Deidra Lane

Overview

Deidra Lane pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in 2003 after her estranged husband, Fred Lane, was found fatally shot inside their home. She was sentenced to seven years and 11 months in prison on November 5, 2003, and she was released on March 3, 2009.

Timeline

• July 6, 2000 — Fred Lane was shot to death inside the couple’s Charlotte home in a domestic dispute; Deidra Lane told a 911 operator that she shot him twice.
• March 3, 2003 — Deidra Lane filed a domestic complaint accusing Fred Lane of snatching a necklace from around her neck during an argument and causing her to fall; she did not press charges.
• November 5, 2003 — Deidra Lane was sentenced to seven years and 11 months in prison.
• March 3, 2009 — Deidra Lane was released from the Raleigh Correctional Center for Women.

The offence

Fred Lane was shot and killed on July 6, 2000, inside the couple’s Charlotte home. Authorities described the killing as occurring during a domestic dispute. Deidra Lane told the 911 operator that she had been choking and hit, and that she shot her husband twice.

Prosecutors said Deidra Lane waited for Fred Lane to return home and shot him as he walked through the door, then walked through his blood and shot him a second time in the back of the head. Police said Fred Lane’s keys were still in the lock and that he was found dead inside the front door of the couple’s Charlotte home. Blood splatter patterns indicated that the first shotgun blast hit Fred Lane in the chest.

Deidra Lane claimed she killed Fred Lane in self-defense and argued that abuse by her husband had caused her fear. She also told police investigators that she fired a second time because she “(thought) he was going to get up and come back at me.” At the sentencing hearing, prosecutors described Deidra Lane as an abusive woman who killed her husband for insurance money, and the judge ruled the slaying was premeditated and deliberate.

Injury and autopsy findings

Mecklenburg County’s medical examiner, Dr. Michael Sullivan, testified about his autopsy of Fred Lane. Sullivan testified that the first shot struck Fred Lane in the chest, ripped apart his heart, and “would cause a loss of consciousness very rapidly, within seconds, certainly less than a minute.”

An autopsy released Thursday said one gun blast struck him behind the right ear, traveling upward, slightly to the left and slightly forward, injuring the skull and brain, and an X-ray revealed about 16 shotgun pellets, most recovered from the skull and scalp. The other blast struck him in the upper right chest, traveling to the left and slightly downward and injuring his heart, lungs and other internal organs.

Investigation and policing

Police said a frantic 911 call came from the Lane residence on July 6, 2000, and they investigated Deidra Lane’s account after deputies arrived at the house. Police questioned Deidra Lane, family members, and neighbors.

Police released recordings of Deidra Lane’s 911 call to the media. The 11-minute tape covered the time from when she called the operator until police were inside her home.

911 call quotations

“I think I shot him in the chest or stomach and I think I just shot him again. I don't know. Please send somebody. There is blood everywhere. There is blood all over me.”

“I was standing here and he came in. I just had the baby seven days ago,”

“And he came in and he started choking me. He was like, 'That baby's not mine.' He started hitting me. He just got shot because he wouldn't leave me alone. I kept telling him to stop.”

“He just got shot because he wouldn't leave me alone. I kept telling him to stop.”

“He just walked in the door like two or three or four minutes ago. He wasn't even here that long. I was just coming back from the kitchen and he just said, `Someone told me that's not my baby.' I don't even know if he dropped his luggage or not.”

The 911 operator repeatedly told Deidra Lane to “take a deep breath” and “calm down,” and to tell her what happened.

Deidra Lane also said: “I'm sorry Pilarr. ... I'm sorry,” speaking to her baby born a week before the shooting, and she said she was nursing the baby. She told the operator she did not know whether he was breathing and said: “I don't know. I didn't go near him.”

Voluntary statement to police

After speaking with the 911 operator, Deidra Lane spent several hours giving police a voluntary statement about the shooting.

Arrest and charges

Deidra Lane was arrested after the shooting and charged with murder. Several weeks later, federal authorities charged her for a 1998 bank robbery, which she orchestrated with a friend, described as one of the bank’s tellers.

Deidra pled guilty to the larceny charges related to the bank robbery. She then pled guilty to the involuntary manslaughter of her husband and later to voluntary manslaughter in 2003.

Trial and sentencing

Guilty plea

Deidra Lane pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in 2003.

She broke down in tears as the judge read the sentence. Deidra Lane said her husband had abused her physically and emotionally and stated: “I loved Fred dearly ... but at times he scared me and I didn't know him then,”

Sentencing hearing

Superior Court Judge Timothy Patti sentenced Deidra Lane to the maximum sentence allowed. Prosecutors at sentencing described Deidra Lane’s actions as premeditated and deliberate and said she shot Fred Lane a second time after the first shot rendered him helpless. The judge ruled that the factors outweighed the alleged abuse.

Sentencing remarks and quotations

“I loved Fred dearly ... but at times he scared me and I didn't know him then,”

At sentencing, Judge Timothy Patti ruled that the slaying was premeditated and deliberate, that Lane acted with malice, and that she shot Fred Lane a second time after the first shot rendered him helpless. Those factors outweighed the alleged abuse, the judge said.

Sentence length and credit

Deidra Lane received credit for jail time served waiting on a federal charge of conspiracy to commit bank larceny. She pleaded guilty and served four months for that charge and was fined $41,200.

Appeals

No appeals were described in the provided material.

Outcome and aftermath

Deidra Lane served her sentence at Raleigh Correctional Center for Women. She walked out of prison on March 3, 2009, after serving nearly six years for Fred Lane’s shotgun death.

Deidra Lane did not stop to speak to reporters when she left the prison and entered a BMW. A message left for Fred Lane Sr., Fred Lane’s father, was not immediately returned.

Background and related events

Family and domestic difficulties

The Lanes had been having difficulties before the shooting. Police had been called to the house over at least one incident of domestic violence. In March 2000, Deidra Lane filed a domestic violence complaint saying Fred Lane snatched a necklace from around her neck during an argument, causing her to fall; she never pressed charges.

Fred Lane spent several weeks in late June and early July with his family in Nashville. Authorities said Deidra Lane waited for him on July 6 as he returned from his family home. Police said Deidra Lane shot him once as he walked through the door, then shot him a second time after walking through his blood.

Children present

A 7-day-old infant was with Deidra Lane at the police station. The Lanes also had a 5-year-old son.

Defense attorney Henderson Hill said Deidra Lane was nursing the couple’s eight-week-old daughter and that her 4-year-old son from a previous relationship was suffering from the loss of his father figure and his mother’s arrest.

Domestic complaint details

Deidra Lane filed a complaint against her husband in March 2000, accusing him of snatching a necklace from around her neck during an argument, causing her to fall. She later said she did not press charges.

Insurance motive described at bond and sentencing

Prosecutors said Deidra Lane planned her husband’s death to collect on a $5 million life insurance policy. Prosecutors said she put the shotgun to the back of his head and fired again.

Bond hearing and 2000 charges

Deidra Lane turned herself in to police on August 23 and was free on $100,000 bond while awaiting a murder trial. Assistant district attorney Gentry Caudill told the judge at a bond hearing that Deidra Lane planned her husband’s death to collect on a $5 million life insurance policy taken out between 30 and 45 days before the shooting. Assistant district attorney Gentry Caudill said the state contended this was first-degree murder and that she “laid in wait to kill him.”

Defense attorney Henderson Hill told the judge that Deidra Lane posed no risk of flight or danger to anyone in the community, and stated: “There is just tragedy all over this case, there's no question about that,”

Judge Richard Boner ruled she could be released on $100,000 secured bond and ordered her not to leave Mecklenburg County. He warned that bond would be forfeit if she failed to appear at future hearings.

Caudill opposed bond and said the couple had separated two weeks before the slaying after Deidra Lane pointed a pistol at her husband. Caudill said Fred Lane moved in with relatives in Nashville, Tennessee, after training with the Indianapolis Colts.

Caudill said “The state contends this was first-degree murder. She laid in wait to kill him.”

Shotgun distance testimony

Bill McBrayer, a police department firearms expert, testified in court. Both McBrayer and Dr. Sullivan testified that they concluded Fred Lane was shot from distances of 8 feet or less.

Deidra Lane leaving the courtroom

Deidra Lane left the courtroom twice during the sentencing proceeding. She avoided graphic testimony about the shooting during medical examiner and firearms expert testimony, and she left after being reminded by Judge Timothy Patti that she was waiving her constitutional right to be present.

Related legal matter: bank robbery and federal case

Deidra Lane was charged by federal authorities for a 1998 bank robbery that she orchestrated with a friend described as one of the bank’s tellers. She pled guilty to the larceny charges. She also pleaded guilty to unrelated charges of conspiracy to commit bank larceny, receiving a four-month jail sentence and a $41,200 fine.

People and roles

• Deidra Lane — spouse of Fred Lane; pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter; sentenced to seven years and 11 months; released on March 3, 2009.
• Fred Lane — victim; Carolina Panthers running back; killed on July 6, 2000.
• Fred Lane Sr. — Fred Lane’s father; watched the bond hearing.
• Henderson Hill — Deidra Lane’s defense attorney; spoke at the bond hearing and represented her at sentencing.
• Gentry Caudill — assistant district attorney; spoke at the bond hearing.
• Marsha Goodenow — Mecklenburg County Assistant District Attorney; prosecuting the case at sentencing.
• Richard Boner — Mecklenburg County Superior Court Judge who set bond.
• Timothy Patti — Superior Court Judge who sentenced Deidra Lane.
• Dr. Michael Sullivan — medical examiner; testified about the autopsy.
• Bill McBrayer — firearms expert; testified about shot distance.
• Dr. Devon Delaney — Deidra Lane’s obstetrician; testified about Deidra Lane’s statements of abuse at a June 14, 2000 office visit.

Other details

Fred Lane’s football career details included in the material

The material described Fred Lane as a Carolina Panthers running back who had been traded to the Indianapolis Colts before his death. It stated he played for the Carolina Panthers from 1997 to 2000 and was traded to Indianapolis before the shooting. The material also described that he was the Panthers’ leading career rusher at the time.

June 14 and June 28 statements to obstetrician

Dr. Devon Delaney testified that Deidra Lane told her at a June 14, 2000 office visit that Fred Lane had physically and verbally abused her. Delaney also testified that on June 28 Lane asked to have her pregnancy induced so she could give birth before Fred Lane returned from an out-of-town trip, and that the baby was born the following day.

Medical leave and courtroom observations

The sentencing hearing was described as expected to last more than a week and as unusual for a sentencing. The material also said no evidence was put on before Deidra Lane entered her guilty plea and that the agreement left sentencing up to Patti.

Police said about domestic dispute and argument

Police said that investigation up to that point revealed Deidra Lane shot her husband during a domestic dispute. The material also included that Fred Lane was shot after an argument with his wife.