A repeat offender involved in the murder and home invasion of a Rhodes College student in 2021 has pleaded guilty and been sentenced to prison.
Rainess Holmes, aged 40, admitted to second-degree murder and will serve a 20-year prison term in full, along with an additional nine years for three burglary incidents.
Holmes, a habitual criminal with a history of charges since 2005, was part of a group of four individuals who unlawfully entered a Memphis residence where several college students, including 22-year-old senior Andrew “Drew” Rainer, resided. The break-in occurred on October 3, 2021, at 5:40 a.m., according to Shelby County court documents.
The surviving residents told Memphis police that four men with hoodies drawn over their faces kicked in their door and demanded the students’ electronics.
A memorial fund created in Rainer’s name called “Live Like Drew” says he “loved with great intensity, and showed enormous courage and self-sacrifice.” (Live Like Drew)
“One arrest has been made relative to this homicide,” Major Webb Kirkdoffer of the Memphis Police Department’s Homicide Bureau said in a statement. “However, investigators still need the public’s help identifying additional individuals who are responsible for Rainer’s murder.”
A memorial fund created in Rainer’s name called “Live Like Drew” says he “loved with great intensity, and showed enormous courage and self-sacrifice.” He was also an accomplished musician who played in an 80s rock band, an avid reader, an Eagle Scout, and a devoted member of the Catholic Church, according to his obituary.
“Drew was a loving son, brother, nephew, cousin and friend. He was a kind, cheerful, intelligent and outgoing young man, who was loved by his friends,” his obituary said.
