Two in Custody in South Florida in Connection With Couple’s Murder in Alabama

An illegally parked car on Miami Beach and a crash in Hollywood led to the arrests of two people in connection with a double murder in Alabama, officials said.

Police say the car belonging to Mary and Joe Holt, who were found dead in a home in Birmingham last week, was discovered illegally parked on a roundabout in the 100 block of South Pointe Drive in Miami Beach Thursday night.

The officer who found the 2012 Honda Civic checked the tag and discovered that it had been reported stolen the same day the couple was found dead, according to an arrest report.

As the officer was at the scene, 30-year-old Kristen Guillon quickly entered the car and tried to drive away but was stopped, the report said. Guillon told the officer it was her friend's car and "in situations like this her father told her to keep her mouth shut," according to the report.

Guillon was taken into custody on a grand theft charge and was being held without bond Friday on a warrant from Alabama, the report said.

On Friday afternoon, Hollywood Police confirmed they took a second suspect in the case, 23-year-old Zachary Phillips, into custody in the area of N. Dixie Highway and Roosevelt Street.

Police said Phillips was in a car that was reported stolen out of Miami Beach, and officers were able to use the department's license plate readers to find the car.

When officers tried to stop the car, the driver, Vivian De La Rosa Toniana, tried to flee but crashed into some parked cars, officials said. Phillips tried to flee on foot but was taken into custody nearby, officials said.

Birmingham Police said the bodies of Mary Holt, 67, and Joe Holt, 68, were discovered in a home on Aug. 2.

Police said officers responding to a report of a child alone on the street found a toddler wearing bloodstained clothes. The child was uninjured and led officers to the home where the couple's bodies were found.