A western Iowa man has been sentenced to prison time for killing an elderly woman. Forty-eight-year-old Ross Holford of Council Bluffs was a handyman for 93-year-old Violet Christensen of Council Bluffs. In exchange for doing maintenance work, Christensen let Holford live in an upstairs apartment of her home.
Authorities say that, earlier this year, Holford forced his way into Christensen’s home, intending to rob her. As the door was forced open, it struck Christensen in the head. The woman died of a heart attack caused by the blunt-force trauma of the door striking her head. After Christensen’s death, Holford returned to her home several times to steal items he then sold to buy cocaine and alcohol.
Police say Christensen may have been dead for as long as two weeks before her body was found on March 17th. Holford was sentenced this week to 25 years in prison after pleading guilty to charges of burglary, willful injury and probation violation.