Very little is publicly known about the early life of Labrant Dennis before the events of the 1996 murders. He was known to be the ex-boyfriend of Timwanika Lumpkins, one of the two murder victims, and their relationship had reportedly been troubled, with signs of obsessive or violent behavior surfacing prior to the killings. Dennis was not a student at the University of Miami but was connected to campus life through his relationship with Lumpkins, who often visited her friend Marlin Barnes, a football player at the school.

His life before the crime did not include a public criminal record of significant note, and he was not considered a high-profile suspect until the evidence in the case linked him directly to the crime scene through motive, opportunity, and circumstantial findings.

On the morning of April 13, 1996, tragedy struck the University of Miami community. Marlin Barnes, a 22-year-old linebacker for the Hurricanes, was found dead inside his on-campus apartment, the victim of an extremely violent attack. His roommate, Earl Little—also a member of the football team—discovered the gruesome scene when he returned home to retrieve his truck keys. He noticed that two of his tires had been slashed and that the apartment door was partially blocked. Peering inside, he saw Barnes’ lifeless, blood-soaked body slumped against the door.

Barnes had been bludgeoned beyond recognition, struck 22 times with the butt of a shotgun. While police were surveying the scene, they also found Timwanika Lumpkins, Barnes’ longtime friend and Dennis’ former girlfriend, still alive but critically injured and hidden between the bed and the wall. She succumbed to her injuries later at the hospital.

The violent nature of the attack pointed to a personal motive. After a 17-day investigation, evidence quickly led detectives to Labrant Dennis, Lumpkins’ ex-boyfriend. Prosecutors argued that Dennis had slashed Earl Little’s tires to trap the victims inside the apartment and then used a shotgun as a blunt weapon to exact revenge, likely stemming from jealousy and rejection.

Dennis was arrested on April 30, 1996, and stood trial in 1999, where he was convicted of both murders. He was sentenced to death. However, in 2020, the Florida Supreme Court overturned his death sentence due to procedural concerns and ineffective legal representation during the penalty phase. As of 2024, Dennis remains in custody while awaiting resentencing or further legal proceedings.