Snapped: Women Who Murder - BONUS: Blunt Instrument (The Real Murders Of Atlanta)

Episode Date: March 16, 2023

We are bringing you a special bonus episode featuring a case from Oxygen's hit series, “The Real Murders Of Atlanta.”  When a tech mogul is found bludgeoned to death in his lavish Roswell bedroom, detectives quickly compile a long list of potential suspects. Police ultimately zero in on one scorned lover who wouldn’t take no for an answer. Season 1, Episode 1 Originally aired: January 16, 2022 Watch full episodes of Buried in the Backyard live or OnDemand for FREE on the Oxygen app: https://www.oxygen.com/real-murders-of-atlantaSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Hi, I'm Lindsay Graham, the host of Wonder East Podcast American Scandal. Our newest series looks at the story of OxyContin, a popular painkiller that helps spur an epidemic of addiction and drug abuse, in which prompted a broad campaign to hold the pharmaceutical industry accountable. Listen to American Scandal on Amazon Music or wherever you get your podcasts. Hi, Snap listeners. We are bringing you a special bonus episode today from Oxygen True Crime's hit series Real Murders of Atlanta. You can also watch full episodes live around demand on the

free Oxygen app by clicking the link in our description. Enjoy. goes looking for her son. She goes upstairs and they hear this blood-curdling scream. I'm going to see somebody up here on my baby. He was not just Marty, he was bludgeoned. Based on the injuries to him, as well as the blood on the wall, somebody was out of control. The person that committed the homicide took a shower before leaving the residence. Whoever was responsible for the murder

had to be someone that Lance knew. The victim is one of the city's most influential entrepreneurs. He wasn't just my dad, right? He was really this amazing man that, you know, in a small way changed Atlanta. And the deeper detectives dive into the case, the more they uncover what appears to be a crime of passion. The husband knew that she was having an affair.

He was going to, you know, break off the relationship. It could, you know, make you enraged enough to commit a homicide. That was the piece that gave us confidence that we, in fact, had identified the right person to charge with Lance's murder. In the late 1990s, the city of Atlanta is on fire. Atlanta was the place to be. There was a real buzz in the city, a real electricity. It was a land of opportunity.

It was just very, very much booming and alive. A lot of folks in their 20s and 30s doing a lot of great things. Atlanta was just aspirational, but it was big and robust at Landonwood's ripe for young capitalists. And it is within that context that Lance Herndon was able to develop a very successful business as a consultant for his own personal software technology company.

Lansard moved into one of Atlanta's suburban jewels, the city of Roswell, a bucolic haven of horse farms and handsome homes, a refuge from the fast-paced Metro City life. But on Thursday, August 8th, 1996, that quiet is shattered. The paramedics arrived, but he was gone. He was gone. And they found his body in his bedroom. He was not just murder, he was bludgeoned.

Moments later, detectives are on scene at the home and speak with the distraught 911 caller. Lance Hurnden's mother, Jackie. She told investigators, Lance, we had three employees that worked for him downstairs in his home. And that morning, when they showed up, there was no Lance. They got worried. Lance didn't call. There was nothing. So they called Lance's mom, who lived around the block.

So she comes over and she goes upstairs. After a few minutes, there was this blood-curdling scream. She was shocked when she pulled back to comfort her to see her only child laying in the bed, face up. Investigators begin their exploration of the murder scene and quickly discover they have a complex and confounding series of clues. Someone had struck his forehead and top of his head with such force that there were streaks of blood droplets that were streaming down the wall.

This appeared to be someone in a bit of a rage because based on the injuries to him, as well as the blood on the wall, if somebody was out of control, and that did this. Detectives notice there's a significant amount of blood blood on the wall, if somebody was out of control, and that did this. Detectives notice there's a significant amount of blood spatter on Lance's upper torso, but very little blood below Lance's waist.

Our theory was the killer climbed onto his naked body in straddle-tem, struck him in the head and face, causing his death. The instrument used to bludgeon lance is nowhere to be found, but left unique and perplexing wounds. We didn't know what the murder weapon was. Was it a bat? Was it a cane?

Was it a brick? Like, what could have caused it? One of the things that was very obvious was a blood trail, blood droplets that led from the bed out of the bedroom and into the master bathroom. We're in. They found a bloody pillowcase,

stuffed down into the toilet. We used lumenol and things like that, and it highlights the blood, and it was all in the shower. So the person that committed the homicide took a shower before leaving the residence. The investigators noticed there were no signs of forced entry to the house. They checked all the doors, all the windows around the home.

So whoever was responsible for the murder had to be someone that Lance knew it might have been familiar with because they were given access to the home. As they continue working the crime scene looking for evidence, they also find three alarm clocks. All three of these alarm clocks had been unplugged from the wall, which was very unusual. Two of the clocks did not have the time, but one of the clocks did.

And the time that was frozen for eternity was 410 AM. Investigators viewed that as maybe a new for 10 a.m. Investigators viewed that as maybe one clue into his time of death and when the murder may have taken place. In speaking with family members and friends, who were with me with his sleeping habits, we know that the clock on the nice then was set to go off at four o'clock.

We know that a second clock was set off, set to go off at four o' five, and the third clock was set to go off at four-ten. The theory is that the killer was there at four o'clock when those clocks began going off and unplugged them rather than allow them to continue to blare. The intricate puzzle of clues multiplies as investigators continue their search of the room.

The other thing that was unusual was he had a photograph at his bedside and that picture was faced down. When we turn that picture up, we could see that. That is a current or ex-girlfriend of Mr. Herdman. She's in like a little tady, and she's right there on his bed. You know, who is this person? We need to figure out who this person is. Why is this one picture turned over?

to figure out who this person is. Why is this one picture turned over? Another thing that was that outside of the home and the driveway in a trail like breakruns leading through the garage of the home, they found silver chewing gum wrappers. Many of them that they thought was very unusual. Lance was not known to be a gum chore. And so, because he was so meticulous about the way

his house looked, and it's something that he would not have allowed to occur. Investigator's question Lance's mother and his employees to try to understand how such an aspirational community figure could elicit such a violent end. Lance Hurn and was a fascinating figure just right off the bat. He's an entrepreneur born and raised in New York, but migrated to Atlanta, which was the epicenter at the time

for the tour of the black newvo reached. He was a generous man. He was a loving father. He had recently gotten divorced from his wife, and so they shared responsibilities for raising their son and did so together in a very positive environment. I remember my mother telling me that my father wasn't going to be around anymore.

I was four years old when when Lance was murdered. I can remember that day like it's yesterday looking out into our backyard and leaves blowing all over the place. My mom telling me that my father was gone. I started to realize it when my dad wasn't at Little League's boarding events, you know, little things like that where other kids had their fathers around. Their sadness of not being able to spend that time with my father. But he wasn't just my dad, right?

He was really this amazing man that changed the landscape of Atlanta by being one of the first businessmen to work in the IT field while also being in African-American. You know, that's a one-in-a-million story. Lance had built a thriving business from his home, which leads investigators to ask employees working there that morning if he had been robbed. The workers at the house searched for anything that was out of place or suspicious,

and they immediately noticed that a very expensive laptop was missing. The case was there, but the laptop was not, which was really unusual because Lance was really fastidious and Lance rarely let like the laptop in the case ever become disconnected. Lance's employees also help by identifying the woman in the bedside photograph as Kathy Collins.

We learned that Kathy and Lance were dating, were intimate, and that Lance was getting ready to break off his relationship with Kathy. If Lance had mentioned to her, or had conversations with her, that he was going to break off the relationship, it could make you enraged enough to commit a homicide. Lance had a reputation of being kind of a just a serial killer. make you enraged enough to commit a homicide. Lance had a reputation of being kind of a just a serial

Philanderer. A very large consideration was the motive in this case. He knew that she was having an affair, and so there's motive right there. Roswell Police Detectives grapple with the brutal homicide of Tecmogl, Lance Herndon, who's been found bludgeon to death in his own bed. Hours into the investigation, and with few solid leads to go on, detectives focus on a turned down photo of a girlfriend of Lance's. Hours into the investigation and with few solid leads to go on, detectives focus on a turned down photo of a girlfriend of Lances,

named Kathy Collins. People describe Kathy Collins' really smart, very attractive, Lances trusted, public girlfriend. Lances had been dating Kathy Collins for years on and off. They were really, really good friends and took a lot of trips together and they were quite close. Typically, if he had special events to go to, he would usually take Kathy Collins. They looked good together as a couple. Before detectives can begin their search for Ms. Collins. She shows up unannounced at the crime scene. Kathy showed up while they were still investigating the crime.

She wanted her clothes out of there. She came back to the house and caused a big scene. She wanted to recover personal effects from the house and cause the ruckus. Someone to be Lance's public girlfriend, her behavior is, uh, detectives are dumbfounded because she didn't seem to concern that Lance was murdered. Detectives asked, could Kathy be cold-hearted enough to kill Lance and then return for clothes the next day? During our interview, she came off very genuine and she provided us with an haliby.

Kathy Collins had a boyfriend. I don't know where the lands knew it, but they were together the night before. Then, I was able to exonerate herself. With Kathy's whereabouts accounted for, detectives are stymied. Who would have taken the time to turn down her photo while committing a homicide.

One of the primary suspects in this murder, the natural person that you would sort of question, would be Lance's ex-wife, because she could stand to gain millions through his insurance policy. And Jeanine Price was from Kansas City a dancer before she moved on to work as a corporate flight attendant. My parents met under the figure of Christ

in Rio, D Janeiro, Brazil. A pretty crazy story. I think my mom walked up to my dad and introduced herself because she saw a, as she described, the cute-looking brother at Rio. Within months, Lance and Jeanine are married in a lavish ceremony. And within a year, Harrison is born.

It was, you know, a pretty normal family relationship with, you know, mom and dad both in the household. It was a happy time. They seem to be happily married. The thing of it is, with Lance being so popular and so successful, I think a lot of, a lot of females thought he just would be a great catch. Lance had a reputation of being kind of a just a serial philanthropist. Janine just got sick of it.

She loved them, but she couldn't take the infidelity, and so she filed for divorce. It's not only have they recently been divorced, but Lance also had a $1 million life insurance policy that listed Janine as a beneficiary. We began to just look at her very closely as a person who may have had an emotional motivation and a financial motive to want to murder lands. She provided us with an alibi.

She was out to dinner with a boyfriend of hers, and all of that was confirmed through our investigation. With no suspects in custody, Panic begins to spread around the town of Roswell. The way it was committed and the viciousness of the attack really created a sense of fear and concern amongst the neighborhood. 36 hours into the investigation,

the Medical Examiner's report comes in and adds to the horror of Lance's murder. And he found that there were no injuries to Lance's hands at all, which means he did not do anything to defend himself to ward off these blows. It appears that he may have been asleep at the time that this incident took place.

Someone climbed onto his naked body in Strattleton and struck him in the head and face. At least 11 times, and as many as 14 times, causing his death. Investigators are at a loss about the weapon used in the murder until the ME meticulously studies the wounds. He said the object had a texture and a shape to it, and it was just a curved pattern that he noticed. That was very particular.

And within that curved pattern, he noticed that there were these linear lines that showed a pattern. That pattern reminds the medical examiner of a case he'd done years before. He showed me a dissertation paper he had written years earlier. The medical examiner felt very, very confident that the murder weapon that was used was an adjustable crescent wrench,

one that is just like this one. Hey, listener, it is me, Jason Bateman. I want to tell you that we've struck podcast gold in our new episode with David Letterman available four weeks early on one Dree Plus. It's like a late-night talk show hangout, but with a smart list twist. We are diving deep into David Letterman's incredible career in the moments that shaped him into the beloved icon he is today. Our interview with David Letterman was reported live in Brooklyn

in front of thousands of our biggest fans from our smart list tour. This is the fourth of 10 interviews with new episodes releasing every Thursday. We're talking with celebrities and icons like the great Will Ferrell, Kevin Hart, Mark Cuban, Jimmy Campbell, so many more. Join us for an unforgettable conversation

that will have you laughing pondering and quite possibly contemplating growing a beard like Letterman's. I know I have. You can listen to these episodes four weeks early and add free on Wundry Plus, find Wundry Plus in the Wundry app or on Apple podcasts. Three days after Atlanta Tech mogul Lance Herndon was bludgeoned to death in his home. The medical examiner has identified the likely murder weapon in a justable crescent wrench. Now detectives need to find the instrument

that delivered the killing blow. I went back to the house. I went to shed, like a tool shed area. And it was very immaculate. The man was very, very neat. And he had all of his tools, like traced out and then placed out onto his pegboard, only tool that was missing was a 16 inch adjustable

or crest wrench. We re-interviewed several of the persons that had been in the house in the days and weeks leading up to the murder. And what one of the housekeepers told us is that Mr. Herndon had a rinse just like this one in his bedroom on the night that he was murdered. She said that Mr. Herndon was gonna be putting together

a piece of exercise equipment, so the Creston wrench had been there in his bedroom, which made it readily accessible for the killer to use. Despite this new information, investigators still struggle to locate the wrench. But confirming it was last seen in the bedroom where he was killed, they now believe Lens's murder may not have been premeditated, but was instead a crime of passion.

During the course of our investigation, it became known to us that Mr. Hernan had a crime of passion. During the course of our investigation, it became known to us that Mr. Herndon had a lot of women in his life, including Miss Talana, one of those people that worked for him. Talana carried away and lands hernded in with friends. Earlier in their relationship, they dated, and actually been intimate. But at the time of his death, they were platonic friends.

Lance was trying to help her by giving her some part-time work there at the office, and on the night of Lance's murder, Talana Carroway was scheduled to work from 6 until 1030. During her interview with police, Talana helps establish a window of time when Lance was killed. She told us that she was with Lance. That Lance's house up until around 1030, at which time she left Lance's house,

and went straight home according to her. She said when she got home around 1130, she had a message on her answer machine from Lance. Checking to see if she made it home okay. We did confirm that she called him back and talked to him for a little while up until around midnight. And so the theory is that there was only one opportunity to commit this murder. It was a very narrow window of time, and it was from midnight when he was talking to Tlana

to 4am because his clock is unplugged at 4am. During her police interview, Tlana claims she didn't go back to Lance's house that night, and quickly points to the finger elsewhere. She told us that he was dating a woman who several months earlier had come into his life, named Dionne Baugh.

Dionne Baugh was a 28-year-old college student at Georgia State University here in Atlanta. She originally is from Jamaica, and she and Lance began a relationship. Talana explains that Dionne and Lance met at his 41st birthday party, and he was immediately captivated. Dionne has both beauty and brains.

When he met her, he was smitten, and they started dating, and it quickly turned sexual. Talana told investigators that Lance loved to wine and dine, and he didn't spare any expense on Dion. You know, he bought her a Mercedes. They traveled together. He lavished Dion with a lot of material goodies. What Lance didn't realize was that Dion Ball

was probably as much a player as him. She didn't tell him, but she was married. Once the investigation revealed that at the time that she and Lance began a relationship, Dionne Ball was actually married. It then immediately created a real interest in her husband, Sean, that should make him a resident who worked as an airline pilot.

Investigators suddenly need to speak with Miss Ball to know if Lance's amorous activities landed him at the deadly corner of a love triangle. We were able to speak with Dion Ball or see indicated that she and Lance were madly in love. That Lance was enamored with her. She claimed she did tell her husband that Lance Herndon was just a mentor and a friend.

But I would say it was probably a hard to explain the Mercedes and the extra money and all of the other stuff that husband caught on pretty quickly. Sean knew that she was having an affair, and so there's motive right there. And very early on, what the investigation revealed very interesting me is that Sean had been in Atlanta the night of Lance's murder.

Mr. Herndon called us and asked for her to be removed from the property, and in turn, be given a criminal trespass warning not to return. Investigators get a tip. We were shocked to see inside of her purse the silver foil gum wrappers, like we had seen in the driveway of Lance Hurnden's home. Detectives are hot on the heels of a new person of interest in the murder of Lance Herndon.

One of Herndon's lovers, college student, Dionne Baugh, has revealed that she's not only married, but that her husband, Sean, who lives in Jamaica, was in Atlanta on the evening of the murder. And she said he got on his 8-ish PM flight, and then she went back home, and she did a late night study session from 9 to 1030-ish. That's how she described that night.

Investigators check flight records to determine if Sean was actually on the plane as scheduled. The night, Lance was killed. We were able to confirm that Sean did actually have a reservation to catch a flight, and then we learned that he was physically on the plane, which means that at the time of Lance's death, Sean would have been 1,000 miles away at home in Jamaica. So he was able to be eliminated at that suspect. As Sean has taken off the list of viable suspects,

detectives turn back to the other side of the lover's triangle and focus in on Lance's current lover, Dion Baugh. A short time later, in some of the interviews with the workers at the office, they told us about a prior incident involving Lance Herndon and Dion Baugh that occurred at the house late one night, about 30 days before the murder. Dion showed up at Lance's house, unannounced. Dion was able to see Kathy Collins walking through the house with a towel on.

Dion came very enraged. She began to ring the doorbell, beat on the door, kick the door, and try to gain access to the house so that she could confront Lance about what she had seen. Lance refused to answer the door. He called 911. Mr. Herndon called us and asked for her to be removed from the property, and in turn,

be given a criminal trespass warning not to return. That's when the fight kicked off. She started scrapping, struggling, pushing. You got two fully grown police officers here, handling a five-foot-seven, five-foot-eight female. So we managed to get her under control. We got her handcuffed and got cursed and kicked and everything all the way to the jail.

And the book to her in for trespassing. They arrested her and they charged her with the misdemeanor of criminal trespassing for being on this property without his permission or authority. They flat out take her to jail. and Lance never needed an bailer out. He didn't do anything. And that criminal case was scheduled to go to court on the day that Lance Herndon's body was discovered

by his mother. Although Dion's arrest had been a month before the murder, detectives must now scrutinize a potential motive. Was she trying to silence lands before he was due to testify against her in court? Detectives bring Dion back in for questioning, where she makes a surprising admission. During that interview, she indicated that on the night of his death,

that he, in fact, came to her home, which was located in North Cross, Georgia, and brought her his laptop computer for her to use for a class. She claims that he came to her house sometime in between 9 and 10, 30 pm, dropped off the computer, and left. And that was the last time that she saw him alive. But Dion's explanation doesn't match with Talonna Caraway's account from that night. Talonna Caraway is there in the office with Lance,

and she doesn't leave until 1030, and she says Lance never left the house. It would have been impossible for Lance to have left his home to bring the computer and drop it off and leave during this window. All of this was confirmed with her records, so that kind of led us to miss Baw. We have no alibi for her, so we're really concentrating on her.

Considering her possession of the missing laptop, a court date with Lance scheduled just hours after he was found murdered and no alibi. Detectives are convinced Dion Baugh is their killer. But with no eyewitnesses or evidence tying her to the crime scene, there's nothing they can arrest her on. There were some really serious forensic challenges to the case. There were no fingerprints of anyone there in the bedroom

other than Lance Hurnden's fingerprints that were found. We've done forensic testing on the hair and on the materials found in the underneath the fingernails of Lance Hurnden during the autopsy. We looked at all aspects of Lance Hurnden's life. We did a really deep dive into his finances. We've exhausted every lead, then we've done all the interviews and re-interviews that we can find.

So the case goes cold. Based on the fact that it took so long, we none of us had a lot of hope. I did not have a lot of faith in the Roswell Police Department because it was just too long of a period of time. Over a year and a half passes with no new leads until detectives get a call from someone close to their prime suspect.

Eventually the investigation gets a break. We get a phone call from an Atlanta attorney who represents Sean in a divorce action against his wife, Dianne Baugh, and that Sean would like to make a statement to the investigators that he has some information that is relevant to the murder of Lance Herndon. is relevant to the murder of Lance Herndon. The case of Lance Herndon's murder had gone cold for more than a year,

despite exhaustive efforts by the police. Vinne Call sparks the investigation back to life. In 1998, investigators get a tip, and it comes in from D'baugh's husband, Sean himself. Sean is here in Atlanta in a divorce action against his wife, Deonbaugh, and he would like to make a statement to the investigators. Sean indicates that several months earlier, while Dion had been in Jamaica visiting,

they got into an argument over her relationship with Lance Herndon, and he confronted her about whether or not she had anything to do with Lance's death. She has a very hot temper, and she begins to curse him out, kick him, and beat him. And she makes the statement that she will kill John just like she did Lance.

That was the piece that gave us confidence that we in fact had identified the right person to charge with Lance's murder. Sean then tells investigators that he and Deon will soon be in divorce court, giving police the opportunity to use any statements she makes under oath against her in their criminal case. I watched Deon Ball testify under oath that she and Lance

Herndon never had an intimate or sexual relationship. That she and Lance Herndon were just merely casual friends. That statement made under oath was a completely different statement than the one she had given to our investigators on the day after Lance's death, where she indicates that they were madly in love, and had shared a very intimate and personal sexual relationship.

Denying an adulterous relationship with Lance, Dion also makes a perplexing admission about Lance's laptop, which she had previously told detectives, he dropped at her house. At this divorce hearing, which was based on infidelity, Dion said that she actually left the house that night, went and picked up the laptop from Lance's home, which placed her at the scene of that crime. And it's also a contradiction to what she had said two years prior to investigators. Dianne has finally admitted on record that she was at Lans' house the night he was killed.

It was one of those things that added to this ever-evolving, clear picture about what happened the night that Lance Herndon was murdered. It was big. So at this point, police had what they need to make the arrest and charge Dion Ball with the murder of Lance Hurned. When we arrested Dion Ball, the vehicle and her purse

were searched. Inside of her purse, we were shocked to see it filled with literally hundreds of the silver foil gum wrappers, like we had seen in the driveway of Lance Hurned and Tom on the night his body was found. I got the news that Dion was arrested and it was the greatest news we'd ever gotten. The first thing I did is I called my husband,

and I called, you know, everyone close to me and close to the situation to let them know Dion was finally arrested. I felt, you know, at such peace. It takes more than three years for prosecutors to bring Dion to court to face charges of murder. Because there were no eyewitnesses to this murder, I thought it was very important that a demonstration

needed to be done to show the jurors a very clear picture how this kind of very vicious, rage-filled murder happened. Dionne Bae wanted when Lance Herndon had. She was a person who was accustomed to being in control, getting her way. And when Lance refused to continue having this relationship with her, had gone so far as to have her arrested

for being on his property, that really was kind of the straw that broke her back. And she had to do something about it, and she had to do something about it before her court appearance the next day. This was going to be a uphill battle for the prosecution, because this case was built all on circumstantial evidence. There was no murder weapon, no fingerprints.

It was just thin, just thin. Almost five years after the death of high-tech mogul, Lance Herndon, the trial of Dion Baugh gets underway. She's charged with murder and aggravated assault and faces a term of life in prison. With no forensic evidence or murder weapon tying her to the homicide, the prosecution is relying on circumstantial evidence. It was a circumstantial evidence case, but all of the pieces of circumstantial evidence

that really pointed to Dionne Bar and to Dionne Barlo. Fundamentally, the one piece of evidence that tied all of this together was the laptop computer. The consistent thing I pointed out to the jury is when did Dionne get the laptop? There was one opportunity for her to do it, and that was when she came to the house at midnight.

When he fell asleep, she picked up the wrench that was on the floor in his bedroom, turned the photo, face down. She climbed onto his naked body in straddle-tem, and she struck him in the head and face, causing his death. She would have been covered with blood spatter. She would have used the bloody pillowcase on the bed to perhaps wipe off the positive in a toilet, hopefully trying to destroy any evidence

that could be recovered from the pillowcase. She was there at four o'clock when those clocks began going off, and she unplugged them rather than allowed them to continue to blare. And then, and she went back to the basement, where the office was located. Took that laptop computer that she knew was very expensive and gone out of the garage, dropping those silver gum

wrappers in the garage and driveway as she fled the scene. The prosecution rests, and the jury returns a swift verdict. So after a two-week trial, Dion Ball was found guilty of murder and sentenced to life in prison. When the jury found Dion Ball guilty, I was so elated. I just wanted to shout at the top of my lungs, thank God. I just felt like justice had finally been served. With Dion Baugh behind bars, the ordeal is over.

But two years later, she turns the tables on everyone who cared about Lance Herndon. Dion Baugh was able to do that. is over, but two years later, she turns the tables on everyone who cared about land-sourning. Deon Baugh was able to successfully have her conviction overturned based on a technicality involving the detectives testimony during the trial process. I was furious. I felt like this is so unfair. Deonbaugh's second trial doesn't go as smoothly as the first,

as the jury deadlocks and a mistrial is declared. One year later, the prosecution prepares for yet another trial. So by the third trial, what was clear was that the prosecution really had its work cut out for them. I mean, this case was built all around circumstantial evidence, and there was a lot of just emotional fatigue, particularly Lance's mom did not want to sit through another trial.

Shortly before the third trial is set to begin, prosecutors get a call from Deon's defense team. Deon Ball's lawyers came and indicated that she was willing to accept responsibility. And so we allowed Deon Ball to plead guilty to a manslaughter charge and receive a sentence of 10 years to serve. Nearly a decade after Lance's brutal murder, the family can finally move on. Those that were close to him still remember Lance as a game changer that opened the high-tech landscape of Atlanta

to African-American entrepreneurs. Just a great man, he was a great friend. I think about him quite often. I miss him, I will always miss him. When I see Harrison, I see Lance. I see a lot of Lance in Harrison. I think ever since I was 16 years old when I started my first company, I wanted to be Lance.

I wanted to be as successful as Lance. And I wanted to have the life that Lance had. I think that, in a lot of ways, Lance's murder is what's really driven me to try and continue his legacy. By being as close to him as possible, and I hope that he looks down on me from heaven knowing how hard I work and how hard I try to continue that legacy. We're herndons, you know, and not everybody looks at the world that way.

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