‘Baby Holly Marie’ recalls breaking down in tears the first time she saw a photo of her murdered parents 40 years after she was abducted – as police investigating killings insist cold case is ‘still solvable’ four decades on

The woman known as Baby Holly, who went unidentified for 40 years after her parents were murdered in 1981, has opened up about the first time she saw an image of her murdered mother and father.

Holly Miller, now 42, only discovered in early 2022 that her biological parents were Harold Dean Clouse, then 21, and Tina Clouse, then 17.

Detectives from the Cold Case and Missing Persons Unit showed up unannounced at the Oklahoma restaurant where she worked to reveal that her biological family had been desperately searching for her since the couple was slaughtered.

The officers showed Holly a snapshot of the Clouses with baby Holly on their laps, causing the now mother-of-five to burst into tears.

Detectives from the Cold Case and Missing Persons Unit showed up unannounced at the Oklahoma restaurant where she worked

‘I was in shock, I couldn’t move. All I could do was cry and look at my parents. I finally had faces,” said Holly, who was adopted as a baby and raised by a pastor People.

She said the unexpected meeting marked the conclusion of her efforts to discover the identity of her biological parents, which in itself opened the door to a slew of other relatives.

“I had a family that had prayed and looked for me and wanted to know me, wanted to find me,” she said.

Holly was raised by Philip McGoldrick – the pastor of a Seventh-day Adventist church in Yuma, Arizona – who was already married and had a daughter.

He explained how three women dressed in white robes came to church with baby Holly in their arms, claiming they could not raise her because of their nomadic lifestyle.

“They convinced me they were going to give this baby away to someone,” the pastor said. “I was glad they found a place where it was safe to leave her.”

Police believe mum Tina was among the group who also handed over Holly’s birth certificate and a note from Dean giving up his parental rights.

Tragically, the Clouses’ remains were found in January 1981 in a wooded area of ​​Houston, Texas, after a local man’s Alsatian picked up a human arm.

Holly Miller, now 42, only discovered in early 2022 that her biological parents were Harold Dean Clouse, then 21, and Tina Clouse, then 17

Holly was raised by Philip McGoldrick – the pastor of a Seventh-day Adventist church in Yuma, Arizona – who was already married and had a daughter

Both bodies were found tied up, with the female victim determined to have died from asphyxiation and the male victim from blunt force trauma to the head.

Investigators believe the location of the bodies and the manner in which they were killed indicate they likely knew the killers.

The couple remained anonymous until a breakthrough in genetic analysis of the cold case linked Dean to his family in October 2021, identifying his wife Tina.

When the family heard that their loved ones had been found, more than 40 years after they disappeared, they immediately asked if police had any clues about what happened to the couple’s baby.

Eventually, detectives arrested Holly, who lived with her own family in Oklahoma.

She told the publication: ‘It was difficult to find out more about their murders and about the tragedy.’

Tragically, the Clouses’ remains were found in January 1981 in a wooded area (pictured) of Houston, Texas, after a local man’s Alsatian picked up a human arm.

Police believe mother Tina was among the group who also handed over Holly’s birth certificate and a note from Dean giving up his parental rights

Earlier this month, Holly sat down with us ABC’s David Muir as she spoke out for the first time since discovering her identity.

She revealed that she believes the Christ Family cult, which her parents joined in the early 1980s, was linked to their deaths.

“I really believe they were trying to leave the cult. That they left when they were killed. I really believe that,” Holly said.

She believes her parents ‘knew too much’ and that is why they were murdered.

“I really feel like they got to a point where they had doubts and wanted to get away from the cult, and got killed in the process.”

The Christ Family religious group was led by charismatic leader Charles McHugh, known at the time to his followers as Lightening Amen.

McHugh had criminal convictions, including on drug charges, and was charged with three felony counts of molesting a child, one of which he pleaded guilty to.

He died in 2010.

Surviving cult members denied to ABC that the group had anything to do with the killings and no charges have been filed.