Reward Is Offered in Fatal Attack

Los Angeles police said Tuesday they hope a $25,000 reward will generate new leads in the search for the killer of a 63-year-old widow brutally beaten in the Granada Hills home she equipped with a high-tech alarm system to protect herself.

The body of Ellen Holohan was found Feb. 26 in her home in the 16900 block of Minnehaha Street after friends became concerned when she did not show up for a lunch appointment.

Police said the rear door of the house was unlocked, and Holohan’s badly beaten body was discovered in a bedroom. The alarm system--which included motion sensors and panic buttons located throughout the house--was turned off, and there was no indication that it had been tampered with or bypassed.

“In spite of all her precautions, an unknown assailant entered the residence, possibly through a back door, and bludgeoned Mrs. Holohan to death,” Lt. Kyle Jackson said.

Police, short of leads in the case, went to the City Council, which posted a $25,000 reward last week for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the killer.

“We are certain that there is someone out there with information regarding a suspect or suspects,” Jackson said. “Right now, we don’t have any significant leads on suspects.”

Police said they have not ruled out the possibility that Holohan knew her killer and turned off the alarm system to admit the person. Jackson said the victim also had a puppy and may have given an intruder access to the house when she turned off the alarm system to let the dog out.

Other aspects of the case also puzzle investigators. Holohan’s body was found nude, but there was no evidence that she had been sexually assaulted. Though her wedding ring is missing, other valuable property in the house was not taken. No murder weapon was recovered.

Holohan, who was widowed two years earlier, had a small circle of friends but mostly kept to herself. Police said a former boyfriend has been cleared of any involvement in the case. The victim was last seen by friends two days before her body was discovered. The night before the body was discovered, she talked on the phone to her son in Chicago.