Attorney General Peter F. Kilmartin announced that on Monday, Daniel Serrano, age 67, with a last known address of 339 Oakland Avenue, Providence pleaded nolo contendere before Superior Court Justice Kristin E. Rodgers to second degree murder for the 1990 murder of 32-year-old Michael Holliday.
Under the terms of the plea agreement, Serrano was sentenced to 30 years to serve. Had the case proceeded to trial, the State was prepared to prove that in February of 1990, Serrano beat Holliday to death. A workman later found Holliday's body in a vacant apartment on Somerset Street in Providence. The case remained unsolved until Serrano confessed to Providence detectives on December 27, 2013.
"This murder was truly senseless. Michael Holiday brutally lost his life for no reason other than that he was in the wrong place at the wrong time," said Attorney General Peter F. Kilmartin. "Hopefully this will bring a measure of closure to Michael Holliday's family."
Providence Police Detective Kenneth Court led the investigation. Assistant Attorney General J. Patrick Youngs and Special Assistant Special Assistant Attorney General Meghan McDonough prosecuted the case on behalf of the Office of Attorney General.