APPEAL DISMISSED: Body-in-suitcase killer to die in prison

THE man responsible for one of Australia’s most heinous double murders will die behind bars after judges rejected his bid to have his life sentences reduced.

Daniel James Holdom, now in his 50s, has lost an appeal against the two life sentences imposed for the murders of 20-year-old Karlie Jade Pearce-Stevenson and her two-year-old daughter, Khandalyce Kiara Pearce.

In a decision handed down by the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal last week, three judges dismissed Holdom’s application, ruling the crimes were among the worst cases of homicide encountered by the courts and warranted the maximum penalty available under law.

WARNING: This article contains graphic details that may distress some readers.

Daniel James Holdom | Image: Facebook

The court found the murders were of such extraordinary gravity that life imprisonment remained the only appropriate punishment.

“The circumstances and facts of each of these murders placed them at or towards the very highest end of the range of seriousness for offences of homicide,” the appeal judges found.

“Considered together they represent a level of criminality that the court rarely encounters.”

Holdom pleaded guilty in 2018 to murdering Ms Pearce-Stevenson and her daughter after one of Australia’s most complex and haunting cold-case investigations.

The mother and daughter disappeared after leaving Alice Springs with Holdom, who had been Ms Pearce-Stevenson’s boyfriend for only a matter of weeks.

Karlie Jade Pearce-Stevenson, 20, and her two-year-old daughter, Khandalyce Kiara Pearce were murdered by Daniel Holdom in 2008 | Images: SA Police

Karlie was murdered in December 2008 and her body dumped in the Belanglo State Forest in the NSW Southern Highlands, a location infamous for its association with serial killer Ivan Milat.

The court heard Holdom sexually assaulted Karlie before killing her, subjected her body to degrading treatment and took photographs he kept as “trophies”.

Her remains were discovered by trail bike riders in 2010 but were not formally identified until years later.

Four days after killing Karlie, Holdom murdered two-year-old Khandalyce in the Riverina town of Narrandera.

CCTV footage captured Holdom purchasing body wash gel, garbage bags and duct tape at a Wagga Wagga supermarket on the morning of December 19, 2008.

Later that day, he checked into a Narrandera motel, where the court found he likely killed the toddler during a two-hour window.

Court documents revealed the murder was sexually motivated and that Holdom was either attempting or planning to sexually assault the child at the time of her death.

The little girl’s body was placed inside a suitcase and dumped beside a remote South Australian highway near Wynarka.

The battered suitcase remained undiscovered until July 2015, triggering a nationwide investigation that captivated Australia and eventually linked the child to Karlie.

Khandalyce’s body was placed inside this suitcase and dumped beside a remote South Australian highway where it was found seven years later | Image: SA Police

A public tip-off later helped investigators identify Holdom as the killer.

The original sentencing judge, Justice Robert Hulme, described the crimes as being of “extreme gravity and appalling depravity” and imposed two life sentences, finding Holdom’s culpability was so severe that no lesser punishment was appropriate.

At the time of his arrest in 2015, Holdom was already behind bars serving a sentence for the sexual assault of a nine-year-old girl. The court also heard he had an extensive criminal history spanning NSW, Queensland and the Northern Territory.

Following the killings, Holdom embarked on an elaborate campaign of deception, using Karlie’s phone to send messages to family members and creating the false impression she was still alive.

He also fraudulently accessed her bank account, stealing about $72,000 while her loved ones desperately searched for answers.

Daniel James Holdom in 2015 when he was charged by police | Image: NSW Police

In his appeal, Holdom argued the life sentences were “manifestly excessive” and claimed insufficient weight had been given to his guilty pleas, troubled upbringing and psychiatric evidence.

His legal team pointed to a childhood marked by severe abuse, neglect and violence.

However, the Court of Criminal Appeal rejected all grounds of appeal.

While acknowledging Holdom’s traumatic background, the judges found the sentencing court had properly considered those circumstances and was entitled to conclude the severity of the crimes outweighed any mitigating factors.

The court also found Justice Hulme had appropriately considered Holdom’s guilty pleas.

Ultimately, the judges ruled it was open to the sentencing court to find the murders represented the “worst case” category of offending.

For Karlie and Khandalyce’s family, the decision has brought an end to another painful legal battle.

Following the ruling, relatives thanked police, prosecutors and supporters who had stood by them throughout the lengthy investigation and court process.

With the appeal dismissed, Holdom will remain in prison for the rest of his natural life.