April 26, 2016

Dear Governor Kasich:

My name is Holly Lai Holbrook. lam the sister of Michelle Lai, who was murdered on September 20,
1994, as we sat in a car with three other people (Amy and Candace Brogan and Danielle iones). I am
writing to ask you to release Tyra and set her free. i no longer believe that Tyra participated in the
robbery that led to Michelle?s murder. I believe it is wrong for Tyra to stay iocked up. But first let me
tell you a little bit more about myself, which i hope will help you understand why I support Tyra?s
release now.

i am the mother of four children and am blessed to have a husband (Brian) who loves and supports me.
I have struggled with mental illness, some of it related to Michelle?s murder. I?ve tried to forget
Michelle?s murder and have sought to bury my memories of that awful night. now realize that holding
in those memories and feelings has probably done me more harm than good.

But what has helped me survive is my faith. lam a Christian woman who believes deeply in God and
what Jesus teaches about forgiveness. My faith also teaches me that sometimes things happen for a
reason that only God understands. I believe that?s why God took Michelle and why Tyra has been locked
up for crimes she did not commit.

i no longer remember everything that happened the night Michelle was shot. Everything happened
really quickly and was a blur. But i do remember some things clearly. One thing I recall is cailing out to a
biracial woman in coat who was standing next to a white woman in a robe. I asked the biracial woman
in a coat to teil the people who were robbing us to stop and i remember seeing that woman saying
something in the direction of LaShawna Keeney, the shooter. That woman in the coat was Tyra.

After the shooting, i remember talking to a police officer at the scene when the biracial woman in the
coat (Tyra) walked by. I recall telling the officer that the biracial woman in the coat was not involved in
the robbery. Idon?t know whether the officer made note of that.

I believe that the police did their best to solve Michelle?s murder. But they also toid us things as trial
approached that may have influenced how we remembered things. For example, before Tyra?s trial, one
of the detectives told me that Tyra had confessed to grabbing a necklace from Candy. When I heard
about Tyra?s confession, assumed she must have been involved in the crimes, even though I knew that
it was Kellie Johnson who took the necklace from Candy; lam positive about that. Knowing Tyra
confessed is probably one ofthe reasons i said at triai that Tyra fully participated in the robberies.

I also remember that detectives showed me pictures of the people at the scene and said things to me
about what each person had done. I think the detectives were just trying to help us remember what
happened. But still that may have changed howl remembered things.

i wish that i had known at trial that Tyra had called 911. For all ofthese years I believed that no one at
the scene cared about us. i also wondered whether anyone heard me going door to door begging for
someone to call 911. After hearing Tyra?s 911 call recently, i now believe that that she cared.

 

I feel bad that Trya has been in prison so long for crimes I now believe she did not commit. My husband
tells me that it?s not my fault but i can?t help feeling that way. My husband also has suggested that I try
to focus on the future, which I have decided to do. So rather than relieve the past, i want to focus on
what I can do to help obtain Tyra?s freedom and the wrong she has suffered. That?s why l?m
writing this letter.

Writing to you, Governor Kasich, has not been easy. i realize that this letter could be made public and
could be read by many. For a long time I didn?t want to publicly support Tyra?s release because I was
fearful and anxious about how my family would respond. But I?ve decided that what?s more important is
that I tell the truth about howl feel. So, just so l?m clear, I?m okay with this letter being released if it will
help you make the decision to release Tyra.

As I write this letter, i also realize that supporting Tyra has helped to free me from the pain i have held in
all these years. Writing this letter also has helped me see that i actually have a volce that deserves to be
heard.

in closing, I hope you will take what I am saying in this letter to heart. I hope that you will release Tyra
now because the sooner you do so, the quicker i can begin to fully heal.

SincereW: HQ . t?kOthtb??

Holly Lai Holbrook

  

P.S. if meeting with you in person would help Tyra, I would be willing to do so.