A man has candidly revealed that he discovered his mother was a murderer after Googling her name.
Travis Holman, 36, had a strained relationship with his mother Lynda, now 60, for much of his life.
He claims she abandoned him when he was 11 to move in with her boyfriend Mark McCollum, leaving Travis and his then-13-year-old sister Daisy Holman to fend for themselves.
Raised by their aunt and uncle, the children saw their mother twice a year and spoke to her on the phone.
Travis from Sacramento, California, was growing increasingly concerned about his mother as the years went by and was curious to see what results he would find if he searched for her name on the Internet.
Travis Holman, 36, had a strained relationship with his mother Lynda, now 60, for much of his life.
He claims she abandoned him when he was 11 to move in with her boyfriend Mark McCollum, leaving Travis and his then-13-year-old sister Daisy Holman to fend for themselves.
Travis, a freelance television production assistant, explained how he made the shocking discovery.
‘I Googled the names of some relatives I haven’t seen in a while.
‘I knew my mother had a criminal record, she was convicted of murder in the 1990s.
‘I typed her name into Google and the first article that came up was Lynda Holman’s arrest, I thought it was about her previous conviction.
“But when I looked at the date that said February 16, 2010, my mind imploded.
‘I went to her appearance and that was the last time I saw her.
‘This time I could see her from the other end of the room.
“I will never forget the look on his face: it was a combination of absolute happiness at seeing me, but at the same time, embarrassment.”
Travis and Daisy were raised by their mother Lynda after their father died on December 13, 1991 due to persistent heart disease.
Travis said they had a difficult childhood because his mother was a “wild child,” but she cared for him and his sister.
He said: ‘I remember she would throw a lot of parties. For example, she had a powerful car and I remember we would make donuts in it.
‘She was a loving mother. She would tell me ‘I love you’ and ‘you’re special’ all the time. My sister and I felt that way.
“We felt loved, but she had a difficult upbringing, just like my sister and I had.”
In 1998, Lynda went out one night and met Mark at a bar and drove him back to the family home in Kendall, Washington, Travis said.
Mark and Lynda dated for months before she left Travis and Daisy and moved to Deming, Washington, to live with her boyfriend, he says, in 1998.
Travis said: ‘She came home after being gone for about a week, packed her duffel bag and never came back.
‘We spent four months defending ourselves.
‘Even though we were scared and terrified, we were more afraid of getting close to another person.
“When she left, we went months without contact and finally our aunt and uncle came to pick us up.”
Travis and Daisy were raised by their mother Lynda after their father died on December 13, 1991 due to a persistent heart condition.
Even though Lynda left them both, Travis and Daisy continued to have a relationship with their mother and saw her once or twice a year.
After learning of his mother’s conviction, Travis explained: ‘I called my sister immediately, but there was no answer.
‘Then I called my best friend because I needed someone to talk to.
‘The next day I went to the police station to try to see my mother, but they wouldn’t let me.
“I knew for a fact that she would be gone for a long time.”
She later discovered that on February 16, 2010, police responded to a 911 call to investigate a shooting at the home where Lynda and Mark lived.
When police arrived at the scene, Lynda was outside the property and told police what happened, according to documents from the Washington state Court of Appeals.
She told police that Mark made a comment about killing ghosts, according to legal documents.
In response, Lynda grabbed a shotgun from a shelf in the bedroom, put the butt of the gun on the floor and held the barrel to her chin, according to a court document.
Lynda claims that Mark told her to put the gun down and as she was putting it away, the gun went off and shot Mark.
Even though Lynda left them both, Travis and Daisy (pictured together) continued to have a relationship with their mother and saw her once or twice a year.
He explained that his relationship with his mother is now “as healthy as it can be.”
Mark died at the scene and Lynda was charged with second-degree murder and first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm, according to reporters.
Travis said: ‘According to my mom, there was a ghost show on TV, she went to the wall where there was a gun.
“She grabbed him off the wall and said, ‘I’m going to shoot the ghost,’ and shot Mark in the chest.”
He added: ‘Sitting in jail and talking on the phone through bulletproof glass was not unusual.
“I saw her in her overalls. It broke my heart because I knew she had done something so terrible that they weren’t going to let her out.”
In June 2010, Linda was convicted of second-degree murder and first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm and sentenced to 28 years behind bars.
Travis said: ‘When my sister told me the verdict was second-degree murder and that Mom would be sentenced to 28 years, I broke down.
‘I told my boss I had to leave for the day and yes, it was a lot to process.
‘Even though my mother struggled with alcoholism and probably PTSD during her childhood in foster care and the trauma of that, like I said, she was a very caring and loving mother.’
Travis said he collapsed to the ground when he learned the length of the sentence.
She explained that her relationship with her mother is now “as healthy as it can be.”
Travis said: ‘When she calls me there is a common theme.
‘We’ll catch up on what each of us is doing and what we’ve been up to.
‘She will keep me updated on her battle with breast cancer, this is her second bout with breast cancer since being in prison.
‘She has undergone a double mastectomy and is undergoing chemotherapy.
‘Other than that, we joke around a lot.
‘For someone who has been locked up for over a decade, she has a tremendous sense of humor.
“When I spoke to her, I could tell that she regretted what happened.”
