'Baby Holly Marie' found alive more than 40 years after her parents were found murdered in Houston

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Holly Marie Clouse had last been seen by her family in late 1980. Her parents, Dean and Tina Linn Clouse, were found murdered in Houston with no sign of the infant.

Author: Xavier Walton, Jaime E. Galvan
Updated: 1:18 PM EDT June 9, 2022

HOUSTON — Missing for more than 40 years, the daughter of a couple found murdered in Houston has been found alive and well, according to investigators. The new Cold Case and Missing Persons Unit with the Texas Attorney General’s Office made the announcement Thursday morning.

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The daughter, Holly Marie Clouse, was found in Oklahoma. She had last been seen by her family in late 1980. Her parents, Dean and Tina Linn Clouse, were found murdered in a rural part of Houston on January 12, 1981 with no sign of the infant.

The couple’s identification was determined earlier this year using advanced DNA techniques underwritten by podcast producer audiochuck.

With the help of counterparts in three states, a search for records of the child, who was born Holly Marie Clouse, by Texas investigators resulted in her surprising discovery.

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Link to tweet

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Full article

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Wow.

[Lunabell]

1. Oh My God!!

This is so wonderful! I remember this case.

[samnsara]

2. she looks just like her mom!!!

..so glad for their closure....

[viva la]

3. Why did it take 40 years to identify the parents through DNA?

More info:
The extended family apparently had suspected the couple had joined some religious cult. The young parents were actually moving from Florida to Texas when they were killed.
Their bodies were found by dogs two months later in a wooded area of Houston. Harold had been beaten, bound and gagged, while Tina had been strangled.

There was no identification that could be made, and no one knew them in Texas or knew they were missing.

The authorities didn't know there had been a baby until recently, when they tracked down the DNA match and contacted his sister. She asked about the baby then, and only then were the investigators able to find the adult Holly.

It's not clear what happened to her immediately after the deaths.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10900787/Baby-parents-murdered-dumped-woods-Houston-ALIVE-40-years.html

[LeftInTX]

4. The family of the Tina and Dean did not make the connection to the bodies in Houston

Tina and Dean were living in Lewisville, TX up near Dallas. (250 miles away)

The Jane and John Doe were described as Hispanic. Here are their sketches

[viva la]

8. I'm glad the family has this relatively happy ending

How awful for the daughter, though, to learn about this terrible tragedy.

[Desert grandma]

5. Wow! What an incredible story.

DNA research has benefited us in so many ways. I am very thankful that this family has been reunited.

[Lovie777]

6. How did the two religious cult women get a hold of the child . . .

in the first place. How in the world did authorities make that assumption of race?

Thank GOD the baby survived and was place in a good home (I guess).

[bamagal62]

7. I'm slightly confused.

Who took the baby and when? And, where did they take her? Was the baby with them when they were murdered?

[LeftInTX]

9. Nobody knows..They just know that she was dropped off at a church in AZ

It appears a religious nomadic cult dropped the baby off at a church.
A similar looking person named "Sister Susan" drove the couple's car to Florida and dropped the couple's car off at his mother's house.

The presser did not indicate whether the church was affiliated with the nomadic cult.
Apparently they also dropped off a baby at a laundromat.

[bamagal62]

10. Thanks. I thought I had

Missed something in the article.

[DemocraticPatriot]

11. At least she managed to get the hell OUT of Texas---

not that Oklahoma is any better....

[jcgoldie]

12. I dont get it

How did these "nomadic church people" get the baby? The article doesn't make any sense to me. It says they were questioned and not charged. Huh?

[LeftInTX]

13. The parents, Tina and Dean were murdered in Houston.

In 1980 Tina and Dean moved to Dallas with their year old baby. Their parents lived in Florida.

Eventually they lost contact with Tina and Dean. Eventually someone called Dean's mother from California saying they had Dean's car. So these Jesus freaks showed up in Florida and delivered the car to Dean's mother. She contacted the police prior to them arriving. But I did not get the impression that police questioned them. (Tina and Dean were identified in 2021. His mom gave numerous interviews, but she never stated that the police questioned the Jesus freaks)
I got the impression, she contacted police to get advice about the vehicle. When they delivered the vehicle, the Jesus freaks said that Tina and Dean had joined a commune and did not wish to have further contact with their families.

Dean had a history of getting involved with Jesus freaks so his mom felt her hands were tied.

Meanwhile, they took the baby to AZ and dropped it off at a church..However, they did not bring the baby to Florida.

Here's detailed article. She does not mention police questioning the "Jesus freaks"

“This is strange,” she recalled thinking.

She agreed to pay the money — then talked to police who patronized the restaurant where she worked.

A trio of women showed up with the car, dressed in religious-looking robes. One appeared to be in her 30s; the other two seemed younger.

Casasanta begged them to let her speak to Clouse, to give her some information about her son.

They couldn’t answer any questions about Clouse or Linn, Casasanta recalled, only told her that they’d joined a religious group and were cutting ties with the family.
https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/murdered-houston-couple-baby-cold-case-16767272.php?utm_campaign=CMS%20Sharing%20Tools%20(Premium)&utm_source=t.co&utm_medium=referral

This was a press conference by a Texas Deputy AG, I don't trust them to get their facts straight! Look at Uvalde!