ELGIN, Okla. — The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation has now officially opened a formal probe into the death of Holly Hill, a 30-year-old teacher, wife, and mother from Elgin, whose life was devastated after ingesting what investigators believe was a poisoned margarita back in 2023. The case resurfaced in tragic fashion when Hill passed away Thursday, prompting renewed questions, grief, and calls for justice.
Hill’s family says her ordeal began on Valentine’s Day of 2023. She had gone to Hacienda Las Margaritas Bar & Grill in Elgin, enjoying dinner with loved ones. During the evening, she ordered a second margarita — one that, unbeknownst to her, allegedly contained not cocktail ingredients but a highly caustic industrial cleaning chemical. Within moments, she cried out that “her mouth was on fire,” rushed to the restroom, and began vomiting and rinsing her mouth with water — signs, her mother Kelly Hunter recounts, that something was deeply wrong.
What followed over the next two years was a harrowing medical journey. The caustic ingestion inflicted severe internal burns on Hill’s esophagus and digestive tract. Doctors performed over 60 procedures, including repeated esophageal dilations and surgeries, in desperate attempts to repair the damage. Always determined, Holly continued teaching at Elgin Public Schools through much of her decline — beloved by colleagues and students alike for her devotion and spirit.
Just days before her death, Hill’s family believed they were finally seeing green shoots of recovery. On October 17, doctors reportedly informed them that her esophagus was showing healing signs. But suddenly, her condition collapsed. As the medical team prepared her transfer to another facility, she went into cardiac arrest, and they were unable to revive her. “They lost her pulse as they were trying to get her ready to transport,” Hunter said.
Earlier this year, Hill’s family had filed a civil lawsuit against Hacienda Las Margaritas. That case, according to their attorney, was quietly settled under nondisclosure terms. Now, with Holly gone, the family is demanding public accountability, hoping people will stop supporting the restaurant and push for answers. “They took my daughter’s life,” Hunter says. “This fight might have dragged on—but they are the cause.”
To date, the restaurant has not issued a new statement following Hill’s passing. In a social media post from 2023, management claimed they “never walked away from responsibility” and pledged to support the family through the insurance process. Local officials confirm that Elgin Police requested OSBI assistance after Hill’s death — OSBI is now reviewing all evidence tied to both the original 2023 incident and the recent sudden death.
Elgin Public Schools released a short statement expressing profound sorrow, calling Hill “an Owl through and through” and asking the community to hold her family in their hearts. Holly leaves behind her husband, young child, and a tight-knit community still struggling to reconcile how a night out could turn so tragically wrong.
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