No prison time for Cedar Rapids woman convicted in fatal stabbing of boyfriend

CEDAR RAPIDS — A Cedar Rapids woman convicted of a lesser charge in the fatal stabbing of her boyfriend in 2020 will not serve any additional prison time because she already served 891 days — almost 2 1/2 years — leading up to her trial.

Sixth Judicial District Judge Kevin McKeever on Tuesday sentenced Jacqueline Holmes, 38, who originally was charged with first-degree murder, to up to five years in prison for involuntary manslaughter. However, he said that based on the law she had served enough time before her September trial, and he was discharging her.

Assistant Linn County Attorney Andrew Powers asked the court to require Holmes to report to the Iowa Medical and Classification Center for placement in an Iowa prison because it should be up to Iowa Department of Corrections officials to make that determination on time.

McKeever said Holmes had served more than 27 months, based on the calculations by the department, which is the time required to serve on a five-year sentence before it can be discharged.

Holmes, following more than five days of testimony and a day and half of deliberations, was found guilty of unintentionally causing the death of boyfriend Tremaine Williams, 35, on March 4, 2020.

A retired Illinois law and psychology professor, who consults and testifies in cases involving domestic violence, said during the trial that Holmes was a battered woman and suffers from its effects. She said Holmes told her about three men who physically abused her, including Williams.

Karla Fischer testified that Holmes had told her Williams kicked, punched and choked her. There was a medical report from a previous incident, but no police reports to corroborate it. However, there were police reports to corroborate other incidents of domestic violence from the two other men.

The prosecution argued Holmes delayed getting help for Williams after she stabbed him in the shoulder at a southwest Cedar Rapids house. An police investigator said Holmes repeatedly changed her version of what happened that night.

The prosecution also played recorded 911 calls where Holmes, more than once, hung up on the dispatcher and then wouldn’t answer the phone or provide information of Williams’ condition. The dispatcher testified she received some information in the last call, which was seven minutes after the first call was made.

Williams died from blood loss, an autopsy showed, from the single stab wound to the shoulder. Numerous knives were found in the house, including a knife with wooden handle, which a medical examiner said was the most likely murder weapon. It was found in an oven.

The September trial was the second time Holmes was tried for Williams’ death. A judge declared a mistrial in the first trial in May when a potential juror told another juror about a previous interaction with Holmes.

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