Sophia Berry was murdered by her biological father, Dan Hollins, in a murder-suicide. Their bodies were found in a pickup truck along Colorado 86 in Casey Jones Park in Elbert County, Colorado. Two firearms were used and recovered from the scene. A rape kit was conducted on Sophia but results had not been released. Hollins left a suicide note with relatives in Lone Tree stating he had destroyed his computer's hard drive. The killing occurred during a protracted high-conflict custody battle in which the mother had repeatedly raised concerns of sexual abuse of the child by the father. Multiple systems — including police, child protective services, and family court — failed to adequately respond to the mother's concerns before the child's death.
Contexts/Conditions
Is there any mention of child drug ingestion or overdose?
Is there any mention of a drowning incident (either intentional or accidental)?
Is there any mention of a firearm incident?
The article states: "The coroner told the family that two guns — one small and one larger — had been used and recovered from the scene." The bodies were found in a pickup truck in a murder-suicide, and firearms were the instruments of death.
Is there any mention of inappropriate supervision (e.g., child wandered off and drowned)?
Is there any mention of inflicted injury? (e.g. slapped, punched, kicked, choked)
Sophia was murdered by her father. Elbert County CPS sent a letter "closing our assessment with a finding of egregious physical abuse resulting in a fatality against Dan Hollins." The coroner indicated two guns were used, and the death is classified as a murder-suicide. This constitutes inflicted injury resulting in death.
Is there any mention of malnutrition, starvation, or dehydration?
Is there any mention of medical neglect?
Is there any mention of a motor vehicle crash or incident?
Is there any mention of a murder-suicide incident?
The article explicitly states: "Police have classified all four deaths as murder-suicides, in which fathers killed their children and then themselves." Sophia Berry's death is one of these four. The lead investigator told the mother the bodies were found in a pickup truck and that Hollins left a suicide note.
Is there any mention of outdoor elements (including hot car deaths)?
Is there any mention of prenatal substance exposure (including fetal alcohol syndrome or neonatal abstinence syndrome)?
Is there any mention of sexual abuse?
The article extensively documents allegations of sexual abuse against Sophia by her father. It states the mother feared the father "was sexually abusing their 3-year-old daughter, Sophia, and using her in child pornography." The child allegedly "reported to her mother that she had to wash her daddy during bath time to be a good girl" and exhibited "sexualized behaviors that included inserting items in her orifices during bath time and reporting that her father kissed her in her private parts." Elbert County CPS investigated "nine child sex abuse reports against the father." A rape kit was conducted on Sophia after her death, with results pending.
Is there any specific mention of shaken baby or abusive head trauma?
Is there any mention of prolonged abuse or torture (including restraints, captivity)?
The article describes Sophia showing up with "what appeared to be ligature marks around her ankles," suggestive of restraint. Combined with ongoing allegations of sexual abuse including child pornography, coerced bathing rituals ("she had to wash her daddy during bath time to be a good girl"), sexualized behaviors, and bizarre poses, this collectively implies a pattern of prolonged, deliberately cruel treatment extending beyond simple abuse or neglect.
Is there any mention of an unsafe sleeping environment?
Individuals Involved
Was an adoptive parent or guardian involved in the death?
Was a biological father involved in the death?
The article identifies Dan Hollins as the biological father of Sophia Berry. The article states that the death was a murder-suicide in which the father killed Sophia and then himself. "Police have classified all four deaths as murder-suicides, in which fathers killed their children and then themselves."
Was a biological mother involved in the death?
Was a day care worker, babysitter, or nanny involved in the death?
Was a female paramour or friend involved in the death (e.g., girlfriend, stepmother)?
Was a foster parent involved in the death?
Was a male paramour or friend involved in the death (e.g., boyfriend, stepfather)?
Was another adult relative involved in the death? (e.g., grandfather, aunt)
Was a sibling involved in the death?
Child Characteristics
Was the child adopted?
Was the child homeschooled (including "cyberschooling") or taken out of school?
Was the child in foster care at the time of the incident?
Was the child living with relatives at the time of the incident (but not parents)?
Is there any mention of a neurological developmental child disability? (e.g., autism, intellectual disability, nonverbal)
Is there any mention of a physical child disability? (e.g., feeding tube)
Is there any mention of prematurity or low birthweight?
Is there a history of child protection reports prior to death (for this child or siblings)?
The article states that Elbert County CPS investigated "nine child sex abuse reports against the father from Berry and her family." Additionally, "Sophia's previous child care provider also had made a report to Douglas County's child protective services alleging that Sophia had made overt sexual overtures with a toddler boy." There were also "numerous reports" from the Department of Human Services in the related Tesorierio case, but for Sophia specifically, multiple CPS reports were filed prior to her death.
Does the child have a history of foster care (but not in care at time of incident)?
Is there a history of a sibling death (separate incident from this death)?
Parent/Caregiver Factors
Was an adult charged or arrested for the child's death?
Is domestic violence by the parent/caregiver referenced?
The article describes extensive controlling behavior by the father toward the mother during their marriage that constitutes domestic violence: "he demanded during their brief two months of marriage that she keep the door open when she had to use the bathroom," "Hollins required her to eat rancid meat he cooked more than three weeks past its expiration date," required her to "eschew makeup and severely limit any contact with her family or friends," eat off paper plates, and refuse to use the oven. The broader article frames these cases in the context of domestic violence, with advocates calling for "domestic violence training for family court judges."
Is there any mention that the death occurred in a temporary shelter or while homeless?
Is an intellectual disability of the parent/caregiver referenced?
Is the mental health of the parent/caregiver referenced?
Is a history of arrests or criminal charges for the parent/caregiver referenced?
Is substance use by the parent/caregiver referenced?
Notable Details
The article documents numerous systemic failures that directly affected this case. An Elbert County CPS worker promised to file a dependency-and-neglect motion but a supervisor blocked the recommendation. Douglas County Magistrate Rebecca Moss never ruled on key motions filed by the mother's attorney, including an emergency motion filed when the father was in a coma and a motion seeking play therapy at the Kempe Center. The father's attorney filed a motion with insufficient postage, delaying the mother's knowledge of the hearing. The custody case was "still at the discovery stage" when Sophia was murdered, despite years of proceedings. The same magistrate (Moss) also presided over the Tesorierio case where a child was murdered less than 24 hours after the judge allowed the father to take the child home despite the mother's warnings. Additionally, the father's suicide note stated he "had destroyed the hard drive of his computer" — significant given the allegations of child pornography. A rape kit was conducted on Sophia but results from the state crime lab had not yet been released at the time of publication. Nobody claimed the father's body after the murder-suicide.
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