Bio

David J. Lawrie was born on June 29, 1961. Lawrie was married to Michelle Lawrie. They had three children together, Marcus, Fawn, and Tabitha. By 1992, the marriage had ended or was breaking down. Michelle was living in a home south of Dover, Delaware, with their two young daughters, Fawn and Tabitha. Their son, Marcus, was living with David Lawrie at the time.

Lawrie’s relationship with Michelle had become troubled before the killings. In July 1992, he reportedly threatened to kill her. On August 5, 1992, one day before the murders, he pleaded guilty in Family Court to terroristic threatening. He was released with an order to have no contact with Michelle.

At the time, Michelle had filed for divorce. Lawrie was angry about the separation and divorce. He later admitted that he had used cocaine before the attack.

Court records also noted that Lawrie had worked for most of his adult life, had no unrelated prior criminal record, and accepted responsibility for his actions. However, he violated the court order that told him to stay away from Michelle.

Murder Story

On August 6, 1992, David J. Lawrie went to the home where his estranged wife, Michelle Lawrie, was staying. Michelle was inside with two of the couple’s children, 4-year-old Fawn and 2-year-old Tabitha. She was also babysitting two neighborhood children, Charles Humbertson and Lisa Humbertson.

Lawrie broke into the house and deliberately set it on fire. According to the Delaware Supreme Court, he set fire to the house while Michelle, the children who died, and survivor Lisa Humbertson were inside. The jury later convicted him of arson in the first degree and burglary in the second degree.

Michelle and the children tried to hide in a bedroom. Lawrie entered the bedroom and stabbed Michelle in the chest. The fire spread through the house, filling it with smoke. Michelle, Fawn, Tabitha, and Charles Humbertson died. Michelle died from stab wounds and smoke inhalation, while the children died from smoke inhalation.

Lisa Humbertson survived. Reports state that she escaped through a bedroom window. The Delaware Supreme Court noted that Lawrie helped Lisa escape only after he had already gotten out of danger himself. The court also noted that he did not put himself at risk to save the others.

After leaving the burning house, Lawrie went to a neighbor’s home. He told the neighbor what he had done, and the neighbor called police. Lawrie stayed there until officers arrived and arrested him.

In May 1993, Lawrie was tried in Kent County Superior Court. He was charged with several counts of murder, along with arson and burglary. The jury convicted him of first-degree felony murder for the deaths of Fawn Lawrie, Tabitha Lawrie, and Charles Humbertson. The jury acquitted him of intentional first-degree murder for Michelle Lawrie’s death but convicted him of second-degree murder for killing her.

After the guilt phase, the case moved to sentencing. The jury voted 9 to 3 that the aggravating circumstances outweighed the mitigating circumstances. The court found several statutory aggravating factors, including that the murders happened during arson, happened during burglary, and were part of one course of conduct that caused two or more deaths.

On July 8, 1993, the Superior Court sentenced Lawrie to death for the first-degree felony murders of Tabitha Lawrie, Fawn Lawrie, and Charles Humbertson. The Delaware Supreme Court affirmed the death sentences in 1994.

Lawrie remained on Delaware’s death row until 1999. In the days before his execution, he did not ask the Delaware Board of Pardons for clemency. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to stop the execution. He was executed by lethal injection at the Delaware Correctional Center in Smyrna on April 23, 1999. He was pronounced dead at 12:17 a.m.