In the early morning hours of August 24, 2020, a distressing 911 call was made from a residence in Surprise, Arizona. The caller, 55-year-old Lisa Hollingsworth, reported that she had been shot and was in desperate need of help. When Surprise Police Department officers arrived at the home, located near 133rd Avenue and Caribbean Lane, they found Lisa's husband, 60-year-old Elbert Hollingsworth, standing in the driveway.
Inside the house, officers discovered Lisa suffering from multiple
gunshot wounds. According to court documents, Lisa had been asleep when she was shot and did not know who had shot her. Paramedics arrived and transported her to a local hospital, but she later succumbed to her injuries. The investigation into her death quickly focused on her husband.
Elbert Hollingsworth was taken into custody and subsequently booked into the Maricopa County Jail on a charge of first-degree murder. Court records indicate that when informed of his wife's death, Elbert showed no remorse and declined to answer questions about his involvement, instead requesting a lawyer. Investigators recovered a firearm, spent shell casings, and a gun box from the couple's home. He was held on a $2 million cash-only bond. At the time of his arrest, Elbert Hollingsworth was a substitute teacher for Legacy Traditional Schools and had passed a background check, though he had not yet had any in-person contact with students for that school year.
