and amateur throughout the U. S. Martin, in her book, directs focus toward six of those cold case murders. 1980s era murders that occurred in her birth town of Granbury.
The Oct. 6, 1988, murder of Holly Palmer, which remains unsolved, inspired her book.
Palmer’ s boyfriend discovered her bludgeoned to death that in the Granbury bus depot where she worked.
“ Things like that didn’ t happen in Granbury,” Martin said.“ It really affected and shook up a lot of people. I remember my mom being worried about me being out late at night after that.”
Martin, a high school senior at the time, knew Holly Palmer and her family. A couple of years later another friend— Martin and she served as bridesmaids in the wedding of the victim’ s sister a few months before— was kidnapped and later found dead.
Martin’ s book chronicles the tragic fates of other Granbury women shot, stabbed, drowned, raped and executed.
Drawing from personal experiences and professional expertise, she sheds light on cases that have long
Photo by Matt Smith Granbury author Kelli Martin recounts details about unsolved homicides in Hood County from her childhood.
Photo by Monica Faram Kelli Martin visits with Shirley Barker after speaking to the Cleburne Lions Club.
haunted the community, including the tragic stories of Lillian Peart, Kathryn Stembridge, Holly Palmer, Dorothy Sanders, Bonnie Barber and Sheila Vandygriff.“ These murders aren’ t the only unsolved murders in Hood County,” she said.“ These are the ones I chose to write about first because they impacted me personally. I remember my mother being scared to death and how much it affected our little community.”
Her work not only memorializes the victims but also reignites hope for justice, as the cold cases are now receiving renewed attention from law enforcement.
“ The book is not only a homage to these women and my community,” she said,“ it’ s also educational for the readers who get the wrong impression about the justice system and how it works.”
Martin details things like the scientific use of polygraphs— which tests are used for which cases and which ones are admissible in court.
“ Ms. Martin is an educated and experienced investigator and can rattle off minute details of scientific forensics and blood evidence,” author David L. Kilpatrick wrote in a book review.“ But she can also tell her story in a down-home, conversational style as if she were sitting with you having a beer or an iced tea. This ability is lacking in this genre, where the writing is often dry and lecturing like a police workroom debriefing.”
One of the first murders she wanted to write about was Holly Palmer, who was murdered 35 years ago. She was 23 years old when she was beaten to death while working alone at a bus station that once stood at the corner of Stone and West Pearl streets.
Martin connected with Palmer’ s sister, Dolly, in 2019 and they became immediate friends. When she started working on the book in April 2023, she contacted the victims’ families.
“ I used that connection when reaching out to other families because everyone knew Holly’ s case,” Martin said.“ What I learned is all these families of these other women become part of this sad
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