Shortly after moving to Los Angeles, Sandra Lawrence became romantically involved with a married man. The man repeatedly told Lawrence he was going to divorce his wife and marry her. When he failed to follow through with any of these promises, Lawrence terminated the relationship in late 1970. A few months later, the man showed up unexpectedly at Lawrence’s 24th birthday party and told her he had had a change of heart and was ready to leave his wife for her.
They spent the rest of the weekend together, reaffirmed their love for each other and made plans for the future. A few hours after he left on Monday, the man telephoned Lawrence and told her he could not go through with it. Lawrence became enraged, armed herself with a potato peeler and a pistol, and sought out the man’s wife. She found her. They had a violent physical struggle, which ended when Lawrence shot and stabbed the woman numerous times, killing her. Lawrence fled California and remained a fugitive for 11 years.
