Former soldier accused of killing stepfather and shooting three others

Kyle Holaday, a former soldier who is accused of killing his stepfather and wounding three others, faced his victims during a preliminary hearing in Fresno Superior Court on Thursday.

Among them was his mother, Carol Holaday, who described during testimony how a quiet dinner with friends turned into tragedy on March 24 last year.

That night in her Fresno home, Carol Holaday was hosting two of her friends, Crystal Dominguez and Rachel Schindler, along with Schindler's 5-month-old daughter. As the women enjoyed conversation, Holaday's husband James Wilcoxson was making dinner and her son, 26-year-old Kyle Holaday was sitting in a chair looking at his phone.

Everything seemed normal, according to the victims, until Kyle Holaday got up from his chair, left for a few minutes, returned with a handgun and began shooting.

Dominguez, one of Carol Holaday's coworkers, said she first heard what sounded like a "loud popping noise" and then chaos ensued.

More shots rang out, and Dominguez was hit in her side. Schindler was shot in the leg and her baby was grazed in the ear.

"There was blood all over her face," Dominguez said in court.

Kyle Holaday then walked into the kitchen where he fatally shot Wilcoxson. Dominguez recalls Carol Holaday yelling at her son: "You killed my husband, you killed my husband."

Carol Holaday said she felt a sting in her right shoulder, not realizing she had been struck.

After the shooting stopped and the smoke from the gunfire began to clear, Carol Holaday saw her son standing in front of a coffee table with a gun in his hand.

"What have you done?" she asked him.

As she looked at her son, she said he looked as though he wanted to comfort her.

"And then I heard him say, 'I'm sorry,' " she said, right before he ran out of the home.

Kyle Holaday was caught later that night after he was involved in a car crash at Kings Canyon and Peach avenues. He was booked into Fresno County Jail on suspicion of murder, attempted murder and animal cruelty. He also is accused of killing the family dog.

Fresno County Sheriff's detectives said that Holaday is a former member of the military. At the time of the shooting, several neighbors said Holaday was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder following tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Judge Edward Sarkisian Jr. ruled that there is enough evidence for Kyle Holaday to face a trial. He will be arraigned on April 2 in Dept. 34 at 8:30 a.m.

This story was originally published March 15, 2018 at 2:18 PM with the headline "Former soldier accused of killing stepfather and shooting three others."