“Baby Holly” Found Alive 40 Years After Her Parents Were Murdered

Was there a cult connection?

At the June 9 press conference, the Attorney General’s Office spokesperson said Holly was left at a church in Arizona as a baby and “was taken into their care.”

“Two women who identified themselves as members of a nomadic religious church brought Holly to the church,” he said. “They were wearing white robes and they were barefoot. They indicated the beliefs of their religion, including the separation of male and female members, practicing vegetarian habits and not using or wearing leather goods. The women indicated they had given up a baby before at a laundromat. It is believed that this particular group traveled around the southwestern United States, including Arizona, California and possibly Texas.”

Dean and Tina had moved from Florida to Texas before their deaths. Donna told the Houston Chronicle that she last heard from her son in October 1980, in a letter.

She said that a few months after their disappearance, she received a call from an anonymous man who claimed to have found the couple’s car in California, and that three women dressed in white robes drove it back to Florida. Donna said one of them, “Sister Susan,” personally told her Dean had joined their group and wanted nothing to do with his family. She also told the newspaper that her son had previously joined a cult in the ’70s.

The Attorney General’s Office spokesperson said that around December 1980 or January 1981, Dean and Tina’s families received a phone call from a woman who identified herself as “Sister Susan,” who told them she was calling from Los Angeles and wanted to return the couple’s car in exchange for money.

“She further stated that Tina and Dean had joined their religious group and no longer wanted to have contact with their families,” he said. “They were also giving up all of their possessions.”