On the night of June 30, 1994, a sense of normalcy filled the Witchduck Inn, a neighborhood tavern in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Among those at the bar was Karen Sue Fuhrman Rounds, a 31-year-old woman who had recently started working there as a waitress. It was a decision that tragically placed her in the path of a vengeful plot born from a former employee's bitterness.
That evening, the friendly atmosphere of the tavern was shattered by an act of brutal violence that would become known as the worst mass slaying in the city's history.
A former waitress at the inn, Denise Rayne Holsinger, had been fired from her job approximately a month prior. Harboring resentment, she and her boyfriend, Michael David Clagett, spent two days consuming drugs and alcohol, devising a plan for revenge. On the night of the murders, which was also Clagett's 33rd birthday, the couple entered the Witchduck Inn. Inside, they found Karen Rounds, the bar's owner Lam Van Son, 41, a cook named Wendel G. 'J.R.' Parrish Jr., 32, and a patron, 34-year-old Abdelaziz 'Aziz' Gren. The couple proceeded to rob the establishment of about $400 from the cash register. Then, urged on by Holsinger, Clagett shot each of the four victims in the head, ending their lives. A sole survivor was Lam Van Son's five-year-old son, who was asleep in a back room and remained unharmed.
The horrific discovery of the victims inside the Witchduck Inn launched an intense investigation by the Virginia Beach Police Department. The search for the perpetrators did not last long. Within a day, authorities arrested Michael Clagett and Denise Holsinger. Clagett quickly confessed to the shootings, stating in a televised interview that he deserved to die for his actions. He implicated Holsinger as the instigator of the robbery and murders.
Both Clagett and Holsinger faced multiple charges, including capital murder and robbery. In the ensuing legal proceedings, the depth of their crime was laid bare. Michael Clagett was convicted and, in accordance with his own professed expectations, sentenced to death. He was executed by electric chair on July 6, 2000. Denise Holsinger, for her role in planning and encouraging the massacre, was found guilty and received five concurrent life sentences plus additional time, ensuring she would spend the remainder of her life in prison. The tragic and senseless loss of Karen Rounds and the three other victims left an indelible scar on the Virginia Beach community and on the families who were forever changed by a night of vengeful violence.
