DNA cracks 2011 cold case killing that involved sex for money, NJ officials say
More than a decade after a man was fatally stabbed inside an abandoned home, DNA has led to a break in his case, New Jersey prosecutors say.
Kenyar Hill, 46, was charged with first-degree murder in the 2011 slaying of Brian Holden, 42, of Camden, the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office said in a July 10 news release.
An attorney representing Hill did not immediately respond to McClatchy News’ request for comment on July 14.
Camden City police responded to a report of a stabbing at an abandoned Camden home just before 10 p.m. on Oct. 11, 2011, prosecutors said.
When first responders arrived, they found Holden “lying in the front room” with multiple stab wounds, prosecutors said.
He was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead, prosecutors said.
While investigating his death, detectives spoke with Holden’s girlfriend, according to prosecutors.
She told detectives she met with a man earlier in the evening and “agreed to have sexual intercourse with him for money,” prosecutors said.
Afterward, she said they started arguing, “and he took his money back,” prosecutors said.
The girlfriend said she yelled for Holden, then he confronted the man, prosecutors said.
An altercation ensued and Holden was stabbed multiple times, prosecutors said.
The girlfriend underwent “a sexual assault forensic examination” at a hospital and DNA evidence was collected, prosecutors said.
Investigators submitted the evidence to the New Jersey State Police laboratory; however, at the time, there were no hits in the Combined DNA Index System, according to prosecutors.
CODIS is “a computer software program that operates local, state, and national databases of DNA profiles from convicted offenders, unsolved crime scene evidence, and missing persons,” according to federal prosecutors.
Eleven years later, there was a “high stringency match” in CODIS, identifying Hill as a potential suspect in the 2011 cold case, prosecutors said.
To confirm the match, detectives collected a DNA swab from Hill and submitted it for testing, along with the original swabs from the sexual assault kit, prosecutors said.
Hill’s DNA matched that of the DNA profile from the sexual assault examination, according to prosecutors.
“After receiving the DNA results, detectives continued to follow up on the investigation, including locating witnesses from more than a decade ago,” prosecutors said.
This led detectives to identify Hill as a suspect in Holden’s death, prosecutors said, adding that he was arrested June 27.
Camden is about a 5-mile drive east from Center City Philadelphia.
This story was originally published July 14, 2025 at 2:31 PM with the headline "DNA cracks 2011 cold case killing that involved sex for money, NJ officials say."
