Man who dumped the bodies of 2 women in Newport Beach gets life in prison for double murder

A 42-year-old man was sentenced Friday to life in prison without the possibility of parole for killing two women after a New Year’s Eve party in Westminster and then dumping their bodies in Newport Beach.

Christopher Ken Ireland was convicted Nov. 17 of two counts of first-degree murder and one count of arson with jurors also finding true special circumstance allegations of committing more than one murder.

Ireland was convicted of killing 59-year-old Yolanda Holtrey and her 49-year-old friend and co-worker, Michelle Luke of Huntington Beach on Jan. 1, 2017.

Ireland, his wife and their son attended a New Year’s Eve party at Holtrey’s home in the 5000 block of Northwestern Way in Westminster, according to court records. Ireland and his family left the party about 1:30 a.m., but he returned wearing a ski mask and gloves just before 3 a.m. and killed the two women and later set fire to the home before putting their bodies, wrapped in a blanket, into his vehicle, according to police.

Ireland drove to Newport Beach and dumped the bodies near a loading dock at 2300 Ford Road in Newport Beach, where police also found Holtrey’s phone, police said.

The Huntington Beach real estate agent was seen removing a surveillance video camera from the home, but he overlooked another one, police said. He was also seen on a neighbor’s surveillance camera returning to the home, police said.

Ireland’s wife worked with the victims at the Huntington Beach SteinMart store, police said.

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