Elisa McNabney was born on January 20, 1966, in Attleboro, Massachusetts. She was originally named Laren Renee Sims. Her parents were Jesse and Jackie Sims. When she was still young, her family moved to Florida. Laren was a bright student and even a cheerleader in high school. She attended Hernando High School and had an IQ of 140, indicating she was very intelligent.

Despite her abilities, Laren dropped out of high school. She had two children from two different fathers. As she became a young mother, she began to engage in criminal activities. Laren was arrested for stealing a L'Oreal hair color kit from a Woolworth's store in Tampa, Florida. After her arrest, she was released but soon violated her probation. This led to more trouble when she illegally used a credit card. Facing legal issues, she cut off her ankle monitor and moved to Las Vegas, Nevada, with her daughter, Haylei, who was born on January 29, 1985.

Over the years, Laren used many different names, totaling 38 aliases. Some of these included Melissa Godwin, Tammy Keelin, and Elizabeth Barasch, the last of which she adopted after meeting a woman while in a Florida prison. She used the name Elisa Redelsperger when she met Larry McNabney. While on the run, she used yet another alias, Shane Ivaroni.

On September 10, 2001, Elisa McNabney and her friend Sarah Dutra injected Larry McNabney with the horse tranquilizer xylazine at a hotel in Los Angeles after attending a horse show. Larry was last seen being pushed in a wheelchair by Elisa that day. The following day, Elisa began to empty out Larry's office and sold his horse trailer and truck. According to Elisa's later confession, she drove to Yosemite National Park to bury Larry. However, he was still alive at that time, so she returned with him unconscious in the back seat to Sacramento.

Larry died on September 12, 2001, after receiving multiple doses of tranquilizers. Forensic examiners later estimated that Elisa and Sarah kept Larry's body in a refrigerator in the garage for several months. They later moved his body to a shallow ditch near a winery in Linden, California. Larry's body was discovered on February 5, 2002. At that time, Elisa had sold off over $500,000 in the couple's assets and had disappeared.

After the body was found, a nationwide manhunt began for Elisa. She was using the alias Shane Ivaroni and was hiding in Destin, Florida. On March 20, 2002, she turned herself in at a friend's house in Fort Walton Beach. Elisa was booked into the Hernando County Jail as she awaited extradition to California. While in custody, she confessed to the crime to law enforcement.

Tragically, a week later, on Easter Sunday 2002, Elisa hanged herself in her jail cell. Sarah Dutra faced trial for her role in the murder. She was charged with first-degree murder but was convicted of voluntary manslaughter and sentenced to 11 years and 8 months in prison.