The ex-wife of quadruple-murder suspect Nicolas Holzer filed a wrongful death lawsuit in Santa Barbara Court Superior Court following the stabbing deaths of their two sons, allegedly by Holzer.
Juana Holzer, who lives in Southern California, married Nicolas Holzer in 2001 and the two divorced in 2006.
Holzer is accused of killing their two children, 10-year-old Vincent and 13-year-old Sebastian, and his parents, William and Sheila Holzer.
Authorities say Holzer called 9-1-1 on Aug. 11, 2014, to report he had murdered his family in their home on Walnut Park Lane near Goleta.
Responders found four bodies with multiple stab wounds, and the family’s Australian shepherd, Dizie, had also been stabbed to death, according to the Sheriff’s Department.
Holzer is currently being held at the County Jail, and has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to four murder charges.
Juana Holzer’s attorney, Samuel Park of Poway, filed the complaint for damages on Wednesday, a week after Holzer’s siblings filed a lawsuit to cut him out of the inheritance left by their parents.
The complaint alleges assault, battery, negligence, wrongful death, and intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress.
It claims William and Sheila Holzer “knew, or should have known, that Nicolas represented a very serious and/or imminent threat of committing grievous bodily harm upon Vincent and Sebastian.”
The civil complaint is filed against Scott Holzer, Nicolas’ brother who is trustee for the Holzer Family Trust, for general and punitive damages, in addition to funeral and burial expenses.
Juana Holzer is an immigrant from Mexico and met Holzer in 2000. They were married on Jan. 13, 2001, according to the lawsuit.
They had the two boys and Holzer “made little to no effort to share in the duties of rearing the children,” court documents said.
The complaint also alleges Holzer “would tape the children’s mouths shut to mute the sound of crying.”
It describes times Nicolas allegedly threatened to kill Juana Holzer’s family members, and that William and Sheila Holzer “urged Juana to remain in the marriage with Nicolas despite Nicolas’ increasingly erratic behavior.”
Juana Holzer took the boys with her to San Diego in 2004, and returned after begging from Nicolas, William and Sheila Holzer, the lawsuit alleges. She left with the boys again in 2006, worried for their safety, it states.
Divorce proceedings started in 2006, and Holzer moved into his parents’ house, saying they would help with the child care.
After a court evaluation, custody was granted to Holzer, with visitation for Juana Holzer.
She had no driver’s license and relied financially on Holzer during the marriage, according to the civil complaint, and had difficulty visiting the boys “while attempting to begin a new career.”
According to custody records, the court ordered that Juana’s right to telephone calls terminated, and in 2008, her attorney stated that she was unable to afford the cost of professional supervised visitation.
She last saw Vincent and Sebastian alive in March 2008, according to the complaint.
— Noozhawk managing editor Giana Magnoli can be reached at gmagnoli@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.