DNA evidence leads to arrest in 2011 Camden cold case

CAMDEN, N.J. (WPHL) — DNA evidence has led to an arrest in a cold case that has been active since 2011.

According to the Camden County Prosecutors’ Office, 46-year-old Kenyar Hill has been arrested and charged with First-Degree Murder for a fatal stabbing in 2011 that killed a 42-year-old man.

On October 11, 2011, Camden Police were dispatched to an abandoned house on the 500 block of Mechanic Street in Camden for a stabbing.

First responders entered the house and located 42-year-old Brian Holden, lying in the front room with multiple stab wounds.

He was transported to Cooper University Hospital, where he was ultimately pronounced deceased.

During the investigation, detectives interviewed the victim’s girlfriend, who told them that she had met with the suspect and agreed to have sexual intercourse for money.

After the encounter, she argued with the suspect, and he took his money back.

This is when she yelled for Holden to come into the room, and when Hill stabbed him.

The victim’s girlfriend was transported to a hospital, and potential DNA evidence was collected during a sexual assault forensic examination.

That evidence was later submitted to the New Jersey State Police laboratory, but no DNA matches were found at the time.

In 2022, the laboratory notified police that Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) results identified Hill as a “high stringency match” for the DNA profile generated.

In 2023, detectives collected a buccal swab from Hill and submitted it to the laboratory for testing in conjunction with swabs from the sexual assault forensic examination.

It was later confirmed that Hill was the source of the DNA on both swabs.

On June 27, Hill was arrested by the U.S. Marshal Service, New York/New Jersey
Regional Fugitive Task Force and was remanded to the Camden County Correctional Facility, where he is being charged with First-Degree Murder.

“Ultimately, after years of investigative effort, Kenyar Hill was charged for the death of Brian Holden.”, the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office said.

Anyone with additional information is asked to contact Sergeant Kevin Courtney of the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office at (856) 225-8632. Tips may also be sent to CAMDEN.TIPS.