Bio

David Hollis was born on August 14, 1960. Publicly available records identify him as a resident of Hammond, Indiana, and list his Indiana Department of Correction number as 13152. By 1982, Hollis was separated from his wife, Debbie Hollis. She was 18 years old at the time of her death. Some newspaper references identify her as Debra Hollis, while death-row case summaries list her as Debbie Hollis. Because both names appear in sources, the profile should identify her as Debbie Hollis, also reported as Debra Hollis.

The crime occurred in Lake County, Indiana, and was handled in Lake County Superior Court. Judge James L. Clement presided over the case. Thomas W. Vanes was listed as prosecutor, and Herbert I. Shaps was listed as defense counsel.

Murder Story

On February 27, 1982, David Hollis went looking for his estranged wife, Debbie Hollis. He found her at an apartment in Hammond, Indiana. Debbie was with 18-year-old neighbor Kim Mezei and Mezei’s 2-year-old son, Craig Mezei.

Hollis attacked the three victims inside the apartment. Case summaries state that Debbie Hollis, Kim Mezei, and Craig Mezei were all strangled. Debbie was also stabbed with a knife. The same summaries state that Hollis repeatedly stabbed Debbie and Kim before strangling all three victims.

The victims were later found dead in the apartment. UPI reported on March 1, 1982, that police had taken Hollis into custody in connection with the deaths of his estranged wife, Debbie, Kim Mezei, and Craig Mezei. The report stated that police used tear gas late on Sunday and found Hollis hiding in a clothes dryer.

After the killings, Hollis went to the home of an acquaintance, Donald K. White, in Griffith, Indiana. He was armed with a shotgun. When White told him that police believed he had killed his wife, a neighbor, and a child, Hollis admitted involvement. According to the case summary, Hollis said he had killed them and was sorry about the deaths of the neighbor and child because they had “got in the way.”

Hollis then tied up White and White’s roommate. The case summary states that he also forced White to perform oral sex. This conduct led to additional criminal convictions beyond the three murder counts.

Hollis was prosecuted in Lake County Superior Court. He pleaded guilty without a plea agreement. The convictions listed against him were three counts of murder, criminal deviate conduct as a Class A felony, and confinement as a Class B felony.

On November 12, 1982, Hollis was sentenced to death for the murders. He also received additional prison terms of 30 years and 10 years for the other convictions. The aggravating circumstance listed in the death-row summary was that the case involved three murders. No mitigating circumstances were listed in that summary.

Hollis did not complete a direct appeal because he died before the appellate process could proceed. On February 19, 1984, he died by suicide by hanging at Indiana State Prison in Michigan City. Indiana death-row records list him as removed from death row because of suicide on that date.