A medical settlement tied to a tragic family murder | Forensic Files

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[Music] our episodes deal with serious and often distressing incidents if you feel at
anytime you need support please contact your local crisis center for suggested phone numbers for confidential support
please see the show notes for this episode on your app or on our website today's episode deals with a crime
committed against the child that won't be suitable for all listeners on the evening of March 2 1993 43
year-old Mildred horn known by friends as Millie found herself in a predicament a senior flight attendant with American
Airlines Millie was roasted on flight 731 to San Juan departing the following morning at 807 from baltimore-washington
International Airport due to her early start the single mother needed others to look
after her children there wasn't an issue for her eldest daughter 18 year old Tiffany a freshman
living on campus at Howard University in Washington DC it was Millie's eight year old twins
Tammy ole and Trevor who required a sitter Millie was able to send Tammy ole to spend the night at her mother's
however tamils twin brother Trevor was unable to stay elsewhere severely physically and intellectually disabled
Trevor required around-the-clock care he could barely see hear or speak and was often bedridden suffering from
underdeveloped lungs he breathed through a tracheostomy tube receiving oxygen and
humidification via tubing that ran from a portable oxygen tank when he went to school Trevor was accompanied by a nurse
who monitored his oxygen at all times described as a cheerful and happy youngster Trevor was making exceptional
progress in class he had mastered a few words in sign language and enjoyed his physical education class and playing
games with friends when it came to Trevor Milly was described as a super mom a formidable
and extraordinary mother she devoted herself to ensuring her son received the very best of care
and showered him with unconditional love the pair were often seen at Nobel merely
gently pushing Trevor along in his wheelchair or driving him around in her specially modified chevrolet astro
minivan during Halloween Milly would help dress Trevor up as his favorite fictional
character the free-spirited into mischievous Peter Pan Trevor loved visiting relatives who dubbed him tricky
Trev his cheeky laugh that carried throughout the house bringing joy to all those who heard he inherited a love for
music and clearly had his favorite tunes reacting with delight when they were played the devotion and dedication of
his mother siblings and extended family towards Trev was to those who witnessed it totally beautiful
despite doctors believing such an achievement would be impossible Trevor was able to vocalize some words and had
developed his own special language l referred to his twin sister Tammy of Lala meant I love you during the night
Trevor relied on a life-support machine to assist his breathing as he swiped a constant vigilance and monitoring of
these machines was crucial as they were responsible for keeping Trevor alive the
nurse rusted on to supervise Trevor the evening of March 2 1993 called up unwell
and was unable to stay over Milly couldn't stay up watching over her son as she needed to rest in preparation for
her flight the following morning Milly sister Vivian was always more than happy to look after her nephew however on this
occasion Vivian reluctantly declined as she too had worked the following day Millie contacted another one of Trevor's
nurses 38 year-old Janice Saunders that night Janice was home with her husband Michael into their five-year-old son
when she received the call from Milly Janice understood that the mother's dilemma having worked for the horns for
five years Janice developed a strong fondness of young Trevor she graciously agreed to
step in at the last minute and watched Trevor over the night of March 2 to 3 to ensure both child and mother slept well
to help a storm throughout the late hours Janice took with her some needlework she recently started across
stitch pattern titled the parade demahjay was by artist Pete Buckley Moss whose work Janice discovered years
earlier and instantly loved so much so that this was the fifth cross stitch of her art Janice created it showed a boy
pulling a wagon carrying a girl and her collection of black kittens Janice had only gotten so far as stitching the
boy's hat and hoped to make significant progress on her project whilst watching over sleeping Trevor
it was around 7:15 the following morning of March 3 when Vivian drove to her sister's white two-story brick house on
the leafy suburban Northgate Drive it was only a short trip as Vivian lived only a few doors down from Milly the
pair resided in the world to do area of Silver Spring in the coastal state of Maryland on America's East Coast
as merely would have already left for work Vivian knew the only ones home would be her nephew Trevor and his nurse
Janice Saunders Janice was due to finish a 10-hour night shift at 8:00 a.m. grateful the nurse took the shift on
such short notice Vivian was keen to ensure Janice left on time and didn't have to stay longer than
expected Vivian pulled up at the front of her sister's house she immediately noticed
the garage door was wide open with nobody inside Millie's minivan was missing Vivian had never known her
sister to leave the garage open when she wasn't home upon entering the garage something was clearly amiss sofa
cushions were strewn across the floor Vivian's attention was drawn to a scent coming from inside the house that was
both familiar and out of place there was the furious high-pitched beeping of young Trevor's apnea monitor the sound
it made to alert the nurse Trevor had stopped breathing overcome with worry Vivian rushed to a neighbor's property
and beat the front door she begged them to accompany her into her sister's house
after unlocking the front door Vivian led the neighbor into the house first but the door would barely open
there was something heavy on the other side blocking their entry Vivian peered through the gap to see what was in the
way looking into the house she saw a body on the floor against the door her sister Millie's fixed and unblinking
gaze were staring up at her half of her face was missing [Music] police arrived to the horn family house
within minutes upon entry they immediately found newly horns body by the front door wearing her new clothes
it appeared she been shot in the face at close range by a high-powered weapon following the sound of the beer beam the
officers had it upstairs that led them to a year-old Trevor horns bedroom the inside of the room was clean and orderly
much like a hospital room except for the blood surrounding the body of nurse Janice Saunders on the floor she too had
been shot dead two small abrasions above Janice's right eyebrow looked to have been caused by tiny debris from a
silencer the officers approached the specially built crib light bed by the beeping machine HBS signaled for each
breath that was missed laying inside surrounded by his beloved stuffed animals was Trevor his body showed no
external signs of trauma the boys left eye was speckled with pinpoint bleeding suggesting he had made violent attempts
to breathe prior to death it appeared as though Trevor's killer plug to the child's tracheostomy tube with their
finger and perhaps held their other hand over the boy's mouth and nose suffocating him to death a few areas of
the horn house were obviously disturbed some drawers were tossed about a cocktail table in the living room had
been moved cushions were on the floor and a rock kicked to the side scattered on a bathroom floor were the contents of
Millie's purse a bookcase was toppled over and a hallway closet was open its contents dumped haphazardly on the floor
in the basement the mesh screen of a window was pulled away and there were pry marks on the frame police surmised
the intruder broke in this way from the messy state of the house and the markings on the basement window all
signs pointed to a burglary gone horribly wrong if it was a burglary it was a particularly incompetent one
despite nearly every room having been slightly ransacked little of value appeared to be missing nun Milly horn
substantial collection of jewelry including a five carat diamond bracelet lying in plain sight on a bathroom
counter was taken Janice Saunders purse and jewelry were undisturbed first televisions music and electronic
equipment usually prime targets for burglars because of the ease with which they could be quickly sold all remained
untouched all that was missing were some credit and check cashing cards taken from Millie's purse season two
detectives suspected the scene was staged to look like a burglary gone wrong to mask what actually appeared to
be a planned and professional murder the victims were killed with ruthless efficiency Milly with three gunshots to
the head and Janice with two young Trevor's death was senseless the child had no way of identifying the intruder
or telling anyone what happened yet the killer took no chances forensics went over the horn house with a fine-tooth
comb but no foreign fibers or hairs or any shoe palm or fingerprints had been left at the scene fragments of one 22
caliber bullet was found lodged in a wall in Trevor's bedroom 22 caliber bullets are liable to distort upon
firing making it hard to match the bullet to a gun only two things were left behind by the
killer at the same a small fall with tape around the handle was found near the garage door he tested positive for
gunshot residue the second item was flecks of grass on Trevor horns face neither item provided investigators any
further insight into the perpetrator the time of the murder was accurately pinpointed thanks to the meticulous logs
kept by Janice Saunders of Trevor's vital signs every hour without fail Janice wrote her medical observations
down in a notebook when they stopped at 2:00 a.m. police knew the killer arrived
a short time later Millie's minivan was located around midday found abandoned in
the parking lot of a townhouse development in the suburb of Lake Hill less than a mile from the horn house the
vehicle was locked in the case left in the ignition investigators believed the killer parked their car at the
construction site and walked the 1 mile to the horn house after committing the murders they then drove Millie's van
back to their own car before fleeing later that same afternoon Millie's credit cards were handed in to police
a jogger running along Route 28 in Montgomery County found the card scattered on the side of the road less
than 20 miles west of the horn house as the area in and around the crime scene was being carefully searched
investigators went to Howard University to pick up Tiffany horn upon hearing her
mother and brother had been killed the 18 year old blurted out my father had something to do with this didn't he
Lawrence Thomas horn better known as LT was Motown music royalty he joined at the iconic record production company as
a young man in the 1960s taking a low-paying job as a favor to his friend and Motown Records founder Berry Gordy
Jr a talented sound engineer before long Lawrence was running the control room at
Hitsville USA Motown's original Detroit headquarters the Motown sound was a mixture of soul funk and pop during the
50s and 60s Motown signed up unknown artists who later became mega stars Michael Jackson
and the Jackson 5 The Supremes Frankie Valli in the four seasons and Diana Ross amongst many others soon Motown artists
were rocketing to the top of the charts Lawrence was a pioneer and an innovator responsible for overseeing most of the
mixes for Motown singles from 1964 to 1967 he was the chief technician on the temptations hit my girl which debuted at
the top of the charts in 1965 and stayed there for 13 weeks shotgun by junior Walker and the
all-stars was Lawrence's proudest achievement he was credited as the songs producer the peaked at number four on
the Billboard Hot 100 in 1965 as Motown's fame and fortunes soared so did Lawrence Horne he gained a reputation as
a gifted engineer not afraid to experiment to create new sounds although never in the limelight those in the
music industry considered Lawrence to be the man behind the Motown sound he introduced himself as LT your man with a
plan popular with the ladies he had one short-lived marriage to a Motown receptionist which lasted just the year
in the late sixties Motown moved from Detroit to LA where it expanded into television and film production as the
bay expected Lawrence went with it Motown Records was a phenomenal success story for a small family-run business as
its chief recording engineer Lawrence Horne was rolling in the money in 1972 Lawrence crashed his Porsche completely
riding it off he should have been killed or at least severely injured but he escaped without a scratch rather than
convincing him of his invincibility the accident caused Lawrence to take stock of his life shortly after he was sitting
in his first-class seat on an American Airlines flight when he met an angel he believed was sent by God to save him
Mildred Murray dreamed of being a flight attendant since she was a little girl one of 14 children Millie grew up in
South Carolina in a close and loving family we're chasing one's dreams was encouraged bubbly happy and popular
Millie was a head-turner always bell at the ball as soon as she was able she entered stewardess school and excelled
in every aspect easily making it through the grueling training regime even though
her work took her all around the country Millie always remained deeply woven within her family roots it didn't take
long for American Airlines to promote Millie to the position of senior flight attendant tasked with looking after the
more demanding first-class passengers Millie's patience and optimism saw her settle well into the new role one day as
she worked the Los Angeles flight route fate had Millie serving drinks to a handsome confident music executive
Laurence Horne was immediately drawn to the beautiful 21 year old Millie accepted Lawrence's invitation to dinner
and he said about courting her with ease a late lifestyle of fun donning good wine jet-setting
and celebrities Laurence and Millie became a celebrated couple in Hollywood's music scene the pair turned
heads at all the glamorous parties yet outside the spotlight and behind closed doors there's was a stormy relationship
from the beginning volatility drama and fiery fights were followed by passionate
reconciliations eventually the pair married in Las Vegas in August 1973 the birth of their first
child Tiffany in 1974 only served to highlight the issues in their marriage Lawrence put his job Motown and partying
ahead of his parental responsibilities merely still loved the extravagant lifestyle Lawrence provided the
prioritized family above all those fights between the couple became more frequent and reconciliations less
satisfying until in 1979 after five years of marriage they went their separate ways
Milly moved with Tiffany to Maryland to be near her family whom she could always
rely on Lawrence stayed in Los Angeles where he could be close to his beloved Motown
during her childhood Tiffany's visits with her father were relegated to summer holidays but they
were always exciting Lawrence took her to Hollywood get-togethers attended by famous singers and musicians she
especially looked forward to the annual no team picnic where the elite of the u.s. music scene would bring their
families to meet the people they worked with at one of these events her father introduced her to Stevie
Wonder Millie seemingly moving forward with an independent life filed for divorce from Lawrence in 1981 yet
despite their differences Lawrence and Millie found it difficult to stay away from each other they would often find
themselves together or after meeting to drop off or pick up Tiffany or when Millie's work took her to Los Angeles
a bombshell dropped in 1984 Millie was pregnant and Lawrence was the bother and came as a shock to her family who were
under the impression the couple ended things years ago it was immediately clear to Millie's network of support
that Lawrence held no interest in providing her any assistance or comfort during her pregnancy her family rallied
around her as they always did especially when they discovered she was carrying twins Millie went into
premature labor at seven months twins Tammy L and Trevor were born on August 5 1984 there were immediate complications
at birth doctors told Milly Tammy L was small but in good health but Trevor only
had a 50/50 chance at survival during the birth of her twin siblings Tiffany was on one of her summer visits with her
father in Los Angeles her aunt Vivian called asking Lawrence to rush Tiffany to Maryland so she would have the
opportunity to meet her newborn brother in case Trevor didn't pull through Lawrence told Vivian that Tiffany was
looking forward to the motown picnic on the weekend and he didn't have time to bring her home before him as had become
the custom Lawrence put his job and celebrity lifestyle above his family even as his firstborn son's life hung in
the balance as it turned out both Lawrence and Tiffany would get to meet Trevor despite
suffering a multitude of health problems Trevor was a fighter and survived eventually he was allowed home but
required constant care and frequent hospitalization Trevor's frail key and ill health took on nightmare proportions
on September 16 1986 during one of his many visits to Children's Hospital National Medical Center Trevor's
tracheostomy tube was accidentally disconnected in an interview with WRC TV after the event Milly horn explained
quote they were trying to get an IV to give Trevor his blood transfusion his trucky ostomy tube came out and they
could not get it back in he went into an arrest he was coded for an hour in 20 minutes
and as a result of that Trevor experienced brain damage they told me Trevor probably would not be any
more than a vegetable I was just totally crushed it was like darkness in a tunnel
there was not going to be any light and at that point I almost considered taking
Trevor off all life support and just letting nature do its will but I just couldn't do it it's been a struggle but
because of Trevor's tremendous will to live I've had the will to hang in there with him and give him the best support
that I can the best life that I can it was in these times when Milly entered Superman mode Lawrence on the other hand
held a little interest in raising or supporting Trevor in a conversation with his daughter Tiffany Lawrence stated
that an intellectually disabled a quadriplegic could never be a real son to him Milly and Lawrence's divorce was
finalized in 1987 Lawrence was ordered to pay 650 dollars per month child support although they technically
had joint custody Milly took on full-time parenting of their children while Lawrence returned
to Los Angeles the following year the horn sued the hospital for negligence resulting in Trevor's extensive injuries
along joinha court battle ensued taking the better part of two years the relationship
between million Lawrence became increasingly bitter especially when Lawrence's career took a spectacular
nosedive as it was prone to doing the music industry changed crooning soul music and disco fell out of fashion with
dance new wave and rock stylings emerging as the mainstream as a result Motown's owners sold out to a
multinational organization Lawrence horn would soon discover there was no place or use for him in the company's new
phase by 1990 Lawrence was fired from his very last job at Motown a low paying no status job as a tape library in'
assuming the money would always be rolling in lawrence had no savings and was rapidly falling behind in his child
support payments the settlement of Trevor's court case in March 1990 could not have come at a better time for
Lawrence Trevor was awarded an annuity of four thousand eight hundred and thirty five dollars per month for life
indexed for inflation with a lump sum payment of 1.1 million when he turned 18 years old
the lump sum was to be hold in trust with Milly horn as trustee in addition Milly was awarded three hundred and
twenty two thousand dollars during negotiations in a shall we display of arrogance Lawrence scribbled a million
dollar figure on a sheet of paper and slid it across the table to the hospital's attorney once the settlement
was reached Lawrence was only given about one hundred and fifty thousand dollars
Lawrence was vocal about his unhappiness with his share of the windfall after a heated argument about money with Milly
he stormed out of the house declaring he was done with the whole family true to his word he cut off communication with
all of them including daughter Tiffany [Music] Milly used the entirety of her lump sum
to buy a family home in the upscale Orlais Hill section of Silver Spring just a few doors down from her system
Viviane Lawrence quickly blew through his settlement check and consequently he stopped paying child support for his
three children as such Milly had to keep working to provide for her family by 1992 Lawrence was behind in payments to
the tune of almost $20,000 merely knew she would have to go to court to get the money out of him
which she was willing to do for the sake of her children his former wife's persistence on getting
what little money he heard angered Lawrence always prone to violent outbursts he would scream at Milly down
the phone threatening to come after her if she went through with recovering child support confiding in her
colleagues Milly told about Lawrence bragged about shoving a sailor off a ship's deck during his naval service
making it look like an accident Milly warned them if she were ever killed Lawrence would be responsible
[Music] fear compelled Milly to install a burglar alarm in her home and she warned
Trevor's nurses not to open the door to strangers while she was away she forbade
Lawrence from coming to or entering her house in the spring of 1992 Lawrence contacted
his eldest daughter Tiffany it had been near two years since Tiffany last spoke to her father and date down and she
missed him Lawrence seemed to have had a change of heart saying he missed her Lawrence wanted to be part of his
children's life again when Lawrence asked about Trevor Tiffany was pleased he was finally showing interest in her
baby brother Lawrence asked many questions wanting to hear all about Trevor's health and care tiffany filled
him in detailing what was required in nowadays to ensure trevor was well including what the nurses did for him
every day On June 17 1992 Lawrence arrived to Millie's house with a video camera Milly wasn't home at the time
allowing Lawrence to set up a tripod in her driveway without issue placing a camera on the tripod he
pointed at a Millie's house and asked Tiffany to point out which windows led to whose rooms claiming he wanted to see
Trevor Lawrence then asked if he could go inside respecting her mother's demands Tiffany refused her father
access to the house but not wanting to keep him from seeing his son Tiffany agreed to take the camera inside and
film Trevor so Lawrence could in some way see he's a little boy it was an odd situation but Tiffany was glad her
father was taking steps to being a part of their lives again on the day of the triple homicide
Tiffany Horne poured out all this information to the police Lawrence Horne became prime suspect in
the murders motive was clear Lawrence was unemployed broke and indebted to Milly for child support and legal fees
he was prone to violence and Milly held a genuine fear of her former husband furthermore Tiffany informed police of a
call she received a couple of nights prior to the murders Lawrence was on the line bombarding her with questions about
where she and Tammy would be over the following days the evening before the murders Lawrence found his former
sister-in-law vivian checking up where his daughters were staying the night finding out that were not in Millie's
place police tracked Lawrence to his mother's house rather than expressing shock and grief over news of the murders
he queried if he was being viewed as a suspect when it was clear investigators were
looking at him with suspicion Lawrence handed them a videotape the footage showed Lawrence in his living
room standing in front of his television the local news flashed across the screen
the date and time the footage was taken was displayed in the bottom right hand corner 11:45 p.m. los angeles time which
was 2:45 a.m. maryland time the exact time of the murders the footage proved laurence horn could not have been the
killer and he was on the other side of the country during the slayings but the convenient video recording only
served to fuel investigators suspicions it was incredibly bizarre Lawrence just happened to be videotaping his quiet
night at home lost his former wife their son and a nurse were being executed investigators dubbed at the video
recording the alibi a tape over the following week detectives interviewed everyone close to or associated with
million liance they heard many stories of the couple's stormy marriage and how Milly had grown to be afraid of their
ex-husband Milly sister Vivian told police straight up she was certain Lawrence was
responsible for the murders other family members also provided information pointing to Lawrence sniffer dogs
scoured the crime scene and beyond on route 28 where Millie's credit cards were found the dogs uncovered a piece of
metal that was the trigger mechanism from an AR 7 a semi-automatic rifle the weapon took 22 caliber bullets the same
type found at the crime scene the serial number on the middle piece had been carefully drilled out erasing it for
good making the weapon untraceable expert analysis determined the medals corrosion was consistent with having
been exposed to the elements for only a matter of weeks and that the weapon was intentionally fractured and disassembled
investigators were certain they had found part of the murder weapon nine days after the murders police executed a
search warrant of Lawrence horns Los Angeles residents in a testament to the hard times the Lawrence had fallen on
since his high-roller days the apartment was as small as it was cheap police confiscated three computers
computer disks hard drives backup drives telephone and bank records video tapes cassette tapes micro cassette tapes and
a telephone answering machine along with several files worth of papers for investigators were assigned full time to
sift through the massive amounts of evidence taken among the thousands of documents detectives found a few items
of interest a hand-drawn map of North Cape drive featured an X where Millie's house was located a piece of paper
contained the number and departure time of the flight Millie was scheduled to work the morning she died there was a
homemade video of Alliance making the long drive from Washington DC to Millie's house upon arrival he pointed
the camera at the house and zoomed in on each window announcing what rooms were behind them most intriguing was a 22
second recording from Lawrence's answering machine the voice on the other end belonged to an unknown male he spoke
rapidly and his words were cryptic he mentioned not being able to finish something because of quote the noise you
understand what I'm saying detectives subpoenaed telephone records for all calls made to and from Lawrence
Warren's apartment one week either side of the date of the murders of the long list of calls made for long-distance
calls Budhia Lawrence received two phone calls through his apartment from numbers in
Detroit where the men once had his roots in the music industry the other two calls were from Maryland all of them
were traced back to pay phones one call came through at 5:12 a.m. on March 3 1993 the morning of the murders
the 22 second call was made from a pay phone outside of a Denny's restaurant in Gaithersburg Maryland approximately 10
miles were around a 10 minute drive west from Millie's house police suspected this was the same 22 second call
recorded on Lawrence's answering machine featuring the unidentified caller speaking cryptically strangely Millie's
credit cards and the AR 7 trigger mechanism appeared to have been dropped like breadcrumbs along the road leading
to one of the phone booths from which a call had been made to Lauren's horn police visited hotels in the area of
this payphone on Shady Grove Road in Rockville was a nondescript cheap highway motel called
days in there was approximately five miles west of Millie horns house and close to the payphone used to call lions
horns apartment in Los Angeles the motels manager allowed investigators to examine guests logbooks on the night of
the triple homicide a man from Detroit checked in a little after midnight and was gone by 6:30 the
following morning this man paid for his stay in cash in normal circumstances by paying in cash he would not have been
required to show ID however days in had a policy requiring the or guests show ID no matter how
payment was made the motel receptionist insisted on seeing the man's ID he displayed a Michigan driver's license
address listed as Detroit and the name printed above was James Perry is there anything harder to move than a
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case file [Music] James Eduard Parri had his finger in many pies depending on who you asked he
was a minister businessman or hustler his business card covered all possibilities emblazoned with a moon and
star emblem and the design of a walking cane the card read the House of Wisdom dr. Jay Perry cold reader case buster
spiritual advisor by appointment only the self-proclaimed - doctor thought of himself as a learner demand his shelves
were stacked with an abundance of how-to books known as a fixer James Perry held
the reputation of being able to fix any problem for the right price generally the things people wanted him to fix fell
foul of the law legitimate employment prospects were scarce for the street hustler who had done two stints in
prison for armed robberies the second a botched bank robbery culminated in the non fatal shooting of a Michigan State
Trooper as a result James Perry was incarcerated for 10 years during the 1970s upon release
Perry styled himself into a minister of religion as a street preacher he referred to himself as a possible James
and claimed to have psychic abilities standing barely over five feet tall others dubbed him the [ __ ] minister
but not to his face he conducted business affairs in Detroit from a seedy dive bar called Frances and
a shady storefront called mr. money why the 44 year old Detroit based the career
criminal visited Maryland for just six hours on the night of March 2 and three remained to be seen five weeks later
Lawrence Horne participated in an interview with a local newspaper appearing the grieving father and
denying any involvement in the murders regarding the odd videotapes he took of Millie's house and of Trevor Lawrence
confidently brushed them off as innocent mementos to show his mother back in California because she missed their
grandchildren it was a claim his mother readily backed up Lawrence insisted he had nothing to gain
financially from his son's death adding he thought Trevor's medical bills drained to the trust fund so
disinterested in any money Lawrence claimed he wasn't even sure if he kept a copy of the 1990 court
settlement yet among Lawrence's personal effects were handwritten notes on documents relating to Trevor's trust
fund and annuity they showed Lawrence was well versed in the legalities of the settlement in the event of Trevor's
death the documents revealed his trust money now work 1.7 million was to be distributed tax-free to Lawrence and
Milly Horne although with Milly or so out of the picture Lawrence was the sole heir to the entire 1.7 million with this
revelation a new horror dawned on investigators eight-year-old Trevor was likely the primary target when asked by
reporters how he felt about being treated as a suspect Lawrence stated quote I guess they have to do their job
I just want it to be over with because it's been a nightmare months of investigation dragged on with
police trawling through evidence determined to make an arrest this was in the days before information could simply
be run through a computer so every piece of evidence needed to be manually and thoroughly examined investigators went
line by line through Laurens horns phone records making inquiries the telephone companies to determine to whom each
number belonged and where edge call originated from they work backwards from the day of the murder
checking thousands of phone calls over hundreds of days nearly all of which led nowhere until finally they uncovered a
promising piece of evidence incoming calls to Lawrence's apartment were made from several telephone boxes in Detroit
using a calling card registered to the name kamila McKinney her calling card is used to pay for telephone services often
international law long-distance calls a fixed amount of credit is stored on the card and when the credit runs out the
card can be discarded it's not necessary to have the physical card when making calls only knowledge of the Associated
pin linked to the card is required when searching for kamila the calling cards owner police instead found a woman named
Marsha Webb Marsha admitted to falsifying her identity in order to obtain telephone service from Pacific
Bell who had cut off service under her real name due to unpaid bills so Marsha opened a new account under the false
name of Camilla McKinney and purchased the calling card Marsha told investigators she obtained the card of
the suggestion of her cousin who happened to be Lawrence horn Lawrence told Marsha
he wanted the calling card to use whilst traveling as he didn't want the bills to
go to his home address they were sent to Marcia's place and to Lawrence covered them the calling card was used to make
66 calls from Los Angeles pay phones to career criminal James Perry's residence in Detroit starting almost a year before
the murders nearly all these payphones were within walking distance of Lawrence Warren's
apartment the card was also used to make 70 calls from Detroit pay phones to Lawrence's Los Angeles home
these Detroit payphones were close to where James Perry lived ten carried out his business evidence gathered so far
was enough to allow authorities to place a discreet wiretap on Lawrence's home phone however Lawrence was keenly aware
he was being viewed as a suspect and to never said anything over the phone to incriminate himself teams of
investigators were sent to watch the pay phones in both Detroit and Los Angeles used to call the homes of James Perry in
Lawrence horn but neither men were spotted using them then on July 20 1993 Marcia Webb's calling card was used
again the call was made from a pay phone at the Calverton shopping Center in Beltsville Maryland
it went to Frances bar in Detroit the local haunt of James Perry unbeknownst to Lawrence horn he was
photographed by police using that exact payphone at that precise torn detectives
were confident Lawrence horn and James Perry were in contact and suspected it was over the murders Lawrence was still
waiting to obtain his payout from his son's insurance settlement the process was being held up by Milly sister Vivian
who filed a civil suit against Lawrence to keep him from claiming Trevor's estate she was invoking an obscure
Maryland law known as the Slayer rule Vivian claimed to Lawrence horn should not be entitled to the proceeds of the
trust because she was certain he caused the death of Trevor Horn knows Lawrence navigated bureaucracy to get his hands
on the money detectives stepped up their surveillance of suspected triggerman James Perry
Perry had a few people with whom he spent a lot of time with one was a man named Thomas Turner a trucker by trade
Thomas Turner had a side hustle driving a cab Turner and Perry were close friends
having met whilst in prison some 13 years earlier both from Detroit they kept in touch after release Turner
helped promote Perry's business handing out business cards to his taxi passengers flyers for Perry's House of
Wisdom were stored in Turner's home which he distributed to those who required the kind of help James Perry
could provide there was something more important about Thomas Turner than his friendship with James Perry Thomas
Turner was another of lawrence horns cousins investigators finally had a definitive connection between James
Perry and Lawrence Hall Thomas Turner they paid James Perry a visit at his home in Detroit answering
their questions on his doorstep Perry admitted to being in Maryland on the night of March 3 but claimed that
was for business Perry insisted he never heard of Milly Trevor or Lawrence Horne and had no
knowledge of any murders investigators didn't expect Perry to reveal anything to them they just hope to their visit
might spook him into contacting Lawrence Horne however the two suspects made a no
direct contact investigators suspected the pair were communicating via mutual associate Thomas Turner as such they
received permission to wiretap Turner's phone investigators discovered both James
Perry into Lauren's horn called and spoke to Thomas Turner often but the three men were careful in the language
they used and two nun said anything damning it was obvious to detectives Turner was passing coded messages
between the men but they couldn't prove it around Thanksgiving 1993 authorities got
wind that James Perry was preparing to move out of his apartment worried the disruption could disturb or destroy
evidence they obtained a warrant to search the residence knowing Perry's history of violence against police and
believing he was in possession of high-powered firearms a heavily armed SWAT team was sent to storm the property
the raid was anticlimactic James Perry was in bed and offered no resistance the search turned up a little in the way of
evidence although detectives found some of Perry's possessions to be odd for a man who professed the bayum minister the
apartment was littered with voodoo relics and solider of Fortune magazine's there was an abundance of how-to books
on every nefarious topic imaginable including the science behind criminal investigations police procedures crime
scene and blood spatter analysis managing gunshot wounds and interpreting evidence in a court of law
police bagged items within the terms of their warrant such as video cassettes and bank statements but left without
arresting James Perry something that struck detectives is strange with the dozens of how-to books
James Perry owned many came from the same source a small publisher called paladin press paladin press did most of
its advertising in the back pages of soldier of fortune a magazine favored by would-be mercenaries and conspiracy
theorists the publisher Brad do was the most dangerous press in America offering
books and films on controversial subjects such as Anarchy survivalism homemade Arsenal's exotic weapons combat
explosives knives locksmithing martial arts military and police science new identities espionage murder and a body
disposal the books were cheap short and easily digestible raids aimed at survivalists anarchists thriller and
crime writers and aspiring criminals one of their avid readers was Oklahoma City
bomber Timothy McVeigh who owned a copy of paladin presses how to book homemade c4 a recipe for survival investigators
contacted paladin press to find out whether they had a record of books James Perry ordered they did and two books
stood out delivered to Perry's home in January 1992 detectives ordered their own copies of these books one titled how
to make disposable silences and another titled hitmen a technical manual for independent contractors
the Hitman manual was authored by Rex Farrell who claimed to be a veteran of the hitman business the 130 page God
detailed how to carry our professional murder-for-hire full of helpful hints tips and steps
everything from preparation place of hit renting a car with stolen plates from out-of-state
choosing a motel and traveling to the scene of the crime the manual recommended any would-be assassin use an
AR 7 rifle due to the advantage of a being lightweight and easy to conceal when disassembled as suggested drilling
out the weapons serial number to avoid it being traced in explicit detail using photographs it instructed readers how to
construct a home-made whisper-quiet silencer from material available in any hardware store the book recommended
shooting victims three times and to aim for eye-sockets to ensure death it also advised the groaning a file inside the
gun barrel while still at the crime scene to change ballistic markings according to the book assassins should
mess up the crime scene and steal concealable items of value to make it look like a burglary and urge the reader
to dispose of the stolen items along with the weapon parts at various different locations as soon as possible
investigators immediately saw the striking parallels of every instruction in the hitman manual to the Maryland
triple homicide crime scene it was likely James Perry used the Hitman manual as a blueprint and carefully
followed its instructions when soliciting preparing for and committing the murders of Millie
Trevor and Janice however he made one mistake the book advised the reader to pay cash and use a fake name when
arranging accommodation near the murder site James Perry didn't account for the Days
Inn Motel receptionist to request to see his ID when paying for the room there was no instruction in the hitman
manual to guide him out of such a nun for seeable predicament with no other options James Perry foolishly showed his
own driver's license investigators turned up the heat around her James Perry their spotlight encompassed not
just Perry but all his associates in January 1994 Perry's close friend Thomas Turner was brought in for questioning
under intense pressure and the threat of prison time Turner agreed to talk in return for complete immunity Turner took
investigators back to the spring of 1992 he had opened his front door to find his
cousin Lawrence horn on his doorstep that had been about a decade since the relatives had contact
despite this Lawrence poured out his personal troubles to his cousin stating how he wanted to see his children but
his vindictive ex-wife was refusing him visitation rights as well as withholding
money rightfully years in a desire to both hope his cousin and to drum up business for his best friend Turner gave
Lawrence a business card and said give mr. Perry a call because he helps people Turner claimed he made no inquiries as
to what sort of help his friend provided his cousin but nine months later when newspapers detailed the murders of
Millie and Trevor Horn Turner felt uneasy this feeling amplified when several months after the murders
both Lawrence and Perry expressed paranoia about wiretaps and enlisted his help as their go-between delivering
messages and arranging meetings for them to avoid police detection Turner told police I got to thinking I was brought
in to something and I didn't know exactly what I had my suspicions it had been a year since the murders of his
wife and son Lawrence Horne decided it was time to push the insurance company for his inheritance from Trevor's
malpractice suit which meant facing Millie's sisters in court the case dragged on but depositions in
the civil suit were finally scheduled on July 6 and 7 1994 civil cases have different rules to criminal cases the
criminal case involves the state against the defendant the state has the burden to prove the defendant guilty beyond a
reasonable doubt the defendant has the right to stay silent on any question and in neither a judge or jury can draw
adverse inferences from their choice not to answer its ones basic right not to incriminate yourself
a civil case however is between citizens and the burden of proof is much lower a
judge or jury will find in favor of one party based on evidence given there's no
pleading the fifth in a civil trial refusal to answer questions reflects badly on the person doing the refusing
and can be treated unfavorably by a judge as such it was in Lawrence's best interest to cut his losses and never set
foot in that courtroom however blinded by greed he failed to notice the workings around him he did
not suspect questions asked of him during his civil trial were carefully supplied to lawyers by the FBI
questions based on evidence amassed over the previous 15 months implicating Lawrence in the murders of his wife son
and visiting nurse were tossed at him to have any hope of receiving a windfall from the estate Lawrence had to answer
every question in his deposition Lawrence admitted having the pen of Marshall Webb's long-distance telephone
calling card but denied using the card after January 1993 according to Lawrence he didn't allow anyone else to use the
card he also denied speaking to James Perry on the phone or having any contact with the men on March 2 or 3 1993 all of
this was contradictory to the evidence detectives had so far gathered the point for investigators was not to get
Lawrence to admit to anything the reason for the questions was so Lawrence Horne
was on record in a court of law having answered them prosecutors could then reference these answers in a future
criminal case where he would most likely remain silent after his testimony in civil court
investigators had solid evidence Lawrence had lied under oath and were finally ready to put out arrest warrants
a week later a Montgomery County grand jury handed down indictments charging Lawrence Horne and James Perry with
murder and conspiracy in relation to the brutal murders of Milly Horne Trevor Horn and the selfless woman who had the
misfortune of getting caught up in the plot Janis Saunders on July 19 1994 after 16 months of
intense often frustrating investigation Lawrence Horne was arrested in his apartment in Los Angeles
hours later James Perry entered a police station in Detroit he wished to file a complaint against two FBI officers who
had been openly following and taunting him for the past few days he demanded to know if the FBI was going to arrest him
or merely harass him Perry arrived to the station just as police received final word on his arrest
warrant they happily answered his question placing him under arrest on three counts of first degree murder
James Perry was first to stand trial in mid-1995 the paper trail investigators meticulously compiled showed a complex
web of telephone calls and records Western Union payments and meeting arrangements organized by Lawrence Horne
enlisting James Perry services as a hit minute the jury was shown proof Perry ordered the Hitman manual and
methodically followed its instructions to carry out his crime they heard the recording on Lawrence horns answering
machine where Perry spoke about not being able to finish something because of quote the noise you understand what
I'm saying it was likely Perry was referring to the beeping noise made by Trevor's up near alarm tape to phone
conversations and the testimony of Thomas Turner sealed his fate on October 12 after just five hours of deliberation
the jury returned to court with a verdict they found a James Perry guilty on each of the three counts of first
degree murder judge D Warren Donahue imposed three death sentences and an additional
sentence of life in prison for conspiring to commit murder six months later in April 1996 it was finally time
for Lawrence horn to face trial for masterminding the murders as was carefully planned by
investigators testimony Lawrence gave in the civil suit was presented in court proving he was a lawyer despite what
Lawrence claimed hundreds of pieces of evidence linked him directly to James Perry
his cousin Thomas Turner was called that give evidence in the trial turn a [ __ ]
of introducing Lawrence in Perry and later acting as their go-between when they wanted to speak to one another
clear of police surveillance the jury watched the videotapes Lawrence made of himself driving to Millie's house and
the footage taken once he got there Tiffany Horne testified against her father she spoke of her devastation of
being an unwitting accomplice in his murder plot believing her father's good intentions
Tiffany filmed to the interior of her mother's house including Trevor's bedroom believing her father just wanted
to see his estranged son she could never have suspect that her father would provide the footage to a hit man so he
could acquaint himself with the layout of the house Lawrence's alibi tape was also shown in
court members of the jury watched as the camera zoomed in on the television so the time and date were clearly visible a
cruel act Lawrence did purposefully knowing at that exact moment near 3,000 miles away his helpless son was being
suffocated to death for his own financial gain on May 3 after seven and a half hours of deliberation Lawrence
Horne was found guilty on three counts of first degree murder and on one of conspiracy to commit murder two weeks
later when the court reconvened to hear his sentence the families of Milly Trevor and Janice were there to make
sure justice was served Janice Saunders husband Michael spoke to the court of being haunted by the image
of the fun-loving sparkle in his wife's eyes being blown away Milly siblings revealed that devastating loss from
losing their loving caring sister into their little nephew tricky Trev to the dismay of victims families
Lawrence Horne escaped the death penalty instead he was given three life sentences without the possibility of
parole Tiffany Horne looked at her father and said I hate you I hate you so much
you've killed my family Lawrence showed no emotion as it was led away although Lawrence Horne and James Perry
were in prison their victims families believed there was one more culprit in the deaths of their loved ones they took
the unprecedented step of taking paladin press the publishers of hitmen a technical manual for independent
contractors to court for their role in instructing James Perry in the art of committing murder the book was
deliberately marketed as a serious instruction manual by a professional in the trade named the Rex Farrell
the promotional text for the book in paladins catalog said learn how to get in do the job and get out without
getting caught in total perry followed at least 22 instructions detailed in the book to the letter when carrying out his
crime a federal judge initially threw the case out on summary judgment they ruled the
book was protected by the first amendment which guarantees freedom of speech but even the publication itself
boasted of pushing such boundaries selling works that left quote even diehard advocates of free speech
second-guessing their opposition to censorship in November 1997 the US Court of Appeals reversed the decision
permitting the victims families to sue paladin press the president and founder of paladin press peddle unde claimed to
feel compassion and sympathy for the victims families but added quote I feel no moral or ethical responsibility for
publishing information I am NOT responsible for the misuse of information of whatever type any
information obtained from paladin had nothing to do with Perry's predisposition to violence lund accused
the victims families of being money-hungry and declared the lawsuit a war on the Bill of Rights
his lawyers contended any decision finding liability on behalf of the publisher would have far-reaching
effects on the rights to freedom of speech and freedom of the press Luna pointed out that in 10 years of
publishing 13,000 books were sold and only one person actually used one as a guide for committing homicide yet
paladin press conceded that by publishing distributing and selling hitman to James Perry they assisted him
in the subsequent perpetration of the murders but they maintained that they should not be held liable
in a decision that stunned the legal world the Supreme Court contended a jury could reasonably find paladin aided and
abetted in the murders through the quote quintessential act of providing step-by-step instructions for
murder so comprehensive and detailed as if the instructor were literally present
with the would-be murderer the case was set for trial on May 25 1999 meanwhile journalists sought to unmask the
mysterious author of the book Rex Farrell in the opening of the book Farrell wrote quote it is my opinion
that the professional hitman feels a need in society and is at times the only alternative for personal justice
moreover if my advice and the proven methods in this book are followed certainly no one will ever know people
surmise that perhaps Farrell could be linked to one solve the murders no doubt when the trial went ahead Farrell would
be subpoenaed to give evidence but then on May 21 1999 a few days before the trial was set to begin paladins
insurance company deemed the case to be an unacceptable risk they decided to settle paying several million dollars
compensation to both the horn and Saunders families the settlement went against the wishes of poet and press who
were certain they would win the court case the publisher also had to agree to cease publishing the book and pulp the
remaining stock of 700 copies according to paladin those copies sold out before they could withdraw them from stores in
2001 James Perry's death sentence was commuted to three life sentences eight years later in December 2009 Perry
died in a hospital from illness at the age of 61 Janice Saunders 84 year old mother told
a reporter she was happy he was dead adding quote I was hoping somebody killed him I was hoping it was something
awful and lingering in memory of his wife Janice's husband Michael started a nursing scholarship in her name
contributing the first two and a half thousand dollars of a fifty thousand dollar goal the son would pay a year's
worth of tuition books and fees for a chosen student at Montgomery College where Janice herself graduated in 1983
most of the remaining scholarship money was donated by local businesses but the biggest contribution came from P Buckley
moss Janice's favorite artist mas made a special print in memory of Janice titled
stitching nurse had depicted a civil war-era nurse doing needlework the pattern in her lap was clearly the
parade the same pattern Janice was working on at the time of her death the Civil War nurse sat before a window
showing the crisp bleakness of winter outside the season Janice was killed Michael Saunders quote
it's actually given my son and I array of hope to see so much good is out there in the world in February 2017
Lawrence Horne died from cancer in prison visiting her father on his deathbed Tiffany was left devastated
when even a death's door Lawrence never apologized or took responsibility for his actions
pedda wound the founder and publisher of paladin press died suddenly on June 3 2017 his death was the catalyst for
paladin press closing after 47 years in business and the word of the author of the hitman manual of whom paladin press
once wrote rex farrell kills for hire some consider him a criminal others think him a hero in truth he is a lethal
weapon aimed at those he hunts he is the last resource in these times when laws are so twisted that justice goes
unserved he is a man who controls his destiny through his private code of ethics who feels no twinge of guilt at
doing his job he is a professional killer news publication The Washington Post uncovered the truth of Rex Farrell
Farrell was actually the pseudonym of a divorced mother of two who lived in Florida she originally wrote hitman as a
novel the pallidum press was the only publisher to express any interest they would only publish it if she refashioned
the manuscript to fit paladin's catalog of how-to books in a letter the author sent to paladin press she claims to have
gotten her ideas from books television movies newspapers police officers karate instructor and a good friend who is an
attorney the author agreed to rework the manuscript into a how-to guide by a fictitious criminal named Rex Farrell in
return for a book advance of a couple thousand dollars she admitted no I am NOT a hitman I don't even own a gun but
don't tell anybody the hitmen manual can be freely found online and an edited version is sold
through Amazon in one part the book says the kill is the easiest part of the job
people kill one another every day it takes no great effort to pull a trigger or or plunge a knife it is being able to
do so in a manner that will not link yourself to the crime it makes you a professional
[Music] you [Music]

Case 94: Millie & Trevor Horn, Janice Saunders

Vivian drove to her sister Millie’s house on the leafy, suburban North Gate Drive in Silver Spring, Maryland...

CREDITS

Narration – Anonymous Host Episode researched and written by Eileen Ormsby, author of ‘The Darkest Web – Drugs, Death and Destroyed Lives: The inside story of the internet’s evil twin’ Production, scoring – Mike Migas Additional scoring – Andrew Joslyn

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Brief Summary

Mildred Horn and her children were murdered; Lawrence Horn and James Perry were convicted for the crimes motivated by financial gain.

Key points

One Dollar: A Thrilling Mystery. Set in a small Rust Belt town, this series follows a dollar bill connecting a group involved in a horrifying murder.
The Tragic Story of Trevor Horn. Trevor Horn, a child with severe disabilities, faced unimaginable challenges and a tragic fate.
Lawrence's Descent. Lawrence's career nosedives as he struggles with child support payments and unemployment.
Milly's Fear. Milly installs a burglar alarm due to fear of Lawrence's violent outbursts.
The Alibi Tape. Lawrence presents a videotape as an alibi, but it raises more suspicion.
Lawrence Horne's Arrest. After 16 months of investigation, Lawrence Horne was arrested for the murders.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

I was just totally crushed; it was like darkness in a tunnel.

Mildred Horn reflects on Trevor's brain damage after a medical incident.

23:41WatchNov 20, 2018

Tension

85/ 100High tension

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