Shraman Mitra
The city of Gloucester in Gloucestershire, England, was left terrified in February 2014 when a man entered a salon before murdering hairdresser Hollie Gazzard in cold blood. While several onlookers witnessed the murder, the police investigation soon revealed how the sinister plot was fueled by hate and anger. Netflix’s ‘My Lover My Killer’ season 2 episode 3 chronicles the tragic incident and portrays how detectives could finally bring the perpetrator to justice.
How Did Hollie Gazzard Die?
A resident of Gloucester, Hollie Gazzard was just 20 at the time of her murder. People who knew her talked about her cheerful and amicable personality, which helped her make new friends at a moment’s notice. Moreover, Hollie was pretty caring about her loved ones and shared an excellent relationship with her family. Interestingly, the 20-year-old discovered her passion for fashion and hairdressing from quite a young age, and she even studied the subject, hoping to turn it into her living.
On top of it, Hollie was an avid traveler and aspired to become a hairdresser on a cruise ship, allowing her to enjoy her passions simultaneously. Yet, such a dream needed money, and at the time of her murder, she was working part-time at a nightclub and a salon to save up for her future. Hollie was busy at work in the salon on February 18, 2014, when patrons noticed a man walk in.
Although nothing initially seemed out of the ordinary, the man soon approached Hollie, took out a kitchen knife from his pocket, and fatally stabbed her in front of all the onlookers. He then used the ensuing panic to escape the establishment, leaving the 20-year-old bleeding on the floor. Unfortunately, the injuries proved too severe, and Hollie was declared dead once first responders transported her to the hospital. Subsequently, an initial medical examination took note of the knife wounds, and an autopsy determined that the victim had been stabbed 14 times.
Who Killed Hollie Gazzard?
The police got their initial breakthrough early into the murder investigation as onlookers could provide a detailed description of the murderer. Besides, once the owner of the salon was interviewed, he identified the attacker as Hollie’s ex-boyfriend, Asher Maslin, and claimed that he had been threatening and stalking her ever since their break up.
In fact, Hollie had expected her ex to arrive at the salon on that fateful day, yet he ended up murdering the 20-year-old before the owner could call the police. Things became more apparent once detectives interviewed the victim’s family, who mentioned that she met Asher while working at the nightclub in January 2013. Although Hollie was initially apprehensive about dating him, he convinced her to go on a date, and it did not take long for the two to fall in love. However, unbeknownst to her, Asher had a long history of violent and predatory behavior, which soon started showing in their relationship.
As time passed, Hollie found her boyfriend becoming more and more controlling. He even resorted to physical abuse and was arrested for being violent toward her on three occasions. Reports mention that before getting together with Hollie, Asher was arrested for being violent toward two of his previous partners and his mother. Once the 20-year-old’s family realized she was getting abused and harassed by her boyfriend, they asked her to try and get out of the relationship.
With time, even Hollie realized she would be unable to meet her future aspirations or work toward her goals if she kept her relationship with Asher alive. Thus, on February 14, 2014, she broke up with him before asking him not to contact her again. Naturally, the breakup enraged Asher, and he began stalking Hollie incessantly. He even sent threatening text messages to the 20-year-old, and the police learned that two days before the murder, Hollie had filed a report against her ex-boyfriend for stealing her ATM card.
Not just that, Hollie’s sister claimed that hours before the murder, Asher sent a text message to her partner’s phone, indicating that he was about to do something drastic. Such incriminating evidence made him the primary suspect in the investigation. When law enforcement officers used CCTV cameras to trace Asher’s whereabouts right before the murder, they spotted him selling a DVD player to buy the kitchen knife used to kill Hollie. The footage proved to be the final nail in the coffin, and he was arrested before being charged with murder.
Asher Maslin is Serving His Jail Time
When presented in court, Asher realized that authorities had a mountain of evidence against him, making him accept a plea deal. According to the agreement, he pled guilty to murder, and the judge sentenced him to 24 years to life in 2014. Later, Asher even tried to challenge his sentencing, but the petition was denied. Therefore, he remains behind bars at a state prison at the time of writing.
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