Very little is publicly known about the early life of Charles Elroy Laplace. His age, childhood background, education, and professional life were not widely documented in media or court records. What is known is that he resided in Figtree, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and was married to Diane Laplace, who later became his victim.

On February 12, 2004, Charles Elroy Laplace committed the fatal stabbing of his wife, Diane Laplace, inside their home in Figtree, a village on the island of Nevis in Saint Kitts and Nevis. The motive was not made public, but the act was classified as domestic homicide, and Laplace was swiftly taken into custody following the incident.

After nearly two years in legal proceedings, Laplace was convicted of murder on February 28, 2006. Just over a month later, on March 30, 2006, he was sentenced to death by hanging, the legal method of execution in Saint Kitts and Nevis.

Despite the seriousness of the sentence, Laplace was not granted the full appeals process afforded under the law. His legal team had intended to appeal to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in London — the final court of appeal for Saint Kitts and Nevis and many other Caribbean nations.

However, before the appeal could be formally submitted or heard, the government carried out his execution.

On December 19, 2008, Charles Elroy Laplace was hanged at Her Majesty's Prison in Basseterre, Saint Kitts. The execution sparked immediate controversy, both domestically and internationally.

Human rights groups, political opponents, and legal activists condemned the execution for several reasons:

• Laplace had not yet completed his appeals process.
• He was reportedly unrepresented by legal counsel at the time of his execution.
• The country had not executed anyone since 2000, making this event a dramatic and sudden return to capital punishment.
• It was the only execution in the Americas outside of the United States between 2003 and 2008.