Who killed Vern Holbrook and where are they now? Whereabouts explored ahead of NBC Dateline

Yakima Country real estate agent Vern Holbrook died eight months after he was brutally attacked during one of his property showings in Cowiche, Washington. According to reports, potential customers Luis Gomez-Monges and Adriana Mendes were responsible for the attack on the victim that left him brain dead.

The investigation later revealed that Holbrook's long-time colleague Daniel Blizzard offered the couple $10,000 plus a $20,000 bonus, which they accepted owing to their deteriorating financial situation and Gomez-Monges' possible deportation.The couple was asked to pretend to be interested property buyers and murder the real estate agent.

As NBC's June 11, 2022, Dateline episode prepares to discuss Vern Holbrook's murder story with Josh Mankiewicz rebroadcasting an episode titled Secrets at the Sunshine Motel, let's discuss the whereabouts of those found guilty in the challenging murder case.

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Exploring the whereabouts of those found guilty of murdering Vern Holbrook

In 2014, Luis Gomez-Monges and Daniel Blizzard were sentenced to 28 and 39 years in prison, respectively, on the murder charges of renowned Washington-based real estate agent Vern Holbrook. Reportedly, the investigation started off when the police discovered Holbrook's phone records, leading them directly to the 24-year-old mother of three children, Adriana Mendez.

Although Mendez first denied being at the murder site, after being confronted with the victim's call logs, she subsequently acknowledged that her then-boyfriend attacked the 79-year-old agent at the Cowiche property during the house tour. When the police questioned Gomez-Monges, who informed them about Blizzard, they realised the latter's involvement in the attempted murder case.

The investigation also revealed that the two had connected via Holbrook's ex-daughter-in-law Jill Taylor, who was then dating Daniel. As investigators tried to build an attempted murder case against those mentioned, eight months after the attack, Vern Holbrook succumbed to his head injuries, which led them to press murder charges against those involved.

Regardless of facing several challenges, delays, and obstructions, the presecutors built a solid case against Blizzard and Gomez-Monges. The trial ended with the former being sentenced to prison for 39 years and the latter, who already had a long criminal history, for 28 years.

Meanwhile, Mendez, after pleading guilty to assault and providing assistance to the criminals, was sentenced to a year in prison and Jill walked away without facing any consequences as the charges against her were eventually dropped.

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Why was Vern Holbrook murdered?

The investigation led authorities to believe that Daniel Blizzard was the mastermind of the 2013 attack on Vern Holbrook, pulling all the strings. It was revealed that Blizzard paid Adriana Mendez and Luis Gomez-Monges thousands of dollars to act as potential property buyers and launch an attack on the victim.

Reportedly, Holbrook had pulled out of a deal with his long-time colleague Blizzard to sell him Aspen Real Estate. Reports also state that although the former had his doubts, he let Daniel acquire a $1.58 million life insurance policy on him as part of the acquisition agreement. But the contract eventually fell apart due to failed payments from the accused's part, leading to Holbrook taking the agency back from him 16 months after the deal was initially struck.

Although it was difficult to connect Blizzard to the case, his text messages with Gomez-Monges gave him away and was thus charged with first-degree murder in Vern Holbrook's case.

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Catch the complete story on NBC's upcoming Dateline episode on June 11, 2022.