witnesses do hold marriage as a sacred vow to God, but if you look at vs 19 of Matthew chapter 19 Jesus did say that adultery was the only valid reason for divorce in the eyes of God. In this case she has a right to divorce if she chooses, but either way she is adhering to Jesus words and we should not judge.
 @Frank_S  @fracas Not just accused - he confessed and even led police to Whitney's body.
 @fracas  @Frank_S Read Matthew 19 in the JW Holy Bible. A woman can not divorce her husband. It's all there in the words of Jesus. For better or worse. If my wife was accused of a heinous crime I would not throw her to the wolves like this woman has done to her husband.
@Frank_S @stagnation13  In case you don't know...JW's CAN get a divorce if that's what needs to be done. She not only SHOULD divorce this scumbag...she has every right to do so. You're just a troll who likes making waves. Go get a hurricane.