KARINA HOLMER

Status:

Open

Jurisdiction:

Boston Police Department Suffolk County District Attorney (MA)

Offense Location:

Boston, Massachusetts

Summary:

Karina Erika Holmer was born on September 7, 1975, in Jönköpings län, Sweden. Her torso was found in a trash bin in the Boston neighborhood of Back Bay, June 24 and identified by relatives Monday, June 25 1996, the rest of the mutilated body have not yet been discovered. The Karina Holmer case has always been considered active and ongoing by prosecutors and investigators and always will be until her killer is identified and brought to justice.

Vital Statistics

Circumstances of Offense:

On June 21, 1996, Holmer went out to Zanzibar, a popular nightclub at Boylston Place next to the Boston Common. It was a Friday night, and Holmer and her friends were celebrating the summer solstice. She was wearing shiny black tight fitting pants, a silver colored shirt, and was carrying a small backpack-like purse. Holmer was last seen alive around 3:20 a.m. Saturday in the area of Tremont Street and Boylston Place. She was reported missing later that day. On Sunday afternoon, June 23, someone made a horrific discovery: the top half of Holmer's body was found in a dumpster behind a building at 1091 Boylston St., in an alley that faced Ipswich Street. Police believed that Holmer had been strangled and then cut in half at the waist, possibly with a saw. The part of her body that was discovered was in pristine condition; there was no dirt or anything of the sort found on her body and the face of makeup she usually wore out had been scrubbed off. The lower half of her body was never found.

Additional Details:

Holmer arrived in the United States in March 1996 and had been working as a nanny for Frank Rapp, a photographer, and his wife, Susan Nichter. When she wasn't watching their children at their home in Dover, Holmer on some weekends would sleep at Rapp's studio at 327 A St. Holmer had told her friends that she wanted to return home to Sweden that August because she was unhappy here. The Globe reported that Holmer had written an ominous letter to her friend Ulrika Svensson. She wrote to me and said: 'Something terrible has happened. I cannot tell you right now what it is. The Globe reported that much of the police investigation focused on patrons of the nightclub where Holmer was last seen. But investigators were stymied, and they had no crime scene. Investigation of the bag she'd been found in uncovered a partial fingerprint which was lifted. This print has never been identified, and has never led to a solid lead on a suspect in the murder. Suspicion soon turned toward Karina's employer, Frank Rapp. They were also able to find solid alibis for the couple. One of the most intriguing leads in the case was Karina's encounter with a man named Herb Whitten. He was spotted walking his dog near the bar, about 40 minutes from her residence. What made him stand out was both he and his dog were wearing matching Superman T-shirts. While he admitted to speaking with her, he also stated that he had gone home afterward. The police later confirmed that his speeding ticket matched the timeline he provided. As a result, he was cleared of any involvement in Karina's death. Another person of interest police took a close look at was John Zewizz, the front man for the occult band called Sleep Chamber. There's no known connection between Holmer and Zewizz, but her body was found in the neighborhood where he lived. His shows at the time resembled a black mass and incorporated bondage masks, S&M imagery and dancers who performed fetish acts on stage.

Case Last Updated:

Jul 20, 2026