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Lanny Horwitz was a real estate mogul who turned out to be a victim of a brutal murder. He was found lying dead in the bathroom in his Jupiter, Florida house, on September 30, 2011.
Initially, authorities believed it to be a suicide due to the scene's setup and comments made by his ex-wife Donna Horwitz. However, further investigation revealed Lanny had been shot nine times, one of which was to his mouth.
The investigation indicated it was a troubled household with financial disputes, and personal grudges. At the time of the shooting, only Donna Horwitz and her son Radley were in the house. Both had motives for the shooting, but the investigators zeroed in on Donna by finding diary entries indicating anger and jealousy.
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Donna was found guilty of murdering Lanny Horwitz and received a life sentence, which was later reduced to 32 years. The case will be covered on Snapped season 35 episode 4, titled Donna Horwitz, airing on January 26, 2025, on Oxygen.
Lanny Horwitz and Donna's marriage
According to CBS News, Lanny and Donna Horwitz entered a relationship as high school sweethearts in Buffalo, New York, during the late 1960s. They reportedly married in 1967, but they separated and reconciled numerous times.
According to CBS News, they divorced the first time in May 2001, remarried in September, and divorced again in June 2002. Family members reported that Donna frequently went back to Lanny whenever she was financially broke.
According to Oxygen, Lanny Horwitz's cousin Linda Freeman said, "When she ran out of money, she came back to Lanny". According to CBS News, by April 2011, they had reconciled again and moved back into their home with their son Radley. Donna was hopeful about this reconciliation as she wrote in her journal, affectionately referring to Lanny as "Lanbo" and writing about her happiness.
CBS News reported that over time, Donna became jealous of Lanny Horwitz's friendship with Francine Tice, a business associate. In the diary that she had, she called him "Mr. Meany" and wrote how mad she was about how he treated her.
The murder of Lanny Horwitz
According to Oxygen, on September 30, 2011, he was shot dead in the night in his Florida home. He was found with multiple gunshot wounds, and it was suspected that he was killed. At the time of the incident, Donna and Radley were in the house. Donna claimed she did not hear anything suspicious, but Radley said that he was asleep and heard gunfire.
This raised suspicion of Donna's role in the murder. According to Oxygen, the inquiry further established that Lanny was planning a trip to North Carolina with Francine Tice, his business associate whom he had grown close to. According to legal records, Donna documented her jealousy of this relationship in her journal before the murder.
She wrote about her anger due to Lanny's interactions with Tice. The entries were used as evidence against her because they indicated a motive for the murder. According to CBS News, detectives found that Lanny Horwitz had been shot nine times, when he was getting out of the shower.
The scene was reportedly filled with blood everywhere, making it hard for the investigators to find out what had happened. According to Oxygen, as the evidence against her grew, authorities apprehended Donna within a week of Lanny's murder.
Legal investigations against Donna Horwitz
According to legal documents, Donna was arrested one week after Lanny Horwitz's murder, based on circumstantial evidence and her journal entries. According to Oxygen, at her January 2013 trial, the prosecution portrayed her as a vengeful ex-wife who could not accept that Lanny was in a new relationship.
According to CBS News, the accused tried to shift the blame to Radley as he might have killed his father to collect the amount of life insurance policies in his father's name.
According to CBS 12, in 2013, Donna was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison. According to AP News, her conviction faced challenges over the years. In subsequent appeals, aspects of her trial were scrutinized, leading to an overturned conviction and a retrial where she was convicted again but on lesser charges.
The case of Lanny Horwitz’s death will be explored on Snapped on Oxygen.
