Tammare Elaine Lawrence gets life for killing husband – A 49-year-old woman in Georgia will spend the rest of her life behind bars for shooting and killing her husband, a retired police officer with the Atlanta Police Department. A jury in Clayton County on Thursday found Tammare Elaine Lawrence guilty on all counts, including malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony in the 2020 slaying of Stanley Lawrence, authorities announced.
Following the verdict, Superior Court Judge Aaron B. Mason ordered Tammare Lawrence to serve the maximum sentence of life in prison with the possibility of parole. Judge Mason also sentenced her to an additional five years for the weapons charge, to run consecutively with the life sentence.
Tammare Elaine Lawrence and Stanley Lawrence (WAGA screenshots)
Tammare Elaine Lawrence gets life for killing husband
According to a press release from the Clayton County District Attorney’s Office, the Lawrence murder trial began on Monday and ended on Thursday when jurors, who deliberated for only 34 minutes, returned a guilty verdict on all four felony counts for which Tammare Lawrence was indicted.
During the trial, prosecutors presented evidence showing that police at about 4 a.m. on Feb. 19, 2020, responded to a 911 call at the Lawrence home located in the 6500 block of Oak Valley Drive in Riverdale, which is about 12 miles south of Atlanta.
The 911 call was placed by Tammare Lawrence, who sounded “clearly distraught” when on the line with the emergency dispatcher, according to a report from Atlanta Fox affiliate WAGA-TV. Upon arriving at the scene, first responders reportedly said that they found Tamarre Lawrence kneeling on the ground and crying. When officers asked her what had happened inside the home, she reportedly responded, “I can’t say.”
When police continued to press her on what took place, Tammare Lawrence reportedly refused to respond and demanded an attorney.
Inside the home, authorities found Stanley Lawrence lying on the living room floor, deceased from a single gunshot wound to the chest, prosecutors said. A firearm was located on a nearby table which Tammare Stanley confirmed belonged to her.
Stanley and Tammare Lawrence had only been married for about a year at the time of the shooting.
During the subsequent investigation, detectives interviewed witnesses — including several members of Tammare Lawrence’s family — and learned that on the night of her husband’s death, Tammare Lawrence had “called a relative and admitted she had shot the victim,” prosecutors said.
Stanley Lawrence served as an ADP officer for nearly 30 years before retiring from the force. But even after his retirement, he returned to the department and took on a role with the Police Athletic League (PAL) Program. The 6-foot-8-inch man was also a standout basketball player for the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga Mocs.
Moses Perdue, a former colleague of the fallen officer, told WAGA that he remembered going through the police academy with Stanley Lawrence, describing him as “the type of personality that would light up a room.”
“We hope the conviction of this crime brings some form of peace to the family of Mr. Lawrence,” Clayton County District Attorney Tasha M. Mosley said in a statement following the sentencing. “We will continue to work tirelessly on behalf of all Clayton County Citizens.”
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