Dateline: Secrets Uncovered - Did Madison Holton shoot his parents?

Publish date: 2024-04-02

Madison Holton, 17, was initially charged in the September 2016 shooting deaths of his parents, Michael and April Holton, until all charges against him were dropped in late 2018.

Fox News reported that Michael, a former mayor of Eclectic, Alabama, was found dead of a gunshot wound to the head in his home, while his estranged wife, April, was found severely wounded on September 11. The latter died of severe head trauma at the hospital the next day.

Authorities suspected the murder-suicide angle because Madison claimed that his parents were physically fighting and that he saw Michael hold a gun against April. But the 17-year-old was charged because they believed he shot his parents, who busted him for a drug-filled party he threw at the house that evening and intended on signing a juvenile warrant the following morning.

Dateline: Secrets Uncovered chronicles the baffling case against Madison Holton for the shooting deaths of his parents in an episode titled 11 Minutes. The official synopsis states:

"Madison Holton's parents call a family meeting to confront their rebellious teen; when it's done, two of them are dead and police are left with a mystery."

The upcoming episode will air on Oxygen this Thursday, July 20, at 9:00 pm ET.

Madison Holton told police he saw his father holding a gun against his mother before leaving the house

According to several reports, seventeen-year-old Madison Holton threw a drug-filled party at his father's Eclectic, Alabama, house on September 11, 2016. Michael Holton, a member of the fire department and former mayor, was at work when he received a call from a concerned parent about the party.

Michael and his wife April were separated at the time, living in separate houses and going through a contentious divorce. On top of that, the estranged couple also had to deal with Madison's rebelliousness. They knew it was the last straw when they found out about the party.

The former mayor returned home along with his wife, handcuffed their teenage son, and called the Elmore County Sheriff’s Office. When an officer showed up at their doorstep, he told them of his intentions to sign a juvenile warrant the next morning. Following this agreement, the officer left their house.

The Cinemaholic reported that after exactly 11 minutes, officers received a 911 call from Michael Holton's neighbor about shots being fired at their house. Inside the house, they found Michael dead from a gunshot wound to the head and April critically wounded. The latter died of severe head trauma the following day.

Madison informed authorities that almost immediately after the officer left their house, his parents went into a room to talk, started arguing, and got into a physical fight. The 17-year-old claimed that he saw his father hold a gun against his mother and rushed to a neighbor's house for help, who then called 911.

Madison Holton's father allegedly shot his wife before killing himself "because he couldn't face the world"

Authorities initially believed that the shootings of Michael and April Holton appeared to be murder-suicides. But the former's death was soon classified as a homicide given that he died of a gunshot wound to the back of the head. They believed that he would have had to fire the gun with his left hand, which seemed nearly impossible.

The investigation took a dramatic turn when they started investigating Madison Holton as a possible suspect because he was the only other person present at the crime scene. A month later, he was arrested and charged in his parents' shooting deaths. The teen maintained his innocence.

Madison even requested a polygraph test multiple times but was never given one. Moreover, his hands were handcuffed the entire time—from when officers showed up at his house the first time until after the shooting occurred. Furthermore, there was no DNA or blood evidence on him.

Authorities then learned of Michael and April Holton's bitter separation and that the latter had started dating someone new. They found Michael's journal entries in which he mentioned how difficult it was for him to "go on knowing that you are with somebody else" and "it was either me or the both of us."

Oxygen reported that Madison Holton's uncle, Chris Owenby, alleged that Michael snapped, killed April, and then shot himself because he "couldn’t face the world knowing that he killed his wife and the only option left for him was to end his own life." They also found Michael's DNA under April's fingernails and fresh scratches on his face.

Learn more about the case on Oxygen's Dateline: Secrets Uncovered this Thursday.

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