(COLORADO SPRINGS) — It’s been over a decade since 19-year-old Kara Nichols was reported missing and about one month after her accused murderer was found guilty of manslaughter. Community members and friends say they held a vigil to honor her name and spread awareness about the injustice of her killer’s sentence.
Kara Nichols was reported missing on October 14, 2012. Her case went unsolved for nearly a decade until investigators found Nichols’s body buried in a property in the Black Forest neighborhood.
A small group of people gathered at Fox Run Regional Park for Kara Nichols’ remembrance ceremony to share stories of the 19-year-old girl they lost almost 11 years ago.
“She was a best friend. She was a sister. She was someone’s daughter… and she deserves the same life we all deserve,” said Autumn Hopfe, one of Nichols’ best friends.
Even those who weren’t as close to her remember Nichols as a light in their lives.
“She made an impact in my life in only one or two times that I was able to meet her. She was so beautiful and so kind,” one community member said.
Family and friends spent almost a decade in agonizing uncertainty.
“In 2012, when she went missing, I thought that she maybe just didn’t want to talk to anybody. I would call her phone relentlessly… I always really wanted to believe that she would get to come home someday and we would get to see her again… I definitely didn’t think that she was in Black Forest this whole time,” said one of Nichols’ friends Erin Wyrick.
Nichols’s body was found in June of 2022, buried on top of a horse’s grave in her accused murderer’s, family farm in Black Forest.
“First she’s found, then you grieve because we know she’s not with us anymore. Then we hope for justice, and then justice is not adequately served,” said Wyrick.
Nichols, who was an escort at the time, met Joel Hollendorfer from one of her ads. He admitted to his ex-wife he accidentally killed her and then buried her. Family and friends were devastated in June 2023, when a jury found Hollendorfer guilty of manslaughter, instead of first-degree murder.
With a first-degree murder charge, Hollendorfer would’ve faced a life sentence in prison. With the manslaughter charge, Hollendorfer faces a much lesser sentence of two to six years. People now want to spread awareness that Hollendorfer could be out of jail within the next six months since he has already served a year and a half.
“The world needs to know that Joel is a murderer and… when it comes down to it, we are not getting justice and this person’s going to be back on the streets,” said Hopfe.
People close to Nichols have been posting updates on a Facebook page called Justice for Kara Nichols.
Hollendorfer’s habitual offender hearing is set for July 24th, where there will be more clarity on what potential sentence he will face.
Tune into FOX21 News at 9 pm for the latest coverage on the event.
