Jesse Holton was a teenager from a small town in Alabama who was accused of killing his parents, Michael and April Holton, in 2016. At the time of the incident, he was 17 years old and a high school senior.
The case began when his parents returned home to find their house had been the site of a party involving drugs and alcohol. After an argument, Jesse's father, who was the former mayor of the town, handcuffed his son and called the sheriff's department. A deputy left after speaking with the family, but returned about 30 minutes later after a neighbor reported that Jesse had shown up at their house saying his parents were fighting. The deputy found Michael Holton dead from a gunshot wound to the head and April Holton critically wounded; she later died.
Jesse told authorities that his father had shot his mother and then himself. However, investigators found that the physical evidence at the scene did not match this account. Despite being charged with murder, the charges were ultimately dropped by the district attorney due to a lack of proof beyond a reasonable doubt. The district attorney stated that it was unclear whether Jesse killed his parents, his father killed his mother and then Jesse killed his father, or his father killed his mother and then killed himself.
Jesse Holton appeared on Season 1, Episode 3 of "Lie Detector: Truth or Deception" to take a polygraph test and try to clear his name.
