Justice more than 40 years after the sexual assault and murder of Holly Campiglia. Yesterday’s, Holly’s killer was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison. The road to yesterday’s sentencing has taken many turns.
In 1980, two field workers in unincorporated Dixon discovered a body in a cornfield. The victim was listed as Jane Doe for more than ten years. In 1992, through the National Missing Persons Unit, we learned that the victim was 21-year-old Holly Ann Campiglia from New Jersey.
Despite having Holly’s identity, the case remained cold.
Then in late 2021, at the request of Holly’s family, one of our evidence technicians reviewed the case to see if any of the original evidence could be resubmitted for additional DNA analysis. Our office received a report from the Serological Research Institute (SERI) stating that male DNA was found on these pieces of evidence. When that DNA was submitted into another database with the San Mateo Crime Lab, we learned that it belonged to then 76-year-old Herman Lee Hobbs.
At that time, Hobbs had been serving significant prison sentences for rape and murder. Detectives obtained a warrant to collect new DNA from Hobbs for a direct comparison and it was confirmed for a second time.
On July 15th, Hobbs was sentenced to 15 years to life. We are grateful to our Investigations Bureau and evidence technicians who cracked this cold case. Without their dedication and persistence, Holly’s case would still be unsolved. And finally, we want to acknowledge and thank the Campiglia family.
Holly’s family has suffered tremendously over the past four decades. They turned their grief into action and never gave up in their search for justice. We know that today’s sentencing will not bring Holly back, but it is our hope that it gives them some peace.
Republished courtesy of Solano County Sheriff's Office