A San Diego County judge has sentenced a 42-year-old California man to 216 years in prison for the 2023 strangulation and dragging death of a 59-year-old man, prosecutors announced.
Kenneth McNally Jr. was convicted by a jury earlier this year on multiple charges, including first-degree murder, shooting at an inhabited structure or vehicle, assault by means likely to produce great bodily injury, and two counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm.
The murder took place on Sept. 3, 2023, on a six-acre property in Harbison Canyon, a rural community located about 25 miles east of San Diego. According to the San Diego District Attorney’s Office, McNally had been staying off and on in a trailer on the property. On the day of the killing, witnesses reported that McNally was aggressively demanding rides from other residents while attempting to hide a weapon inside his jacket.
Later that day, deputies from the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office responded to reports of a suspicious death. Investigators ultimately discovered the body of the victim, Samuel Holthaus, buried in a shallow grave after a witness spotted the top of the victim’s head sticking out of the dirt.
Authorities found an extension cord wrapped around Holthaus’ neck and a gunshot wound to the side of his face. Holthaus’ truck was parked near the grave with blood covering the driver-side door. Detectives also tracked drag marks from the truck to an area containing coagulated blood and a pile of burned trash.
During the investigation, multiple witnesses provided details that linked McNally to the crime. One witness told law enforcement that McNally confessed to killing Holthaus and dragging him down a hill with a noose around his neck. A second witness stated that McNally made a similar confession to her and was seen driving the victim’s truck erratically before parking it near the gravesite.
Months later, a third witness came forward and told authorities he saw McNally shoot Holthaus. The witness stated that McNally then tied an electrical cord around the victim’s neck, attached the other end to Holthaus’ truck, and drove the vehicle 329 feet, dragging Holthaus by the neck to the spot where he was buried.
On Sept. 6, 2023, deputies located McNally at a motel in El Cajon. He was in possession of a bag of bloody clothing. While most of the DNA on the clothes belonged to McNally, forensic testing confirmed that a red stain on his pant leg matched Holthaus’ DNA.
In addition to the murder, the jury found McNally guilty of a string of violent incidents that occurred on the Harbison Canyon property in the weeks leading up to the homicide. These prior acts included threatening an individual with a handgun, firing multiple rounds into a van driven by another man, and strangling his own roommate until a bystander intervened.
“This was an extraordinarily violent and disturbing case involving a defendant who terrorized multiple victims before committing a cold-blooded murder and attempting to conceal the crime,” San Diego District Attorney Summer Stephan said in a statement following the sentencing. “Because of the courageous witnesses who came forward, and the relentless work of law enforcement and prosecution team…this dangerous defendant is being held fully accountable for his heinous crimes.”
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