In a recent ruling, 28-year-old Michael Andrew Novak of Bandera received a 50-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to two counts of murder. The charges stem from an incident that unfolded last July when authorities discovered the lifeless bodies of Novak's mother, Crystal Holder, and her partner, Rick Biering, in their home on Wharton's Dock Road.
Upon Novak's arrest, he was booked and held at the Bandera County Jail on a $1,000,000 bond. The Bandera County Chief Deputy, Matt King, revealed that both victims were found in the master bedroom, their bodies showing signs of decomposition and substantial trauma to their heads. Novak, who reportedly grapples with depression and emotional issues, was located in another room within the residence.
The guilty plea was entered in a Kerrville courtroom before 198th Judicial District Judge M. Patrick Maguire, concluding a tragic chapter in the Bandera community.
