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Holden found not guilty in Foskey murder

An Orange County jury has found a 43-year-old Deweyville man not guilty in a 1995 murder case.

James Holden was found not guilty of capital murder in the 1995 stabbing death and dismemberment of Theresa Foskey, 28, of Bridge City. The jury began deliberating Thursday afternoon.

The twelve jurors reached their decision just before 3 p.m. Friday, Holden's family screaming out their joy and relief - as Foskey's family stared in disbelief at the news.

It took a total of nearly 12 hours of waiting before family and friends of James Holden and Theresa Foskey filed into a courtroom to hear the verdict, and when the decision was given, Holden's mother Nancy says she was more than relieved.

"This burden's finally been lifted off of me and I can't tell you how wonderful it is" said Holden.

James Holden was found not guilty for the murder and dismemberment of Foskey - spending more than a year in jail accused of her 1995 murder.

"To see him free - I just want to tell y'all - I'm just so grateful for that jury" said Holden.

Foskey's family was too upset to comment on the verdict - but could be heard yelling and crying while privately speaking with the district attorney's office inside the courtroom.

"We knew when we started off with this case that it was gonna be an uphill battle because it's a 15 year old case but we believed very strongly in the evidence that we had" said Orange County Assistant DA Krispen Choate.

Choate had tears in her eyes after the trial, telling 12 News HD that while she trusts the legal system, she feels disappointed.

Leaving the Foskey's with the unanswered question: who killed 28 year-old Theresa in 1995.

"This is the bad part. The law has wasted 15 years on the wrong man and those poor people the chances of finding these people now is gonna be very very hard and my heart goes out to her because that's the most horrendous stuff I've ever seen. I hope God blesses her and gets her the justice and peace that she deserves" said Holden.

The Orange County DA's office said for now that question of who killed Foskey will remain unanswered as they do not plan on re-opening an investigation into her murder.

Holden was released from jail only minutes after his acquittal.  The Orange County Sheriff's Dept. said they expedited his release to get him back to his family as soon as possible.