DES MOINES – This Iowa man savagely beat his girlfriend to death with a wooden board as she begged him for mercy and now he could get life in prison.
A jury in Polk County, Iowa, convicted a Des Moines man of first-degree murder for beating Iowan Holly Snowgren to death last year.
via desmoinescremation.com
Derrick Andray Earnest (pictured at top) 61, faces life in prison without parole for causing the death of a girlfriend, Holly Snowgren of Pleasant Hill. She died at age 49 on April 19, 2024.
The incident occurred early that day on April 19, 2024, in an alley east of Good Park between 14th Street and 14th Place in Des Moines. Ring and Nest cameras captured the defendant arguing with Holly Snowgren and then beating her with a 2-by-10 wooden board and punching and kicking her. The defendant can be heard threatening to kill her, while she said “Derrick,” and pleaded for him to stop.
Evidence showed that about 40 minutes after the assault, the defendant took the victim to the Methodist Medical Center emergency room at 2:42 AM that morning. She suffered broken ribs, lacerations, a stab wound, and other injuries and was pronounced dead that morning. Earnest was arrested later that day.
Holly Snowgren was survived by a son, stepdaughter, two grandchildren, her parents, and many siblings and other relatives. “Holly was a gymnast, softball player, and a dancer. She ended her school years in Nevada where she was a track star, basketball player, played volleyball, and was a cheerleader,” an obituary says.
The jury deliberated for about two hours on Friday, May 23, before announcing the verdict. He is scheduled to be sentenced on July 23.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant County Attorneys Shannon Bogolin and Caleb Copley, assisted by Lindsay Scott. The investigation was led by Detective Brad Youngblut of the Des Moines Police Department.