Florida man arrested in 1999 Sanford cold case murder of his girlfriend

SANFORD, Fla. - A man was arrested in the 1999 cold case murder of his girlfriend, Sanford police announced Friday. 

Gary Durrance is accused of killing 50-year-old Sherry Holtz and leaving her in a wooded area behind a business at 2890 South Orlando Dr on December 4, 1999. 

According to police, Holtz was found lying on a concrete slab nearly 20 feet into the woodline. Her neck was cut and she had suffered blunt force trauma, strangulation, and sexual battery. 

A bloodied knife was found at the scene and DNA testing confirmed it was human blood, but the blood samples were not "sufficient in size" to test for in 2000, police said. 

Photo shows Gary Durrance, Sherry Holtz | Credit: Seminole County Sheriffs Office

In 2023, the blood samples were resubmitted to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement for testing. Nearly a year later on June 18, a report showed that the blood on the knife was Holtz' and the DNA on the knife handle was Durrance's, who was Holtz' long-time boyfriend. 

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Durrance initially denied being with Holtz on the night of the homicide, but witness statements and evidence say otherwise. 

Police arrested Durrance near a wooded area off Veteran's Memorial Parkway in Orange City on Thursday. He was booked into the Seminole County Jail on one-count of second-degree homicide.