Mariticide
Who was Sally Lawrence and how did her estranged husband and former pilot Iain kill her?
Sally had described her partner as “cold” and worried for months about whether he might kill her
SALLY Lawrence was a managing director and mother-of-three who was murdered by her husband Iain Lawrence.
The details of Sally’s tragic murder are explored in a Sky documentary series named The Real Manhunter, which examines shocking real-life crimes.
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Troubled marriage
Not much is known about Sally’s early life, other than that she lived in Leicester and had been married once before tying the knot with Lawrence.
She had two children from her first marriage and one son with her second husband.
Lawrence worked as a commercial airline pilot and Sally worked as a managing director of a big company which meant, to many, they seemed to be the perfect couple.
In actual fact, their marriage was on the rocks and, by 2012, the couple had decided to divorce.
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Cold blooded murder
Their marriage had started to break down in 2007, but Lawrence refused to leave the family’s home despite the fact it was in Sally’s name.
Lawrence was enraged by their decision and, in the months before her death, Sally told friends that she worried that her “cold and calm” husband would murder her.
Sadly, in 2012, Sally’s fear came true.
Lawrence disabled the passenger airbag in the couple’s car and drove his car into a tree with Sally inside.
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Moments before the impact, he unplugged her seat belt.
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The horrific crime landed Lawrence in Leicester Crown Court where Sally’s sister, Catherine Kudhail, took the stand.
Catherine said: "Our family is here today because of the cruel, callous, evil and sickening act of murder against our beautiful Sally.
“On the day Sally died, a part of us died with her."
Lawrence was sentenced to a minimum of 24 years in prison, but the case soon went to the London Criminal Appeal Court.
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Lawrence faces justice
Lawrence’s appeal failed at the London Criminal Appeal Court in 2014.
During the trial, he claimed that his leg had gone into a “full-blown” spasm and that had caused him to crash the car but this claim was dismissed by the judge.
The judge said: "This medical report does not make any reference to leg spasms, nor does it attempt to address the circumstances of the accident and explain how the current diagnosis might have been relevant to the issues with which the jury had to deal."
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True crime fans can catch The Real Manhunter on Sky Crime when it airs on November 27, 2024,
The crime documentary will dive into the details of Sally’s tragic death.
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