The ex-fiancée of a man recently sentenced to prison for the murder of a young mother from Carrollton appeared in federal court in Miami last Friday over charges connected to the case.
A news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas announced that Holly Ann Elkins, 32, made her initial appearance in court on July 7 after being arrested on three charges, which included “conspiracy to stalk, stalking using a dangerous weapon resulting in serious bodily injury and death, and brandishing a firearm in relation to a crime of violence.”
If found guilty, she could face two consecutive life sentences in federal prison.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, Elkins’ former fiancé Andrew Charles Beard, 36, was sentenced to 43 years in federal prison in May for allegedly cyberstalking and murdering the mother of his child, Alyssa Ann Burkett, 24, on October 2, 2020.
Embroiled in a bitter custody dispute over their young daughter, Beard tracked Burkett to a parking lot at Greentree Apartments in Carrollton via a GPS device he placed on her car. He then shot her in the head with a shotgun and stabbed her 13 times when she failed to succumb to the initial gunshot wound and staggered out of her vehicle.
The prosecution alleged that Elkins made a series of false reports to police targeting Burkett, including allegations of assault, drug dealing, and reckless driving.
She is also said to have helped Beard plan Burkett’s stalking and murder by assisting in the purchase of the GPS tracker, the .410 shotgun shells and Camillus knife used in the attack, and the van and disguise used by Beard to cover his tracks. Elkins also allegedly provided a false alibi for Beard.
“[Beard] was under the influence of Holly Elkins. And what she did you know, even though she didn’t participate in the murder itself, seems as bad if not a little bit worse than what he did,” claimed Russell Forsyth, Burkett’s grandfather, reported NBC 5 DFW.
North Texas has been seeing its share of violent crime, especially in Dallas, murders have risen by roughly 20% year over year in the first four months of 2023. More up-to-date crime statistics remain unavailable in the aftermath of an alleged ransomware attack on City servers.
To help deal with the deadly rise in city violence, the Dallas Police Department (DPD) deployed a new violent crime unit to tackle crime hot spots, as covered by The Dallas Express. Still, crime control efforts are hampered in the city due to a police staffing shortage. According to a City document, Dallas needs about 4,000 officers to police the city effectively. DPD is currently short of around 900 officers.
Downtown Dallas has undoubtedly felt the effects of the shortage. The neighborhood has been logging roughly 46 times more car thefts, 41 times more drug offenses, and four times more assaults than the downtown area of Fort Worth. For its part, Fort Worth has a designated special police unit for its city center, bolstered by private security patrols.