ALTON, Ill. — A 22-year-old man, who the Alton police chief called a “savage monster,” has been charged with murder after he allegedly beheaded a pregnant woman last week. 

What You Need To Know

  • Liese Dodd, 22, was found beheaded in her home last week. She was pregnant and expected to be due in mid-July.

  • Deundrea S. Holloway, 22, of Litchfield, was charged with two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of intentional homicide of an unborn child, dismembering a human body, offensives relations to motor vehicles, and concealment of a homicidal death.

  • Holloway and Dodd had been dating on and off for about two years. Dodd had recently moved to Alton.

  • Holloway's bond was set at $2 million and he is being held at Alton Police Department.

Deundrea S. Holloway, of Litchfield, was charged by the Madison County State’s Attorney’s Office with two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of intentional homicide of an unborn child, dismembering a human body, offensives relations to motor vehicles, and concealment of a homicidal death.

Holloway’s bond was set at $2 million and he is being held at the Alton Police Department, according to a press release by the Alton Police Department.  

On Thursday, June 9, just before 1 p.m. Alton police say officers responded to the 3400 block of Bolivar Street and found 22-year-old Liese A. Dodd dead in her home.

Investigators say Dodd’s mother went to check on her because she had not heard from her lately. When she arrived, the mother found her daughter dead and called police.

“What was observed, what was learned, what was found is absolutely terrible. Every murder is absolutely terrible, we’ll never take that away, but what happened to 22-year-old Liese Dodd who had just moved to this place in Alton is beyond irreprehensible. It’s abominable. It is completely terrible what happened to her,” Alton Police Chief Marcos Pulido said in a Facebook statement. 

As the investigation continued, Alton police began searching for Holloway. The Gillespie Police arrested him later Thursday afternoon while investigating a theft.   

Holloway and Dodd had been dating on and off for about two years. Dodd had recently moved to Alton and her expected due date was in mid-July, according to police. 

“We offer our sympathy to the family of Liese Dodd for the profound loss they are suffering,” Madison County State’s Attorney Tom Haine said in a statement. 

“We believe the evidence will show that the defendant’s gruesome actions here killed both a young woman and the child she carried in her womb. In the eyes of the law, both these killings are equal. And he will now face justice for both. I want to thank the Alton Police Department and the many assisting agencies for their swift actions in taking this dangerous offender off the streets.”