The Spokesman-Review from Spokane, Washington • a8

NEWS 8 TUESDAY JANUARY 21, 2020 THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW WORLD FROM THE FRONT PAGE handful of cameras pointing in dif- ferent directions. The cameras made Courtney nervous to leave the house, one neighbor told police. She knew get in trouble with Joshua for sneaking out. One phone would ring in the middle of the night with Courtney on the line crying about how Joshua was out of con- trol and allow her to have a life. Joshua and Judy often called Courtney short for Cin- derella, in reference to all the work she did around the house, one person close with the family told police.

Courtney never had a cellphone or a car. At one point, she was al- lowed to chat with a neighbor over the back fence, but eventually that stopped, too. One person talked to Courtney every day via Facebook until Josh- ua discovered she had an account. gotta go. I gotta go.

Josh is her final message from nearly two years ago said. And then her account went dark. On a summer day in 2018, Courtney was dragging a large duffel bag out the front door when her adoptive mother, Judy, chased after her and said, back in that one neighbor re- counted to Spokane police. not staying here any- the neighbor recalled hear- ing Courtney say. But then Joshua, at more than 6 feet tall and 300 pounds, forcibly picked up 160-pound Courtney and brought her back inside.

She able to put up a fight, the neighbor said. That was the last time that neighbor, and perhaps anyone outside that home, saw Courtney. Police fear she may be dead. A lack of reports Domestic violence experts attribute a number of factors to why cases like Courtney always reported. One is the social assumption that somebody else is taking care of it, said Morgan Colburn, YWCA director of counseling, advocacy and outreach.

assume that as a so- ciety and culture anymore, be- cause what if nobody did do said Colburn. Colburn said the fear of retali- ation also can be a factor. sometimes people see this as a family problem something that needs to be dealt with in the she said. Though power dynamics in ev- ery relationship are different, Col- burn said some warning signs of domestic abuse that might war- rant a call to law enforcement are acts of violence or not seeing someone for a long period of time. could be a time to Colburn said.

anytime you see children Annie Murphy, chair of the Spokane Regional Domestic Viol- ence Coalition, said other warning signs may include victims missing work or appointments, isolating themselves or talking about a fam- ily jealously or control over them. And if police respond to a dom- estic violence incident and a vic- tim lies to investigators, it could be that they are lying for their own safety. be a deterrent to said Colburn, because if police see any proof of violence, they are required to make an ar- rest. And if family or friends are con- cerned about a loved one, they should let that person know available to provide sup- port, Colburn said they can always call you, that they can come think a lot of power just in believing Murphy said. Spokane County has the highest rate of domestic violence in Wash- ington and nearly double the state average, according to state data.

And a majority of homicides local- ly are related to domestic violence, according to law enforcement of- ficials. continues to be a reality in our community, and we as com- munity members need to be proactive about how to end Murphy said. Services for victims of domestic violence involving intimate part- ners are available at the YWCA, and Lutheran Community Servic- es supports victims with varying relationships to their abusers. The YWCA also operates a hot- line at (509) 326-2255. need to let victims know that always available for Murphy said.

es- cape domestic violence in our own The search for Courtney The initial concern about Courtney whereabouts came from the father of her child and his current girlfriend because they seen Courtney in two years and the father wanted to see his child. The Spokane Police Depart- ment tried to perform a welfare check on Courtney in early Octob- er, but it quickly turned into a missing person case that was turned over to major crimes De- tective Randy Lesser. Lesser spoke with The Spokes- man-Review about the investi- gation after search warrants he filed in Spokane County Superior Court became public. This ac- count of disappear- ance and the investigation is based on police interviews and court re- cords. When patrol officers and detec- tives went to the house on separ- ate occasions, Joshua and Judy Holden refused to cooperate with the investigation, which nor- mal when it comes to welfare checks and missing person cases, Lesser said.

The day Courtney was reported missing, a woman claiming to be her called Crime Check and said she was fine. A police dispatcher also spoke to a woman claiming to be Courtney. But police later learned it was really sister, who tell Lesser why she had impersonated her. concern is that she could potentially be Lesser told The Spokesman-Review. Lesser said history of violence is especially concerning.

Joshua was charged with rape in 2005, but the case was dropped just before trial when the victim stopped cooperating with pros- ecutors. Investigators were in the process of obtaining DNA evi- dence, and court documents from that case say Holden was a suspect in another rape in 2003. Neighbors and family described Joshua as violent and diagnosed with paranoid schizo- phrenia. A neighbor said Joshua have a job and Judy before him. Joshua also was arrested on charges related to unlawful im- prisonment and domestic viol- ence, and he has been convicted of burglary.

Family members said Joshua and Judy had bragged to them about knowing ways to elude pol- ice, and Joshua had made com- ments about how easy it would be to kill someone and hide the body. just disappear, es- pecially if they have a Less- er said. And by all accounts, Courtney was a loving mother who would never abandon her child, court documents say. When neighbors saw Court- child at the home over the last year, they noticed he called Joshua and Judy something a family member said was normal even when Courtney was around. A woman dating one of Court- siblings, who happens to share her name, told police Josh- ua insisted she be called by an alias at the home or else it would upset child.

For the year and a half or so that no one outside home saw her, Joshua and Judy told neighbors and family that Court- ney was traveling with a boy- friend, a nameless long-range truck driver none of them had met. Sometimes the story was that run off with a Other times she was just inside the house but not available to visit. Judy told Lesser that Courtney had been home a few days prior when he came knocking in early October. She said Courtney had left the home on foot with her son in tow. When Lesser asked for phone number, she deadbolted the door while retrieving it, ac- cording to court documents.

She then reluctantly allowed police in- side to see room. became very Lesser said. The home was extremely clut- tered, with piles of belongings covering every open space on the counters, Lesser wrote in court documents. room also was cluttered and the mattress was bare. It appear anyone had been staying there, Lesser said.

At one point, Judy panicked af- ter losing sight of one of the detec- tives behind a closed door. She told the investigators to leave when Lesser asked to look around the rest of the residence for Court- child. Later that same day, a neighbor told Lesser they had seen Joshua, Judy and one of sisters drive off in a van with child. Lesser determined Courtney received her last prescription re- fill in July 2018 after getting medi- cation every month or two for the past year. She had a doc- appointment since October 2017.

But despite the gap in medical records, money continued to be withdrawn from bank account each month and her EBT (food stamps) card was used to buy groceries. Video footage showed Joshua and Judy with a young child pur- chasing the groceries. And cam- eras captured the pair making the final withdrawal from bank account on the day she was reported missing in early October. By Oct. 24, Joshua and Judy had left their home.

Lesser wrote that the DVR from the home surveil- lance system was removed and the six pets were gone when police went to execute a search warrant. Cellphone numbers police as- sociated with Joshua and Judy were deactivated in mid-Novem- ber, but two new numbers on the account were activated the same day. They had Texas area codes. Then a neighbor called police about a month after the Holdens left to let officers know there was activity at the home. It was one of daughters and her hus- band, who had flown up from Tex- as to check on the residence.

They said they seen Courtney in two years and that Judy was off on a retirement road trip. The hus- band told police that Joshua and Judy had the child, but the sister said Courtney had him. Lesser traveled to Texas in mid- December in search of Joshua and Judy. Officers found them at home, and they also had child. Joshua and Judy were arrested on identity theft and custodial in- terference charges for using bank accounts and concealing her child, Lesser said.

The child was OK and handed ov- er to his father. The other family members facing criminal charges. Police have searched properties in Spokane with ca- daver dogs but did not find any- thing, Lesser said. Searches at the residence in Texas provided no additional clues to whereabouts. Officers also searched a vehicle and a travel trailer belonging to Judy at an RV park in Oklahoma, Lesser said.

Joshua and Judy checked in under fake names and likely arrived sometime in No- vember. Joshua, 40, and Judy, 74, re- main jailed in Texas, where they have declined interviews with police, Lesser said. They have not agreed to be extradited to Spo- kane, so police are in the process of obtaining a warrant to bring them back. one is probably one of the more in-depth cases trying to lo- cate a Lesser said about the monthslong investigation. got four notebooks full of Anyone with information about Courtney Holden may contact De- tective Lesser at (509) 625-4016 and reference case No.

2019- 20191912. CONTACT THE WRITER: (509) 459-5 Continued from 1 MISSING Judy Holden Josh Holden COURTESY PHOTO The house on Heroy Avenue in Spokane, where Courtney Holden allegedly was held against her will, is seen on Saturday. AMSTERDAM After years of doubts about its authenticity, experts in Amsterdam have confirmed that a Vincent van Gogh self-portrait was indeed painted by the Dutch master as he recovered in a French asylum from a mental breakdown. Van Gogh Museum researcher Louis van Tilborgh dispelled the doubts Monday, saying the oil-on- canvas painting of the anguished- looking painter was completed in late summer 1889 while Van Gogh was at the Saint-Remy asylum in southern France. Questions about the painting arose in the 1970s.

The use of a palette knife to flatten brush strokes on Van face and what were then considered to be unusual colors in the painting led to speculation about the auth- enticity of the work, which was bought as a genuine Van Gogh in 1910 by National Museum. In an attempt to put those doubts to rest, the museum asked the Van Gogh Museum to analyze the painting in 2014. feels really reassuring to know that said Mai Britt Gu- leng of the Norwegian museum. Van Tilborgh said the use of an un- primed canvas and a muddy green co- lor were, in fact, typical of Van time in Saint-Remy in 1889. What sets the work apart is Van use of a palette knife.

he has painted it and during the process he suddenly decides that it has to become Van Tilborgh said. tend to think that it has to do with the fact that made during a period of Van Tilborgh said Van Gogh used painting as both a way of portraying his mental breakdown and of helping him to recover. wanted to say in this picture that he was an ill person and so a kind of therapeutic work we tend to he said. was a Protestant and as a Protestant you have to accept the facts of life if you suffer, you have to face the most famous artistic son, painter Edvard Munch, whose iconic work, also is a vivid ex- pression of mental anguish, was fasci- nated by the Van Gogh painting. thought it was one of the best of the collection of the national gal- lery but he also found it scary, because of the gaze from the self-portrait star- ing back at Guleng said.

The painting will remain on display in Amsterdam before returning to Os- lo in 2021, when the National Mu- seum, currently closed for reno- vation, reopens in a new building. ASSOCIATED PRESS A journalist takes a closer look at the previously contested painting by Dutch master Vincent van Gogh, a 1889 self-portrait, of which the authenticity was confirmed Monday during a news conference in Amsterdam. Experts: Vincent van Gogh self-portrait is genuine By Mike Corder ASSOCIATED PRESS MOSCOW Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday submitted to parlia- ment a package of consti- tutional amendments widely seen as an attempt to secure his grip on power well after his current term ends in 2024. Putin first presented the proposed changes in his state-of-the-nation address Wednesday, arguing they are intended to bolster the role of Parliament and strengthen democracy. Kremlin critics have argued they are intend- ed to allow his rule for life.

The Kremlin-controlled lower house, the State Duma, received a draft bill on con- stitutional proposals from the Kremlin and quickly scheduled the first of three required readings for Thurs- day. Putin, 67, has been in pow- er for more than 20 years, longer than any other Rus- sian or Soviet leader since Jo- sef Stalin. Under the law now in force, Putin must step down as president when his current term ends. Putin proposed the consti- tution must specify the auth- ority of the State Council, an advisory body that consists of regional governors and top federal officials. The Krem- constitutional bill sub- mitted to parliament em- powers the council to mine the main directions of home and foreign Observers say the pro- posed changes could allow Putin to stay in charge by shifting into the position of the head.

Putin emphasized the president should retain the power to dismiss the prime minister and Cabinet minis- ters and remain in charge of the Russian military and law enforcement agencies. The Kremlin bill also mod- ifies the constitution to limit a president to two terms alto- gether, unlike the current version containing a limit of two consecutive terms. Putin served two presi- dential terms in 2000-08 and then shifted into the prime position to ob- serve the term limit but ef- fectively remained in charge while his associate Dmitry Medvedev served as a place- holder president in 2008-12. Medvedev stepped down af- ter to allow Putin reclaim the top job and move into premiership after amending the constitution to extend the term from four years to six. Immediately after propos- ing the constitutional chang- es, Putin last week fired Medvedev and named tax chief Mikhail Mishustin to succeed him.

PUTIN SENDS HIS CONSTITUTIONAL PROPOSALS TO PARLIAMENT By Vladimir Isachenkov ASSOCIATED PRESS A 8 Main.