The Prosecution's Case

According to the prosecution's theory of the case, Lance Herndon had grown tired of Dionne Baugh and wanted to end their relationship. Authorities claim that Herndon had told some of his friends that he was weary of Baugh's controlling, obsessive behavior and that he wanted to get rid of her.

But by August 7, claim prosecutors, Dionne Baugh had realized that her days with Lance Herndon were numbered — and, they say, the evidence suggests that she was not a woman to be trifled with. Prosecutors also believe the combination of anger and greed was fueled by Baugh's August 8 court appearance. They theorize that the final straw may have been that Baugh learned that Herndon no longer intended to fulfill his promise appear in court and drop the charges against her.

According to the state's theory, Dionne Baugh came to Lance Herndon's house sometime around midnight on August 7 or 8. They believe the couple had sex, and that Baugh straddled a dozing or unsuspecting Herndon and beat him over the head with a large, heavy object. Prosecutors say Herndon kept a large crescent wrench in his house, but it was not found after the killing.

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After she killed Lance Herndon, say prosecutors, Dionne Baugh took a shower to wash off the victim's blood, then helped herself to Herndon's jewelry and one of his credit cards. They say she then unplugged the victim's alarm clocks so that they would not still be going off and attracting attention when Herdon's employees began to arrive at work around 7:30 a.m. Only someone familiar with Herndon's sleeping and working habits — like Baugh, say prosecutors — would have known to unplug the clocks.

Several of Lance's intimates say Herndon normally slept on his back with his arms folded across his chest, the same position he was in when his dead body was discovered? But the medical examiner claims that it's impossible that Herndon would have been in that position after such a brutal attack. Therefore, authorities theorize, someone familiar with Lance's sleeping habits would have had to have placed him in that position so that it would appear as if Herndon were murdered while he slept.

Prosecutors also say that before she left the house, Baugh went downstairs to the Access Inc. offices, where she helped herself to Lance's IBM ThinkPad. Although he had sometimes loaned Baugh the laptop computer in the past, his co-workers claim the meticulous Herndon never allowed the IBM to leave his office without its protective case, yet the case was later discovered in a storage closet in the office.

Dionne Baugh freely admitted to police that she had the computer, claiming that Lance had brought it with him to her home the night of August 7. She also claimed that Herndon often loaned it to her without its case.

Neither Lance Herndon's jewelry nor the murder weapon were ever recovered. Police theorize that Baugh disposed of the crescent wrench and possibly the jewelry as well when she left her house on August 8 after learning that the authorities wanted to speak to her.

But the credit card that prosecutors claim Baugh stole from Lance Herndon did surface again. The defendant used it the morning of August 8 — before Herndon's body had even been discovered — to order by phone a display cabinet for her home that cost nearly $3000.

Prosecutors also point to forensic evidence they say proves Baugh committed the heinous murder. Head and pubic hair samples collected from the defendant matched similar hairs found in Herndon's bed. DNA found under one of Herdon's fingernails was identical to Dionne Herndon's DNA. Two crumpled gum wrappers found at the Herndon home resembled gum wrappers later found in the defendant's purse. And a piece of leafy vegetation found on Herndon's bedroom carpet appeared to match a similar piece of vegetation found on the floorboard of the Mercedes Baugh drove.

Police know that Lance Herndon was at his house at 9:00 p.m. on August 7. His ex-wife, Jeannine, dropped off Herndon's mother, who was spending the night with her grandson.

Phone records show that he made or received phone calls off and on throughout the evening — including two calls from the defendant, and one he made to Baugh at 10:53 p.m. The defendant's claim that Lance Herndon came to her home located at least 20 minutes away between 9:00 and 10:30 that evening was seemingly impossible.

All of this evidence, prosecutors say, proves that Dionne Baugh is a greedy woman who maliciously murdered Lance Herndon.

The Defense's Case