- Nathanael Holzapfel granted parole to start April 2028, pending therapy completion.
- Parole extends past state guidelines due to his crimes showing extreme cruelty and having multiple victims.
- Victims oppose release, saying Holzapfel lacks empathy.
SALT LAKE CITY — Nathanael "Nate" Reid Holzapfel has been granted parole from the Utah State Prison, but not for another almost three years.
The Utah Board of Pardons and Parole has voted to parole Holzapfel starting on April 4, 2028. His parole date is contingent on him completing cognitive behavior therapy classes while incarcerated, which "includes at a minimum Moral Reconation Therapy or its equivalent," the board said in its decision.
Prosecutors say Holzapfel, now 46, would target women on dating apps and, after investigating their financial situations, hone in on women who were "vulnerable," such as those who recently lost a loved one and were left with insurance money. He then defrauded them.
The 2028 release date is longer than the recommended guidelines established by the Utah Sentencing Commission, which are not binding. The board noted the aggravating factors that weighed in its decision include the fact that Holzapfel's crimes were "characterized by extreme cruelty or depravity that is greater than similar offenses within the same sentencing guideline crime category," and because there were multiple victims.
"The victims express significant impact — financially, emotionally or physically — and do not support release," the board also noted.
Holzapfel pleaded guilty on June 21, 2023, to three counts of communications fraud, a second-degree felony, and three counts of sexual battery, a class A misdemeanor, in a plea deal that took into account eight different criminal cases. In exchange, 17 other criminal charges against him were dismissed.
But just two months later, 4th District Judge Thomas Low unexpectedly rejected the plea deal in which Holzapfel would have avoided serving prison time and instead sentenced him to a term of one to 15 years in prison for the communications fraud, and three one-year terms for the sexual battery convictions. The sentences were ordered to run concurrently.
During his original parole hearing in June, Holzapfel told the board that while he doesn't agree with all the facts in his case, "I honor people's experiences and validate their feelings and take full responsibility." Holzapfel, who seemed to speak effortlessly during the hearing, said he now realizes that he's gone through most of his life without empathy, which he says he can no longer do.
But four of the eight women he victimized also addressed the board and accused Holzapfel of using "confusing, manipulative sweet talk" to try to influence the board.
"It's hypnotic how he can speak, and he knows exactly what to say," one woman told the board.
"He doesn't have empathy. I know this truth. He will offend again. This isn't about a single moment of bad judgment; this is a person who preys on people … without any remorse," another woman told the board.
