Family of Holly Dembie yell at husband as he is sentenced for murder

Publish date: 2024-05-06

'You cold-blooded killer': Family of woman stabbed to death in frenzied attack yell at husband as he is sentenced for her murder

By Daily Mail Reporter

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The uncle of a woman murdered by her husband yelled abuse at the killer as he was sentenced to life in an Ohio prison on Monday.

William Dembie Jr was found guilty of stabbing Holly, 33, to death and pushing her out of a window at  their home in August 2011.

As the 45-year-old was sentenced, one of Holly's relatives had to be restrained and removed from the courtroom after screaming at Dembie.

Emotional: Leslie Gregg, the victim's uncle, yells at her killer during a sentencing hearing

Emotional: Leslie Gregg, the victim's uncle, yells at her killer during a sentencing hearing

Removed: Leslie Gregg is led out of the courtroom after yelling abuse at murderer William Dembie

Removed: Leslie Gregg is led out of the courtroom after yelling abuse at murderer William Dembie

'You cut her throat twice! You stabbed her eight times! You cold-blooded killer… I’ve had enough,' Leslie Gregg screamed, as family and court officials restrained him.

His comments came as Dembie accused his mother-in-law Cheryl Foldes of failing to care for his and Holly's seven-year-old son properly, the Chronicle Telegram reported.

Guilty: William Dembie has been sentenced to life for stabbing his wife

Guilty: William Dembie has been sentenced to life for stabbing his wife

The former corrections officer had been found guilty earlier this month of murder, felonious assault and domestic violence after killing Holly at their Grafton Township home.

The couple had argued on August 11, and Dembie had chased his wife upstairs with a combat knife.

As she tried to escape he pulled her shirt and then her pants off and, after breaking into the second-floor bathroom where she was trying to escape out the window, he stabbed her and let her fall.

The father-of-four then ran outside and continued to stab his wife in and around the neck, before calling police and calmly telling them he had nearly beheaded his wife.

When his 911 call was played in court Dembie said he was shocked at his detached tone, the Morning Journal reported.

He said he had planned to kill himself before police arrived, and had only called them so his children wouldn't return home and find the body.

In the end, he decided against suicide, saying it would have prevented him from apologizing to the son he had with the victim, and three children from a previous relationship.

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'I did enough damage for one night,' he said. 'I wasn’t thinking. I was in a place where I had no control over my actions.'

During the trial Mrs Foldes described her former son-in-law as a 'monster' who abused her daughter.

Victim: Holly Dembie, a mother and special needs worker, was pushed out of a second-floor window and stabbed

Victim: Holly Dembie, a mother and special needs worker, was pushed out of a second-floor window and stabbed

Detached: Dembie said he was surprised at his calm tone as he called police to say he had nearly beheaded his wife

Detached: Dembie said he was surprised at his calm tone as he called police to say he had nearly beheaded his wife

'She did not love or respect him,' she said of Holly, who worked with special education students.

Dembie argued that his wife's attitude towards him had changed after the married. He claimed she no longer was interested in seeing her stepchildren and was abusive and controlling.

Since her death, their seven-year-old son has been cared for by Mrs Foldes.

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