William Dathan Holbert was born on September 12, 1979, in Saluda, North Carolina. He grew up in a rural area surrounded by the mountains of Western North Carolina. His family owned a small apple orchard and cattle ranch, which played a role in his upbringing.

In his teenage years, Holbert attended high school in Hendersonville, North Carolina. He was active in sports and played on the football team. His teammates chose him as one of the "field generals," a role that made him a defensive captain. Although he was recognized as a gifted student, his grades were only average. His teachers also remembered him as a troublemaker. He graduated from North Henderson High School in 1997.

At the age of 17, Holbert faced a legal issue when he was cited by a game warden for illegally hunting on federal land. He received a fine but was not arrested and did not have further arrests as a minor. After high school, he pursued an associate degree in agriculture at Blue Ridge Community College.

From 2003 to 2005, Holbert became involved in political activism. He led a group called the Southern National Patriots, which was a controversial militia and political organization based in Western North Carolina. This group attracted attention for its conservative views. At its peak, it had about 500 members and held meetings in Forest City. The group faced criticism for being racist from some local organizations, which Holbert denied, claiming there were African American members. The organization eventually disbanded in 2005 when he left the United States.

William Dathan Holbert and his girlfriend, Laura Michelle Reese, were arrested on July 26, 2010, while trying to enter Nicaragua from Costa Rica. After their arrest, prosecutors alleged that Holbert had confessed to killing five American expatriates in Panama. They claimed that Holbert befriended the victims, shot them in the head, and buried their bodies. One of the victims was noted to be a career criminal involved in drug running.

During the investigation and trial, Holbert contested the prosecutors' version of events. He confessed to the killings but insisted that they were contract murders ordered by associates of drug cartels. When asked for more details or the names of any accomplices, he chose not to provide that information.

Holbert faced trial six years after his confession. On August 14, 2017, he was sentenced to 47 years in prison for the murders, while Reese received a 26-year sentence for her involvement. He immediately appealed the sentence, arguing that Panama's maximum penalty for such crimes was 20 years at the time of the murders. His appeal began processing in the Supreme Court of Justice by September 2019.

In the years following his arrest, there was significant media coverage of the case. An episode of Dateline NBC titled "Stealing Paradise" aired in October 2010, detailing the disappearances of two victims, Cher Hughes and Bo Icelar, whose bodies were later found on Holbert's property.

Despite his incarceration, Holbert remained active in prison. He was involved in various groups, including one for human rights for inmates and another that unified Christian inmates across Panama. He also claimed a position as a chaplain and mediator among inmates, even in a notorious super-maximum security prison.

In the ensuing years, Holbert published a memoir about his life in prison and faced criticism for revealing corruption within the Panamanian prison system. He also attracted attention for supposedly enjoying special privileges, such as access to firearms and fast food.