Oscar Ray Bolin

Serial Killer

Oscar Ray Bolin: Serial Killer of the Tampa Bay Area

Oscar Ray Bolin Jr. was an American serial killer whose name became associated with a series of brutal abductions and murders of young women in the Tampa Bay area of Florida during 1986. Bolin was ultimately convicted of murdering Natalie Blanche Holley, Stephanie Collins, and Teri Lynn Matthews. Authorities also officially linked him to the 1987 murder of Deborah Diane Stowe in Texas, although he was never prosecuted for Stowe's death. Born on January 22, 1962, in Portland, Indiana, Bolin eventually moved to Florida and worked at various jobs, including work connected to carnivals and trucking. His three Florida murder cases remained unsolved for several years. By the time investigators began focusing on him, Bolin was already imprisoned in Ohio for the kidnapping and sexual assault of a young woman who survived an attack in 1987. The investigation that eventually exposed Bolin began to gain momentum in 1990 after information reached a Crime Stoppers hotline in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The caller was the new husband of Bolin's former wife, Cheryl. Investigators subsequently interviewed her and other people who had known Bolin, resulting in evidence and testimony that connected him with the previously unsolved Florida murders.

The Murder of Natalie Blanche Holley

Natalie Blanche Holley was 25 years old and worked as the night manager of a Church's Fried Chicken restaurant in the Tampa area. During the early morning hours of January 25, 1986, Holley finished her shift and left the restaurant. She never made it safely home. Later that morning, a jogger discovered Holley's body in a wooded or orange-grove area near Tampa. She had suffered numerous stab wounds. Her automobile was discovered abandoned more than five miles from where her body had been found. An important piece of the investigation came from an incident that had occurred near Holley's abandoned vehicle. A law-enforcement officer had previously checked a vehicle parked in the same general area and learned that it was registered to Oscar and Cheryl Bolin. Years later, Cheryl provided investigators with additional information implicating her former husband. Prosecutors presented testimony that Bolin had awakened her during the early morning hours and indicated that he had killed Holley. She also described accompanying him while evidence associated with the crime was disposed of or cleaned. Bolin's prosecution for Holley's murder became unusually complicated. He was repeatedly tried as earlier convictions were overturned because of legal errors. At his final trial for Holley's death in April 2012, a Hillsborough County jury convicted him of second-degree murder. He received a life sentence for the killing.

The Murder of Stephanie Collins

Seventeen-year-old Stephanie Collins was a student at Chamberlain High School and worked part time at an Eckerd drugstore. On November 5, 1986, Collins disappeared after stopping at the store where she worked. Her vehicle was subsequently found in the parking lot, but Stephanie was gone. Witness information placed Collins in the passenger seat of a white van on the day she disappeared. For an entire month, her family was left without an answer as to what had happened to her. On December 5, 1986, her remains were discovered in a ditch off Morris Bridge Road in Hillsborough County. Collins had suffered numerous stab wounds as well as severe blows to her head. Her body had been wrapped in sheets, a quilt, and other material. Investigators recovered physical evidence from the wrapping that later became significant in Bolin's prosecution. A hair recovered from a towel associated with the body produced DNA evidence matching Bolin. One of the sheets also bore markings indicating that it was hospital property. Investigators also recovered Collins' purse near her body. Inside was a piece of paper containing the notation "724-BYL" and the name "Ray." Testimony established that Bolin commonly went by Ray and that the number corresponded with the license plate of his pickup truck. Cheryl, Bolin's former wife, also supplied investigators with information concerning the night Collins disappeared. She described Bolin behaving nervously and ultimately telling her that he had killed a young woman by striking and stabbing her. She further described seeing what appeared to be a body wrapped in material and accompanying Bolin when it was taken away from their trailer. As with the Holley case, Bolin was tried more than once for Collins' murder because earlier convictions were overturned on appeal. He was ultimately convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death. ...

Confirmed Victims: (3)

Stephanie Anne Collins Age: (17), Date of Death: 1986-11-05

Suspected Victims:

Deborah Diane Stowe Age: (30), Date of Death: 1987

Oscar Ray Bolin - Wikipedia