‘Excruciating’: Woman gets up to 20 years for 2023 Las Vegas slaying

A 49-year-old woman was ordered to serve up to 20 years behind bars Thursday in connection with a southwest valley killing.

In court, a prosecutor and defense attorney disagreed on what happened the September 2023 night that Jonathan Getz died.

Tedra Holder, then 47, had been kicked out of a Las Vegas home after she had accused people of stealing money from her, police said at the time. Getz had been visiting friends at the house. Witnesses told police that he had walked into the master bedroom when Holder stepped in and opened fire.

After the shooting, police said, Holder found at least two of the roommates trying to drive off, so she pointed a gun at them, told them not to call the police, and took their car.

“Your honor, in this case, the facts are simple, yet somewhat complicated to prove, potentially at trial,” District Attorney Robert Stephens told District Judge Tierra Jones. “I think that goes towards how we reached a resolution in this case.”

Stephens’ narrative matched that of Holder’s arrest report, though he admitted that prosecutors had struggled to “piece together” what exactly unfolded in the room that night. He recommended that she spend the maximum sentence of eight to 20 years in prison.

Holder pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and grand larceny auto in January.

Jones allowed Holder to address the court.

“Judge Jones, I ask for your grace and mercy in my sentencing,” Holder said. “I was highly intoxicated and fearing for my own life. Having to live with the regret of accidentally taking a human life is excruciating. Behind bars or not, I will forever grieve this tragedy. To the family, I hope you find it in your heart to forgive me.”

Afterward, Holder’s attorney, Jin Kim-Steadman, told the judge that Holder “always wanted to accept responsibility” for Getz’s death. Still, Kim-Steadman called the prosecution’s series of events an “unbelievable theory.”

Instead, Kim-Steadman said that Holder, wearing a negligee, was talking with another roommate before entering the room. Shortly after, the roommate heard a bang, and Holder came out with a gun in her hand, saying that Getz had “pulled on her first,” according to Kim-Steadman.

“She’s in a negligee. I can’t imagine that she was hiding or concealing a weapon in something like that,” Kim-Steadman said. “As a court’s aware, Ms. Holder was the first person to call, not once, but twice, to 911.”

As the attorney spoke, huffs and puffs came from the gallery where Getz’s relatives and friends packed the rows wearing shirts emblazoned with his picture reading “Rest in peace.”

Kim-Steadman said that Holder, who had been “fending for herself” since the age of 12 and suffered from drug addiction, was not a harmful person to anybody but herself.

Making what she called an unusual request, Kim-Steadman asked that Holder be released on two to three years of probation.

Getz’s father, Ronald Getz, said that his son’s life was ended “abruptly and unnecessarily.”

“He had a strong support system with me and his mother, his brothers, friends, and the state-run programs he was involved with,” the father said. “Everyone was pushing for him, and he was making progress.”

Jones imposed the maximum sentence for Holder.

“Mrs. Kim, I disagree with you. I don’t think it’s clear to anyone what went on in that house except the people in that house. It is just all over the place,” the judge said.

Jones then addressed the defendant: “Ms. Holder, you also received a benefit. Law enforcement would have known exactly what happened in the house had you stuck around after.”

Contact Akiya Dillon at adillon@reviewjournal.com.