Mary Ann Holder was born on June 25, 1975, in Guilford County, North Carolina. She grew up in a family with complex personal relationships and a history of emotional strain. Raised by her mother, Frances “Frankie” Holder, Mary Ann’s early years were marked by instability and frequent moves. As a teenager, she attended McLeansville Middle School, where she became close friends with twins Carrie Beth and Mary Leigh Hunt. Through their family, she met her future husband, Robert “Rocky” Smith, and their friendship later developed into a romantic relationship.

At age 15, Holder became pregnant with her first child, Christina Nichole, and soon married Rocky Smith with her family’s consent. They later had two sons, Robert “Dylan” Smith (born 1994) and Zachary “Zack” Smith (born 1996). The couple initially lived with Rocky’s grandparents in Pleasant Garden, North Carolina, in the same house where the 2011 murders would later occur. Despite marrying young, Holder completed her GED and worked as a caregiver and paralegal assistant to support her family.

The marriage ended in the mid-1990s, and although the couple divorced, they remained on amicable terms while co-parenting their children. Holder later entered into a long-term relationship with another man, but she never remarried. Friends described her as caring, deeply devoted to her children, and active in the Pleasant Garden community.

After the death of her childhood best friend Beth Suttles in 2011 from a lung infection, Holder took in Beth’s children, Hannaleigh (8) and Richard (17), honoring a deathbed promise to care for them. By then, Holder’s household included her two sons, her niece and nephew, and Dylan’s girlfriend, Makayla Woods (15), who had sought refuge from family difficulties. Those close to her admired her for providing stability to children in need, but some noticed she appeared increasingly overwhelmed by emotional and financial stress.

In the months leading up to the murders, Holder’s life became entangled in turmoil. She had previously been involved in an affair with Randy Lamb, a married man, and the affair had ended badly. Lamb’s wife, Jennifer Lamb, reportedly considered filing an alienation of affection lawsuit — a legal action available in North Carolina that allows a spouse to sue someone for interfering in a marriage. Two days before the shootings, Holder wrote several large checks, including one for $10,000 to Jennifer Lamb, believed to be a settlement to avoid the lawsuit. She also left checks totaling more than $10,600 to her daughter, Christina, and others, possibly as part of her final preparations.

On the morning of November 20, 2011, Mary Ann Holder began a shooting spree that would devastate her family and community. Shortly after 9:00 a.m., she met her former lover, Randy Lamb, in the parking lot of Guilford Technical Community College’s Aviation Center in Greensboro. The two spoke briefly before Holder shot him twice — once in the arm and once in the shoulder — with a .38-caliber revolver. Lamb survived and was able to call his wife, who then phoned 911 to report the shooting.

After shooting Lamb, Holder drove to her residence at 923 Cocoa Drive in Pleasant Garden. There, she shot her 17-year-old son Dylan Smith and his 15-year-old girlfriend, Makayla Woods, along with her 8-year-old niece, Hannaleigh Suttles, and 17-year-old nephew, Richard Suttles. Dylan died instantly at the scene; the others were found critically wounded and transported to Moses Cone Hospital. Tragically, Hannaleigh, Richard, and Makayla would succumb to their injuries over the following days.

Holder then picked up her younger son, Zack Smith, from a friend’s home and shot him in the head inside her black Ford Explorer. She drove to nearby Remora Road, parked her car, and fatally shot herself as a sheriff’s deputy approached. A note found at the scene took full responsibility for the shootings and expressed remorse for the pain she caused. Another note was left at her home apologizing to family members and acknowledging that she had been “wronged.”

Authorities recovered two handguns inside the vehicle, one still in Holder’s lap. The Guilford County Sheriff’s Office, led by Sheriff B.J. Barnes, confirmed that ballistic tests matched the weapons to all the shootings. Cell phone records placed Holder at each location, confirming she acted alone.

Autopsy reports later revealed that Holder and all five children had been shot in the head at close range. Toxicology tests showed no drugs or alcohol in her system, though a small bag of cocaine was found in her vehicle. Investigators could not determine whether the cocaine was used or planted. Sheriff Barnes later described the incident as “one of the worst situations I’ve seen in my 30 years in law enforcement.”

The shootings shocked the Pleasant Garden community. Those who knew Holder struggled to reconcile the devoted mother and caregiver they remembered with the woman who carried out a mass family murder-suicide. Friends and family speculated that Holder’s emotional instability, the stress of caring for multiple children, and fear of the alienation lawsuit may have contributed to a sudden psychological breakdown.

By the end of that tragic week, five children were dead, one man was wounded, and an entire community was left searching for answers. Holder’s surviving relatives, including her daughter Christina, later arranged organ donations from the victims — saving 15 lives in their memory.