Nickeisha Holloman

A young woman disappears; her skeletal remains found 1 mo later
Nickeisha Holloman, a fun-loving 23-year-old Black woman known to her family and friends as Keisha, was working toward a life she dreamed of. She was studying to be a nurse and was the only daughter of her mother, Keiana Rogers. However, Nickeisha also faced personal struggles, including a diagnosis of Type II diabetes and behavioral health issues that sometimes led to encounters with law enforcement. In 2016, a judge had ordered her into mental health treatment as part of a three-year probation. Despite these challenges, her family remembers her as a beloved daughter whose life was cut short.

On July 1, 2018, Nickeisha was staying at the Crossroads Center, a treatment facility on Burnet Avenue in Cincinnati, Ohio, under a 45-day court order. That day, she called her mother to give her a new phone number and mentioned she was on her way to a hair appointment. Surveillance video later released by police showed Nickeisha leaving the center and getting into a white or silver Hyundai Sonata. She was last seen leaving with her boyfriend. She never made it to her hair appointment, and her mother never heard from her again. The disappearance was alarming, as Nickeisha did not have her life-saving diabetes medication with her and had no history of running away. On July 30, Cincinnati Police issued a Critical Missing Alert.

The family’s worst fears were confirmed on August 22, 2018. Police were called to a vacant lot in the 1800 block of Mehmert Avenue in the city's Mount Airy neighborhood, where human skeletal remains had been discovered. In early October, the Hamilton County Coroner’s Office positively identified the remains as those of Nickeisha Holloman and officially ruled her death a homicide. The cause of death was not publicly released by investigators.

The Cincinnati Police Department’s Homicide Unit launched an investigation into Nickeisha’s murder. Detectives revealed a chilling detail: her body had been covered by a heavy layer of mulch. They appealed to the public for anyone who might remember seeing someone acting strangely while buying mulch or seeing a car similar to the Hyundai Sonata around the time Nickeisha vanished. "It may not be the person but if there’s that one in a million chance make that call,” Detective David Gregory urged. Police did not name Nickeisha's boyfriend as a suspect or release any other suspect information.

The loss devastated Nickeisha's mother. "She’s gone, I don’t have nothing left," Keiana Rogers said in an interview. "Just knowing that somebody would take her life and just throw her away like she is garbage is painful... I just hope that every time they close they eyes they see her." In the wake of her daughter's unsolved murder, Rogers became an advocate against violence, attending rallies and working to support young people to steer them away from street life. A GoFundMe page was established to help the family with funeral expenses.

As of January 2019, the investigation into Nickeisha Holloman's homicide is ongoing. Her killer has not been found, and her family continues to wait for justice. A reward of $2,500 is offered for information that leads to an arrest in the case. The Cincinnati Police Department asks anyone with information to call the Criminal Investigation Section at 513-352-3542 or Crime Stoppers at 513-352-3040. Callers can remain anonymous.