A Goleta man charged with killing his parents and his two sons in their home last summer while they slept may enter a plea of insanity at a court appearance later this month.
Nicolas Holzer, 45, is facing four murder charges after authorities say Holzer called 9-1-1 late on Aug. 11, 2014, to report that he had murdered his family in their home in the 600 block of Walnut Park Lane near Goleta.
Responding deputies found four bodies with multiple stab wounds, and the victims were identified as Holzer’s parents and two children: William Charles Holzer, 73, Sheila Garard Holzer, 74, Sebastian Holzer, 13, and Vincent Holzer, 10.
The family’s Australian shepherd, Dixie, also had been stabbed to death, authorities said.
Holzer entered a not guilty plea last year to the charges against him.
A grand jury was convened to expedite the trial process and transcripts of those proceedings are currently sealed by an order of the Santa Barbara County Superior Court.
Holzer’s public defender, Christine Voss, confirmed Tuesday that she may enter a not guilty by reason of insanity plea at the next court date.
Prosecutor Ron Zonen said that a search is being conducted to find a psychiatrist who would be able to do the evaluation, which would look not at Holzer’s competency to stand trial, but to testify about Holzer’s state of mind at the time of the crimes.
The case will be back in court on Aug. 25 in Judge Brian Hill’s courtroom, where it’s likely the psychiatrist would be appointed to the case.
After that, an evaluation of the case and the defendant will take some time, Zonen said.
“There’s a lot of material to review,” he said.
A trial date may go forward in February 2016 and if Holzer is convicted, he is facing the possibility of a life sentence without the possibility of parole for each count of murder.
— Noozhawk staff writer Lara Cooper can be reached at lcooper@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
