Las Vegas man who killed and dismembered friend, drove around with body parts sentenced to prison
12/02/2022 1:30 pm PST
LAS VEGAS (TCD) -- A 58-year-old man who fatally shot his friend, then dismembered the body and drove around with it in a stolen truck has been sentenced to prison.
According to KLAS-TV, a judge ordered Eric Holland to spend 18 to 45 years behind bars for the December 2021 death of 65-year-old Richard Miller. Holland pleaded guilty in July to second-degree murder with a deadly weapon.
On Dec. 23, 2021, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department officers attempted to conduct a traffic stop on a truck, but the driver refused to pull over. A helicopter unit followed the truck and saw that the driver, later identified as Holland, switched vehicles and continued fleeing.
Holland eventually got out of the truck and "threw various items at officers in an attempt to flee."
He was arrested and Las Vegas Police learned both trucks he drove had been reported as stolen. They also found human remains in the truck's bed.
Holland told the Las Vegas Review-Journal he believes Miller killed his own wife, Jing Mei Zhu, despite Miller allegedly saying his wife left him and moved to China. Holland and Miller reportedly got into a "very heated" argument while driving to California, and Holland shot Miller six times.
Miller's body was reportedly dismembered about a week to 10 days after he died, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. He said he was "trying to figure out what would be the best place to make sure that he was buried."
At Holland's sentencing hearing, Miller's daughter said, "This is the most bizarre thing that’s ever happened to my family, and I don’t know how to make sense of it."
MORE:
- Judge sentences Las Vegas man who drove around with friend’s severed head, body parts in coolers - KLAS
- 'There was a reason,' killer says about shooting, dismemberment - Las Vegas Review-Journal
- Las Vegas man who allegedly stole truck and drove around with dismembered body pleads guilty to murder, 7/21/2022 - TCD
- Human remains reportedly discovered in stolen truck following chase, 12/27/2021 - TCD
- Human Remains Found After Driver Arrested, 12/26/2021 - Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department
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