Bio

Darrell Mease was born in 1946. By the late 1980s, Mease was living in or around southwest Missouri. During 1987, he became acquainted with Lloyd J. Lawrence. Court records state that the two men were involved in the manufacture and sale of methamphetamine, and that Lawrence told Mease he would teach him how to make the drug.

Their relationship later became strained. Mease believed Lawrence had failed to keep his promise and later feared Lawrence intended to harm him. In late 1987, Mease and his girlfriend, Mary Epps, left the Taney County area. Before leaving, Mease took methamphetamine and chemicals connected to the drug-making process from Lawrence and hid them in the Reeds Spring area.

Mease and Epps traveled around the country before returning to Missouri in May 1988. According to court records, Mease came back after hearing that Lawrence planned to kill him. That return led directly to the confrontation that ended with the murders of Lloyd Lawrence, Frankie Lawrence, and William Lawrence.

Murder Story

In 1987, Darrell Mease became involved with Lloyd J. Lawrence in methamphetamine manufacturing and sales. Lawrence told Mease he would teach him how to manufacture the drug, but the relationship between the two men became tense when that did not happen. Later that year, Mease claimed he became afraid Lawrence might kill him.

Mease and his girlfriend, Mary Epps, left Missouri in December 1987. Before leaving, Mease took several pounds of methamphetamine and drug-making chemicals from Lawrence. He hid them in the Reeds Spring area and then traveled with Epps across the country.

In May 1988, Mease returned to Missouri. Court records state that he had learned during a phone call with his mother that Lawrence was allegedly planning to kill him. Mease decided to return to settle the dispute.

On May 15, 1988, Mease hid in a concealed position near the road leading to the Lawrence property in rural Taney County. Around noon, Lloyd Lawrence, his wife Frankie Lawrence, and their 19-year-old grandson William “Willie” Lawrence were riding all-terrain vehicles.

As Lloyd and Frankie passed by, Mease fired a shotgun and hit them. He then shot Lloyd again. When Willie turned around, Mease shot him as well. After that, Mease shot each victim in the head with the shotgun.

After the murders, Mease took Lloyd Lawrence’s wallet, watch, and rings. He removed about $600 from the wallet and hid it under a nearby log. He then fled Missouri with Mary Epps.

In January 1989, Mease was arrested in Arizona on outstanding Missouri warrants, including felony nonsupport warrants and an unlawful-use-of-weapons warrant. He was returned to Missouri and confessed to killing the Lawrences.

Mease was charged on March 16, 1989, with three counts of first-degree murder and three counts of armed criminal action. A change of venue moved part of the case to Greene County. He was convicted and sentenced to death in 1990. The Missouri Supreme Court affirmed the judgment in 1992.

Mease was scheduled to be executed in February 1999. During Pope John Paul II’s visit to Missouri, the pope personally asked Governor Mel Carnahan to show mercy. On January 28, 1999, Carnahan commuted Mease’s death sentence to life without parole.

Darrell Mease was not executed. His current confirmed status is life imprisonment without parole, unless a later death record is found.