Who was Lawrence T. Horn? ID's Shattered revisits triple murder by Motown producer

ID's Shattered is ready to revisit the gruesome triple murder by Lawrence T. Horn, a Motown technician, who hired a hitman to kill his wife, their nurse, and their paralyzed son in March 1993 for $1.7 to $2.0 million of insurance money that Lawrence Horn's son Trevor had received due to his mistreatment causing quadriplegia.

Lawrence was divorced from his wife, Mildred, and had three children when the incident took place. Mildred's sister found her and their nurse, Janice, shot multiple times. Trevor was also allegedly found suffocated to death. Though Lawrence T. Horn was living in California at the time and had a tight alibi, authorities finally caught up to him and theorized that he hired a hitman to kill his wife, child, and their nurse for financial gain.

Lawrence was found guilty of three counts of first-degree murder and murder conspiracy in 1996. He was sentenced to life in prison, where he died in February 2017.

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Who was Lawrence T. Horn and what did he do?

Lawrence T. Horn was an African-American musician, record producer, and sound technician. Born in 1939, Lawrence worked in the navy before he joined Motown Records as a technician in 1962. He quickly made a name for himself in the arena, often working with some of the most popular artists of the time. He left Motown in 1962 and rejoined in 1983, working various gigs in between.

He married Mildred in 1973 and had a daughter a year later. The couple had a rough relationship with lots of ups and downs that ultimately ended in divorce in 1987. The couple had twins, Trevor and Tamielle, in 1984, despite ongoing divorce proceedings. After their divorce, the couple was awarded joint custody.

He was also let go from Motown in 1990. He continued doing freelance work after this.

Their son Trevor had quadriplegia after a surgical procedure went wrong in 1985. Mildred and the family received a hefty lawsuit settlement amount from the children's hospital, with which Mildred bought a new house and a dedicated wing for Trevor's care. Midred also hired a nurse called Janice to take care of Trevor.

On the morning of March 3, 1993, Mildred's sister found Janice, Mildred, and Trevor dead at their Montgomery home. Mildred and Janice were shot multiple times while Trevor was suffocated. Authorities alleged that the murder took place the night before. They also theorized that Lawrence T. Horn stood to gain from their deaths as he would supposedly get the entire settlement amount.

However, Lawrence was in California at the time and no evidence linked him to the murders.

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Where is Lawrence T. Horn now?

According to reports, the police were certain of Lawrence's crime but could not build a case against him immediately. To make his alibi airtight, Lawrence had recorded himself in his apartment on the night of the murder, which seemed odd to the investigators.

They eventually connected Lawrence T. Horn to a street preacher and criminal James Perry, who he allegedly hired to kill his wife, son, and the nurse after Lawrence met him through his cousin. While surveilling both men, the FBI found that there were constant phone calls between Perry and Lawrence, with the former demanding money.

This led them to arrest both the suspects. Lawrence T. Horn and James Perry were both charged with three counts of first-degree murder.

Lawrence was sent to prison in 1996 after the jury deliberated for seven hours. He was sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole. He died there in February 2017. He was 77 years old at the time.

ID's Shattered airs every Wednesday at 10 pm EST.