2nd woman found dead inside a local firefighter’s home, 2 families want more answers
By Lauren Trager
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ST. LOUIS, Missouri (KMOV) — A 39-year-old woman was found dead in Frontenac Saturday in what investigators have called a sudden death.
Sarah Kathleen Sweeney was a local doctor. She was found inside a home belonging to a firefighter, a man who has connections to another story that First Alert 4 Investigates dug into two years ago.
In 2021, First Alert 4 Investigates exposed questions about Grace Holland’s death. She died from a single gunshot wound to the head. Creve Coeur police had ruled her death a suicide. But Grace’s family was—and still is—concerned by how the investigation was handled. In part, they say, because Grace’s fiancé is a captain in a neighboring fire department.
Now, Saturday, another death inside that same person’s home, this time on Conway in Frontenac.
Police told First Alert 4 Investigates that they were called at around 6:45 a.m. and found a 39-year-old female deceased inside. They’ve classified it as a sudden death only.
According to officials, there were no obvious signs of injury or struggle. The medical examiner’s office said they will need toxicology results and other investigation tools to determine the cause of death.
Grace’s family learned about it shortly afterward, raising many more questions.
An attorney for Grace Holland’s family, Javad Khazaeli, sent First Alert Four a statement saying: “We are saddened to learn of another death, especially of such a young person. We hope that the Frontenac Police do what the Creve Coeur Police and the County Medical Examiner didn’t do in the past and fully investigate this tragedy.”
First Alert 4 spoke with some of Sweeney’s family members, who said they were not aware of any life-threatening medical condition or any immediate reason for her sudden death. But they also said they had not spoken to her in two years, even though they said they had tried to raise their concerns about Grace’s death.
One of their last text messages to Sweeney, they say, was to tell her to get away from that firefighter. We have attempted to reach him and an attorney who previously represented him, but we have not yet heard back.
First Alert 4 is choosing not to name him at this time. A spokesperson for the St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office told First Alert 4 Investigates they are still reviewing Grace’s case.
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