Lawrence Michael Handley is behind bars for his wicked plot to have two men kidnap his wife. Sadly, it ended tragically.
Schanda Handley was at home with her 14-year-old daughter when two men dressed as carpet cleaners knocked on her door and asked if they could demonstrate their carpet steamer to her. When she said no, they forced themselves into the home at gunpoint.
They then put a hood over the wife’s head and handcuffed her and her neighbor, reports say. The suspects drove off with Schanda in a van, leaving her daughter and neighbor behind.
It was Lawrence—Schanda’s ex-husband–who hired the men to kidnap her. He planned for the kidnappers to drive her to camp near Woodville, Mississippi. Authorities aren’t sure what he planned to do from there.
As the men drove the van on Interstate 10, authorities noticed it was serving and attempted to stop it.
The kidnappers, identified as Sylvester Bracey and Arsenio Haynes, exited the freeway and turned down a dead-end gravel road. The two men tried to flee from the scene by swimming in a canal, prosecutors stated.
However, they drowned.
On Monday, Lawrence pleaded guilty to his crime. He’s been charged with two counts of second-degree kidnapping and one count of attempted second-degree kidnapping.
He faces 15 to 35 years in prison.
Lawrence accepted a plea deal that allowed him to avoid a charge of aggravated kidnapping and a mandatory life sentence that comes with the charge.
As for his ex-wife, she was “really unhappy” that he didn’t face the possibility of a life sentence.
“My hope is that when he is sentenced, he will have 35 years in prison,” she said. “I think my life, my freedom, ends when he comes out.”
“I knew he was coming to get me,” she said.
Her ex-husband’s attorney Kevin Stockstill said his client had been using methamphetamine and cocaine for days when he mapped out the plan to kidnap his ex.
Mr. Handley planned to “come into heroes” and save her to “win her back.”
“It certainly wasn’t a logical thought, but when you take a lot of methamphetamine and cocaine, I guess it made sense to him,” Mr. Stockstill said. “It turned out to be a terrible decision. “
“His behavior was very erratic,” Schanda said, adding that she thought he might have had drug-induced psychosis. “He had lost his mind like he was determined that we were together.”
