Murder trial begins without body of missing Sanford woman

SANFORD, N.C. — The murder trial for a man charged in connection with the death of a missing Sanford woman began Monday, even though the victim's body has never been found.

Police said Linda Darlene Holder Watts was walking from her job at The Sanford Herald on May 11, 2004, when someone saw two men force her into a vehicle near McIver and Jenkins streets. Investigators found some of her belongings and a pool of blood nearby.

Eric Quick, 37, was arrested in February 2006 in Detroit, on charges, including, first-degree kidnapping , rape and murder, in connection with her disappearance.

Evidence in the case has not been made public, and both families and friends of both the victim and Quick expect the trial to provide new information about the case.

"To me, I'm thinking why (has the investigation) been going on so long? Because they are trying to gain evidence. You can't gain nothing that you don't got," said Eric Quick's brother, Franklin Quick.

For Watts' family, they say the trial offers a piece of closure to for them.

"It's not something I want to hear," said Watts' daughter, Casey Holder. "But it is something we're ready for, because we want it to be over."