Kevin Holloway Arrested in 1999 Sarasota Murder After Witnesses, Records Reviewed

Kevin Maurice Holloway was served with an arrest warrant on February 9, 2026 and charged with felony second-degree murder, arson, and two counts of tampering with evidence in the 1999 homicide of Esco Hunter Jr., the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office said in News Release 26-007. SCSO lists Holloway’s date of birth as 06/16/1970, which makes him 55 at the time the warrant was served; he is being held at the Sarasota County Jail without bond.

Sarasota investigators say the arrest is the product of an “extensive and renewed investigation conducted by the agency’s Criminal Investigations Section - Cold Case Unit,” which re-examined witness statements, telephone records, receipts and physical evidence and worked closely with the State Attorney’s Office and the District 12 Medical Examiner’s Office. SCSO said, “Through persistent investigative efforts, detectives were able to establish probable cause identifying Kevin Holloway as the suspect.”

The case traces back to late 1999, when deputies responded to a burning vehicle around Nov. 30, 1999 and discovered Esco Hunter Jr.’s body on Dec. 1, 1999 with multiple gunshot wounds. Herald-Tribune crime-scene photos tied to the original investigation show a charred van and a burned license plate that fell off Hunter’s car, items SCSO describes as part of the preserved physical evidence reviewed by the Cold Case Unit.

Sheriff Kurt A. Hoffman framed the arrest as the payoff for methodical rework of old leads and new testimony. “By going back and re-interviewing witnesses, asking what day this happened and where they were, we were able to fill in the pieces. I think we have connected the beginning of the trail to the end of the trail with the arrest of Mr. Holloway,” Hoffman said. He added, “Our goal right now is for Mr. Hunter’s family that we bring the person to justice,” and “We believe we have the right person in custody.”

Baynews9 reported that Holloway was already behind bars on an unrelated matter when the Feb. 9 warrant was served; the SCSO release confirms the warrant service and charges but does not specify whether Holloway was in custody on another charge at that time. Media outlets vary on his age and the spelling of his surname - SCSO uses Holloway and provides the DOB 06/16/1970 (some outlets published the variant Halloway and an age of 56).

SCSO called this arrest the first major case closed by the county’s newly reinvigorated Cold Case Unit and said the office will dedicate resources to remaining unsolved matters; the sheriff’s office also noted there are 25 cold cases in Sarasota County and asked anyone with information to contact the Sheriff’s Office. The agency released News Release 26-007 on Feb. 17, 2026 summarizing the investigation and charges.