Published: July 03, 2009 09:13 pm      

Kimbrough: Rangers helped in Foskey case

Orange County DA says agency’s cold case unit sped up investigation

A man has been arrested in one of the most brutal killings in recent memory in Orange County and could stand trial very soon.

James Edward Holden of Deweyville was arrested Thursday at his job in Jefferson County after being indicted on capital murder charges by an Orange County Grand Jury in the September 1995 death of Theresa Foskey.

Foskey, 28 at the time of her death, was reported missing from her blood-soaked mobile home in Bridge City at the Bayou Shadows Trailer Park, near the State Highway 87 and State Highway 62 intersection.

Foskey’s dismembered body was found in September 1995 in the Sabine River in Newton County and on the Louisiana side of the river in Calcasieu Parish. Law enforcement believe Foskey had been killed at her home and then her taken to Deweyville, dismembered, and dumped into the Sabine River.

According to John Kimbrough, Orange County District Attorney, it has been a long time coming to this point.

“When the body parts were found in 1995, several jurisdictions were involved in the case,” Kimbrough said in a telephone interview. “She disappeared from Orange County, but body parts were found in the Sabine River in Newton County and on the Louisiana side. There was some good work done at the time and evidence collected, but a lot of things were ‘clouded’ too.”

By clouded, Kimbrough meant there was a lot of “mis-information” circulating, most of which Kimbrough said “was BS.”

Kimbrough said it was not until approximately three years ago, when the Texas Rangers Cold Case Unit became involved, that things really began to take shape.

“They had a Ranger assigned to the case who was able to chase down a bunch of information and clear away the mis-information,” Kimbrough said. “It took a while, but it made a difference.”

Kimbrough also said the San Antonio-based Texas Ranger was able to get results quicker from the Texas Department of Public Safety Crime Lab in Austin.

“The Rangers had some pull with the crime lab,” Kimbrough said. “But techniques are better and faster too, and that really helped move this case along.”

Kimbrough said a lot of things have changed in law enforcement since 1995, and that area agencies are able to communicate and cooperate better than ever.

“Things have come a long way in 14 years,” Kimbrough added. “And we have now been able to make an arrest. We still have to try the case, so it’s not over by a longshot, but I’m happy we’re getting the chance.”

Chad Hogan, public information officer with the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, said this case has been like a giant puzzle.

“From reading some of the old files, Holden appears to have been the number one suspect all along,” Hogan said in a telephone interview. “It was just a matter of putting the pieces of the puzzle into place. Now he is in custody and awaiting trial.”

After being arraigned in Jefferson County, Holden, 41, was transported to the Orange County Jail where he remains after his bond was denied.



Tommy Mann Jr. is a reporter for The Orange Leader. He can be reached at 409-883-3571, Ext. 2619 or tmann@orangeleader.com