1 00:00:00,360 --> 00:00:03,960 Speaker 1: You know, you don't really expect the suspected murderer to 2 00:00:04,000 --> 00:00:06,040 Speaker 1: call you back and confess. I mean, that's just not 3 00:00:06,160 --> 00:00:11,160 Speaker 1: what happens. My name is Kevin Sullivan. I'm a senior 4 00:00:11,160 --> 00:00:13,920 Speaker 1: correspondent for the Washington Post. I've been at the Post 5 00:00:13,960 --> 00:00:17,439 Speaker 1: for twenty eight years, and in three I covered the 6 00:00:17,520 --> 00:00:22,759 Speaker 1: murders that Lawrence Horn was involved with. On March three 7 00:00:22,760 --> 00:00:26,200 Speaker 1: of that year, Millie Horn, her eight year old son Trevor, 8 00:00:26,320 --> 00:00:30,880 Speaker 1: and his nurse, Janice Saunders were murdered. Back then, Sullivan 9 00:00:30,960 --> 00:00:34,839 Speaker 1: was a general assignment reporter in the Montgomery County Maryland Bureau. 10 00:00:35,680 --> 00:00:37,479 Speaker 1: Montgomery County is not the kind of place where we 11 00:00:37,520 --> 00:00:40,400 Speaker 1: have a lot of triple murders. It's a sort of affluent, 12 00:00:40,760 --> 00:00:43,240 Speaker 1: relatively peaceful kind of place, so this was a big 13 00:00:43,280 --> 00:00:47,880 Speaker 1: deal for us. Sullivan was assigned to track down Millie's ex, Lawrence, 14 00:00:48,159 --> 00:00:50,839 Speaker 1: who was living out in Los Angeles. I ended up 15 00:00:50,880 --> 00:00:53,120 Speaker 1: finding a phone number and I called the number and 16 00:00:53,159 --> 00:00:55,360 Speaker 1: I heard, you know, this is Lawrence Rren. Please leave 17 00:00:55,360 --> 00:00:59,120 Speaker 1: me a message. And a few hours later my phone rang. 18 00:01:00,360 --> 00:01:01,920 Speaker 1: He said, yeah, this is Laurence. Sorry, and you were 19 00:01:01,920 --> 00:01:06,959 Speaker 1: trying to reach me, And I said, I'm just calling 20 00:01:06,959 --> 00:01:09,839 Speaker 1: about what happened, and I wondered if you had anything 21 00:01:09,880 --> 00:01:11,680 Speaker 1: to say about it, and said, well, what happened? What 22 00:01:11,680 --> 00:01:15,200 Speaker 1: are you talking about? And I said, you haven't heard 23 00:01:15,200 --> 00:01:18,120 Speaker 1: from the Montgomery County Police and he said, no, I 24 00:01:18,160 --> 00:01:19,960 Speaker 1: have one message on my machine. It was from you. 25 00:01:20,080 --> 00:01:23,119 Speaker 1: What are you talking about? What happened? So I said, 26 00:01:24,400 --> 00:01:27,640 Speaker 1: Mr Horne, I'm sorry to be the one to tell 27 00:01:27,680 --> 00:01:32,200 Speaker 1: you this, but there's been a murder here and your wife, 28 00:01:33,160 --> 00:01:38,880 Speaker 1: Millie and your son Trevor had been killed. And there 29 00:01:39,000 --> 00:01:41,520 Speaker 1: was silence on the other end of the phone for 30 00:01:41,600 --> 00:01:43,800 Speaker 1: a couple of seconds, and then I heard him say 31 00:01:45,160 --> 00:01:55,040 Speaker 1: Millie Trevor and he started crying. There are lots of 32 00:01:55,040 --> 00:01:58,480 Speaker 1: other details about this, and i've've completely forgotten, but that 33 00:01:58,720 --> 00:02:06,360 Speaker 1: I will always remember. A few weeks after they spoke 34 00:02:06,360 --> 00:02:08,720 Speaker 1: on the phone, Sullivan flew out to l A to 35 00:02:08,760 --> 00:02:11,760 Speaker 1: see if he could interview Lawrence in person. He came 36 00:02:11,800 --> 00:02:13,760 Speaker 1: to the door and I said, Mr Horn, and he 37 00:02:13,800 --> 00:02:16,320 Speaker 1: said yeah, and I said, I'm Kevin Sullivan from the 38 00:02:16,360 --> 00:02:18,680 Speaker 1: Washington Post. We've been we've been talking on the phone. 39 00:02:19,400 --> 00:02:21,519 Speaker 1: And he looked at me and he said, how did 40 00:02:21,520 --> 00:02:25,200 Speaker 1: you find me? The most remarkable thing was that he 41 00:02:25,240 --> 00:02:27,800 Speaker 1: opened the door and let me in. I was fully 42 00:02:27,800 --> 00:02:31,480 Speaker 1: prepared for him to say, I really can't talk about this. 43 00:02:31,600 --> 00:02:33,120 Speaker 1: I have nothing to say, and close the door in 44 00:02:33,160 --> 00:02:37,040 Speaker 1: my face. In his article, he described Lawrence's quote dark 45 00:02:37,120 --> 00:02:41,400 Speaker 1: and cramped one bedroom apartment off grungy Hollywood Boulevard. Well, 46 00:02:41,400 --> 00:02:43,440 Speaker 1: I remember walking down the hallway thinking this is kind 47 00:02:43,440 --> 00:02:46,440 Speaker 1: of a creepy place. And and when he came to 48 00:02:46,480 --> 00:02:51,640 Speaker 1: the door, he himself was kind of a mess. He 49 00:02:51,840 --> 00:02:56,160 Speaker 1: was very heavy, he was wearing an old sweatsuit. He 50 00:02:56,200 --> 00:02:59,240 Speaker 1: looked kind of schlobby. He had a baseball cap on, 51 00:02:59,400 --> 00:03:01,800 Speaker 1: and he had the like tight little brat tail kind 52 00:03:01,800 --> 00:03:04,119 Speaker 1: of braids, you know, sticking down from the back of 53 00:03:04,240 --> 00:03:07,880 Speaker 1: the cap. But he just seemed sort of worn down 54 00:03:07,919 --> 00:03:11,160 Speaker 1: by life. He didn't look like the kind of high flying, 55 00:03:11,440 --> 00:03:14,800 Speaker 1: you know, motown record executive that he kind of portrayed 56 00:03:14,880 --> 00:03:20,000 Speaker 1: himself as. On the phone, Lawrence spent the next several 57 00:03:20,000 --> 00:03:23,760 Speaker 1: hours telling him his whole life story, as afternoon turned 58 00:03:23,800 --> 00:03:26,720 Speaker 1: into evening and the apartment grew dark around them, and 59 00:03:26,800 --> 00:03:30,160 Speaker 1: he was adamant about his innocence. I mean, he portrayed 60 00:03:30,240 --> 00:03:32,880 Speaker 1: himself as very close to Berry Gordy, you know. He 61 00:03:32,960 --> 00:03:35,200 Speaker 1: told me that he taught Stevie Wonder how to sign 62 00:03:35,320 --> 00:03:38,839 Speaker 1: his name. He was making the case to me that 63 00:03:39,040 --> 00:03:41,120 Speaker 1: somebody like him could never have done this. He was 64 00:03:41,160 --> 00:03:45,240 Speaker 1: a great guide, had this great career. He said something like, 65 00:03:45,520 --> 00:03:47,640 Speaker 1: if I had done this, how could I go on 66 00:03:47,720 --> 00:03:50,280 Speaker 1: living with with something like that on my conscience? It 67 00:03:50,320 --> 00:04:07,839 Speaker 1: would mean that I'm a monster. I'm Jasmine Morris from 68 00:04:07,840 --> 00:04:11,920 Speaker 1: My Heart Radio and hit Home Media. This is hit Man. 69 00:04:21,480 --> 00:04:24,200 Speaker 1: I've been looking into this book, Hitman, a technical manual 70 00:04:24,279 --> 00:04:27,320 Speaker 1: for independent contractors, for years, and I've been talking to 71 00:04:27,360 --> 00:04:31,040 Speaker 1: Tiffany Horn for almost as long. And after talking to Tiffany, 72 00:04:31,080 --> 00:04:33,320 Speaker 1: I got a pretty clear picture of who her dad was. 73 00:04:33,560 --> 00:04:36,080 Speaker 1: But the thing that's kind of hard to fathom is 74 00:04:36,120 --> 00:04:38,279 Speaker 1: actually how big of a deal he was in Motown 75 00:04:38,320 --> 00:04:41,359 Speaker 1: back in the day. He was partly responsible for some 76 00:04:41,480 --> 00:04:44,720 Speaker 1: of the most important songs that are important to so 77 00:04:44,760 --> 00:04:47,400 Speaker 1: many people. So I wanted to talk to those who 78 00:04:47,400 --> 00:04:49,560 Speaker 1: were there while he was helping to make these things. 79 00:04:49,880 --> 00:04:53,960 Speaker 1: Lawrence Horn is the person that made everything happen for me. 80 00:04:55,640 --> 00:04:58,320 Speaker 1: That's music producer Tony bon Jovi, and I have to 81 00:04:58,360 --> 00:05:02,000 Speaker 1: ask any relation to s Jon bon Jovi is my 82 00:05:02,520 --> 00:05:05,600 Speaker 1: second cousin and I produced the records that got him 83 00:05:05,640 --> 00:05:08,800 Speaker 1: signed and made the hits for him. In the early sixties, 84 00:05:08,839 --> 00:05:11,200 Speaker 1: as a teenager in New Jersey, Tony had been teaching 85 00:05:11,279 --> 00:05:13,960 Speaker 1: himself to be a recording engineer. He thought he'd figured 86 00:05:14,000 --> 00:05:16,279 Speaker 1: out some of the tricks to the Motown sound and 87 00:05:16,320 --> 00:05:19,000 Speaker 1: he wanted to meet with someone from the label. Motown 88 00:05:19,000 --> 00:05:22,240 Speaker 1: instructed me to go to New York where Lawrence Horn was. 89 00:05:22,600 --> 00:05:24,280 Speaker 1: He said, you have a tape to play for me, 90 00:05:24,440 --> 00:05:26,000 Speaker 1: and I said, yes, I do, and I played him 91 00:05:26,000 --> 00:05:27,920 Speaker 1: what I had done to some of the recordings and 92 00:05:28,000 --> 00:05:30,320 Speaker 1: he was impressed. And that's when he said to me, 93 00:05:30,360 --> 00:05:34,360 Speaker 1: would you like to come to Detroit to Motown. Yeah, 94 00:05:34,440 --> 00:05:36,000 Speaker 1: it's like asking a ten year old he wants to 95 00:05:36,000 --> 00:05:40,760 Speaker 1: go to Disneyland. So at seventeen, Tony found himself rubbing 96 00:05:40,760 --> 00:05:44,599 Speaker 1: elbows with Motown's biggest stars, all at the direction of 97 00:05:44,720 --> 00:05:48,279 Speaker 1: Lawrence Horn. You know, here's Smoky Rominson had the Miracles 98 00:05:48,320 --> 00:05:50,120 Speaker 1: and all those hit records that I'm sitting there next 99 00:05:50,160 --> 00:05:52,960 Speaker 1: to him. I'm in high school and I'm sitting next 100 00:05:52,960 --> 00:05:56,800 Speaker 1: to him or Stevie Wonder. Lawrence made me feel comfortable. 101 00:05:56,800 --> 00:05:58,400 Speaker 1: You're no, don't worry when you go in there. Don't 102 00:05:58,440 --> 00:06:02,960 Speaker 1: feel that they're in inmidating you. You're just like them. 103 00:06:03,040 --> 00:06:06,160 Speaker 1: Tony worked for Motown until the early seventies and then 104 00:06:06,160 --> 00:06:08,560 Speaker 1: he went on to a successful music producing career of 105 00:06:08,560 --> 00:06:11,320 Speaker 1: his own, but he kept in touch with Lawrence. As 106 00:06:11,360 --> 00:06:13,920 Speaker 1: professional as my relationship was with him, it was very 107 00:06:13,960 --> 00:06:17,279 Speaker 1: personal as well, because he nurtured that because I was 108 00:06:17,320 --> 00:06:19,360 Speaker 1: a kid, and he would say, yeah, you learned a 109 00:06:19,360 --> 00:06:20,880 Speaker 1: lot out in Detroit, didn't you. I said, yeah, I did, 110 00:06:20,960 --> 00:06:26,919 Speaker 1: all because of you. Lawrence Thomas Horne was born in 111 00:06:26,960 --> 00:06:31,200 Speaker 1: Detroit on April eighteenth, n His mother owned a modeling 112 00:06:31,240 --> 00:06:34,800 Speaker 1: school and agency, and his father was a baker. Even 113 00:06:34,800 --> 00:06:37,120 Speaker 1: as a kid, he was good with electronics and he 114 00:06:37,160 --> 00:06:40,800 Speaker 1: attended Cast Technical High School, a magnet school in Detroit. 115 00:06:41,440 --> 00:06:44,880 Speaker 1: Here's Lawrence's daughter, Tiffany. I mean he was friends with 116 00:06:44,880 --> 00:06:46,960 Speaker 1: Diana Ross when they were in high school. You know 117 00:06:47,000 --> 00:06:50,520 Speaker 1: their legendary. It's like you look back now sometimes I 118 00:06:50,520 --> 00:06:52,680 Speaker 1: can't even believe he was part of that, but he was. 119 00:06:53,120 --> 00:06:55,960 Speaker 1: And to better understand Lawrence who he was and who 120 00:06:56,040 --> 00:06:59,200 Speaker 1: he became, we've got to first talk about how Motown 121 00:06:59,320 --> 00:07:02,320 Speaker 1: became what it is. It's part of the legend of Detroit, 122 00:07:05,520 --> 00:07:08,760 Speaker 1: A young songwriter named Barry Gordy was working his day 123 00:07:08,880 --> 00:07:11,160 Speaker 1: job on the assembly line of the Lincoln Mercury car 124 00:07:11,200 --> 00:07:13,960 Speaker 1: plan but he had an idea. What if he applied 125 00:07:14,000 --> 00:07:18,480 Speaker 1: that same production model to cultivate musicians and make hit records. Well. 126 00:07:18,520 --> 00:07:21,880 Speaker 1: In nineteen fifty nine, with eight dollars borrowed from his family, 127 00:07:22,160 --> 00:07:25,080 Speaker 1: he launched his own record label. He bought an old 128 00:07:25,080 --> 00:07:28,040 Speaker 1: house on West Grand Boulevard and a fixed a sign 129 00:07:28,080 --> 00:07:31,720 Speaker 1: to the front that read Hitsville, USA, a move that 130 00:07:31,760 --> 00:07:36,040 Speaker 1: could be read as arrogant or prophetic, maybe both. By 131 00:07:36,120 --> 00:07:39,640 Speaker 1: nineteen sixty one, Motown scored its first number one hit 132 00:07:39,840 --> 00:07:43,440 Speaker 1: with the marvel Atts Please, Mr Postman, I am Juanna 133 00:07:43,640 --> 00:07:48,960 Speaker 1: are Royster. I am from Detroit, Michigan, and at one 134 00:07:49,040 --> 00:07:53,160 Speaker 1: time I worked at Motown. Wanna was there at the beginning, 135 00:07:53,360 --> 00:07:56,520 Speaker 1: sitting at the front desk as a receptionist. The essence 136 00:07:56,560 --> 00:08:02,760 Speaker 1: of Monttown then and now is a out loves and family. 137 00:08:03,240 --> 00:08:06,760 Speaker 1: Whether you were family or not, it made no difference. 138 00:08:07,120 --> 00:08:10,760 Speaker 1: We were all family. Gordy fostered talent like Marvin Gay, 139 00:08:10,920 --> 00:08:14,880 Speaker 1: the Temptations, Mary Wells, Stevie Wonder, so many artists that 140 00:08:14,880 --> 00:08:19,120 Speaker 1: are considered legendary today. When I was in eighth grade, 141 00:08:19,640 --> 00:08:24,520 Speaker 1: I joined a group called the Primets. Eventually we auditioned 142 00:08:24,560 --> 00:08:27,520 Speaker 1: for Mr Barry Gordy. That's Mary Wilson, one of the 143 00:08:27,520 --> 00:08:31,720 Speaker 1: original Supremes. Within a few years, Barry Gordy's Motown had 144 00:08:31,720 --> 00:08:34,600 Speaker 1: become one of the most successful black owned businesses in 145 00:08:34,640 --> 00:08:37,600 Speaker 1: the US, all during a time when segregation was still 146 00:08:37,640 --> 00:08:41,880 Speaker 1: common practice and a growing civil rights movement was gaining momentum. 147 00:08:42,120 --> 00:08:45,760 Speaker 1: He didn't find us, We found him, and which continued 148 00:08:45,840 --> 00:08:49,520 Speaker 1: to go there until he finally relinquished the idea that 149 00:08:49,559 --> 00:08:53,800 Speaker 1: we weren't good enough and signed us. In fact, that's 150 00:08:53,800 --> 00:08:56,800 Speaker 1: how most of the artists came to Motown. They heard 151 00:08:56,840 --> 00:09:01,480 Speaker 1: about this place where young people, especially black people because 152 00:09:01,480 --> 00:09:04,640 Speaker 1: it was in the black neighborhood, would go then get side. 153 00:09:05,480 --> 00:09:07,760 Speaker 1: At two years old and just out of the Navy, 154 00:09:07,920 --> 00:09:11,240 Speaker 1: Lawrence Horn had served on board an aircraft carrier where 155 00:09:11,240 --> 00:09:13,840 Speaker 1: he hosted his own radio show under the DJ name 156 00:09:14,280 --> 00:09:18,280 Speaker 1: LT The Tall Cool One, Your Man with the Plan, 157 00:09:18,920 --> 00:09:25,319 Speaker 1: his plan get a job with Barry Gordy. Want to 158 00:09:25,400 --> 00:09:28,280 Speaker 1: recognized him when he showed up at Motown for an interview. 159 00:09:29,120 --> 00:09:33,000 Speaker 1: When I became a student at cast Technical High School, 160 00:09:33,480 --> 00:09:40,040 Speaker 1: I remembered Lawrence being six six and just being shocked 161 00:09:40,920 --> 00:09:46,400 Speaker 1: that you know, this tall, slender, very handsome guy was 162 00:09:46,480 --> 00:09:50,600 Speaker 1: walking down the hall. Are you kidding me? Lawrence also 163 00:09:50,679 --> 00:09:54,160 Speaker 1: made a good impression on Motown's Boss. Well, he got 164 00:09:54,200 --> 00:10:00,480 Speaker 1: a position as a recording artist, I said, artist. I sorry, 165 00:10:00,800 --> 00:10:04,240 Speaker 1: he was a recording engineer. I mean he was an 166 00:10:04,320 --> 00:10:06,880 Speaker 1: artist in a way. And while you might not recognize 167 00:10:06,920 --> 00:10:10,199 Speaker 1: Lawrence's name, you definitely know his work. If you look 168 00:10:10,240 --> 00:10:12,559 Speaker 1: at some of those old Motown records, there's actually little 169 00:10:12,600 --> 00:10:14,760 Speaker 1: codes on them. This was common back in the day. 170 00:10:14,800 --> 00:10:17,280 Speaker 1: You can find them on any vinyl record, but you'll 171 00:10:17,280 --> 00:10:19,680 Speaker 1: see letters, and if you see an L on any 172 00:10:19,720 --> 00:10:23,599 Speaker 1: Motown record, that stands for Lawrence. The other thing that 173 00:10:23,640 --> 00:10:26,320 Speaker 1: Barry Gordy put on those labels was the phrase the 174 00:10:26,360 --> 00:10:30,760 Speaker 1: sound of Young America, which Motown definitely was Any Holland 175 00:10:30,960 --> 00:10:35,080 Speaker 1: one third of the Holland ten and that's about it. 176 00:10:35,559 --> 00:10:38,760 Speaker 1: Hdh wrote, arranged, and produced so many of the songs 177 00:10:38,760 --> 00:10:41,000 Speaker 1: that helped to find the Motown sound in the sixties, 178 00:10:41,320 --> 00:10:44,080 Speaker 1: like Baby Love, You Keep Me Hanging On, and Stop 179 00:10:44,120 --> 00:10:46,640 Speaker 1: in the Name of Love. Any said he once heard 180 00:10:46,679 --> 00:10:53,600 Speaker 1: it described as Oreo music. Black on the outside went 181 00:10:53,679 --> 00:10:57,079 Speaker 1: on the inside like the Oriole Cookie because the chords 182 00:10:57,160 --> 00:11:01,040 Speaker 1: that we were used were really pop chords, but we 183 00:11:01,160 --> 00:11:03,320 Speaker 1: just had an R and B feeling because of the 184 00:11:03,360 --> 00:11:06,760 Speaker 1: way we were brought up. Here's Mary Wilson again. What 185 00:11:06,800 --> 00:11:09,800 Speaker 1: was the Motown sound? Can you describe it? You know 186 00:11:09,840 --> 00:11:12,000 Speaker 1: what it has to do with a lot of different 187 00:11:12,000 --> 00:11:15,800 Speaker 1: elements and and yes, everyone has trying to say what 188 00:11:15,880 --> 00:11:18,439 Speaker 1: it is. It's like love. Can you tell what love is? Now? 189 00:11:18,600 --> 00:11:22,360 Speaker 1: I guess you can't. Obviously Mr Gordy was the person 190 00:11:22,520 --> 00:11:25,320 Speaker 1: on top, but it was all of the workers under 191 00:11:25,400 --> 00:11:28,880 Speaker 1: him who made the music what it is. I actually 192 00:11:29,000 --> 00:11:32,319 Speaker 1: met Lawrence Horn in the studio a as he ran 193 00:11:32,440 --> 00:11:35,160 Speaker 1: the sessions, and you know he was at in the 194 00:11:35,240 --> 00:11:38,600 Speaker 1: pioneer days when they were still kind of creating the 195 00:11:38,640 --> 00:11:44,120 Speaker 1: motown sound. In his autobiography To Be Loved, Barry Gordy wrote, quote, 196 00:11:44,240 --> 00:11:47,600 Speaker 1: engineers are often some of the most important, yet overlooked 197 00:11:47,640 --> 00:11:51,120 Speaker 1: factors in a record success. From those early days when 198 00:11:51,200 --> 00:11:53,800 Speaker 1: Lawrence Horn had to handle most of the recording and mixing, 199 00:11:54,320 --> 00:11:56,880 Speaker 1: We've been fortunate to build one of the best engineering 200 00:11:56,920 --> 00:12:00,480 Speaker 1: teams in the business, and Lawrence was the master of 201 00:12:00,520 --> 00:12:03,760 Speaker 1: the control room as chief recording engineer. He handled all 202 00:12:03,800 --> 00:12:06,440 Speaker 1: the recording and technical equipment. I think I would even 203 00:12:06,480 --> 00:12:09,600 Speaker 1: ask him, you know, why were you never a singer 204 00:12:09,840 --> 00:12:12,800 Speaker 1: or a musician, And he would say he liked the 205 00:12:12,880 --> 00:12:15,400 Speaker 1: behind the scenes and that was what he was good at. 206 00:12:15,960 --> 00:12:22,880 Speaker 1: For him, that was nirvana. He absolutely loved recording, you 207 00:12:22,920 --> 00:12:25,360 Speaker 1: know what I mean. His face would light up and 208 00:12:25,480 --> 00:12:29,920 Speaker 1: when things did not work right, it bothered him because 209 00:12:30,120 --> 00:12:34,960 Speaker 1: he was one who wanted everything to be just right. 210 00:12:35,720 --> 00:12:38,840 Speaker 1: He was also known for being quirky and technical. His 211 00:12:38,960 --> 00:12:43,079 Speaker 1: personality was extremely off. I mean, he was more of 212 00:12:43,120 --> 00:12:50,680 Speaker 1: an intellectual. For an example, you know this character that 213 00:12:50,880 --> 00:12:55,320 Speaker 1: Spark from Star Trek, that was really his idle. That's 214 00:12:55,360 --> 00:12:58,040 Speaker 1: the first time I've ever said, you know, he was 215 00:12:58,080 --> 00:13:01,360 Speaker 1: the one from this other plan and he himnd is 216 00:13:01,480 --> 00:13:07,040 Speaker 1: that's way over the earth things. Here's Adam White, a 217 00:13:07,120 --> 00:13:09,960 Speaker 1: music journalist who co authored a book on Motown. He 218 00:13:10,000 --> 00:13:12,720 Speaker 1: actually gets his first credit on a couple of Moton 219 00:13:12,800 --> 00:13:17,600 Speaker 1: albums in sixty three for editing and engineering two albums 220 00:13:17,640 --> 00:13:21,560 Speaker 1: that Motown put out by Dr Martin Luther King. His 221 00:13:21,760 --> 00:13:25,520 Speaker 1: famous speeches the Great March on Washington and the Great 222 00:13:25,559 --> 00:13:28,880 Speaker 1: March to Freedom in Detroit in June sixty three, I 223 00:13:29,000 --> 00:13:33,360 Speaker 1: have a dreen this afternoon one day right here in Detroit. 224 00:13:34,600 --> 00:13:38,760 Speaker 1: For an engineer to actually be named on a Moton 225 00:13:38,840 --> 00:13:42,480 Speaker 1: album sleeve back then, believe me, was pretty unusual. And 226 00:13:42,520 --> 00:13:46,199 Speaker 1: you know the number one hit My Girl by the Temptations, 227 00:13:46,679 --> 00:13:50,000 Speaker 1: Lawrence engineered that. I understand he worked on Stop in 228 00:13:50,040 --> 00:13:52,240 Speaker 1: the Name of Love, and I know he worked with 229 00:13:52,360 --> 00:13:58,160 Speaker 1: the song Shotgun Shotgun. That's the hit single Shotgun by 230 00:13:58,240 --> 00:14:01,200 Speaker 1: Junior Walker in the All Stars. Gordy shared a producer 231 00:14:01,240 --> 00:14:03,800 Speaker 1: credit with Lawrence on the song, which he rarely did. 232 00:14:05,160 --> 00:14:07,800 Speaker 1: The song Shotgun actually starts with the sound of a 233 00:14:07,840 --> 00:14:11,760 Speaker 1: shotgun blast. And while this is a wildly popular song, 234 00:14:11,880 --> 00:14:14,120 Speaker 1: you know it if you heard it, it's really hard 235 00:14:14,120 --> 00:14:17,160 Speaker 1: to hear the same once you know this story. Of course, 236 00:14:17,200 --> 00:14:19,720 Speaker 1: I'm thinking about this in the context of this show 237 00:14:19,760 --> 00:14:21,880 Speaker 1: with a lot of hindsight, and I want to play 238 00:14:21,920 --> 00:14:23,680 Speaker 1: you this song and a lot of the others that 239 00:14:23,760 --> 00:14:27,760 Speaker 1: Lawrence helped create, But after months of asking, the publisher 240 00:14:27,800 --> 00:14:30,480 Speaker 1: wouldn't give us the rights to use them here. I mean, 241 00:14:30,520 --> 00:14:33,320 Speaker 1: I can't speculate why, but it does remind me of 242 00:14:33,320 --> 00:14:35,560 Speaker 1: that first phone call I made to Palette and Press 243 00:14:35,640 --> 00:14:39,040 Speaker 1: about the book hit Man, the one that was clearly unwanted. 244 00:14:40,120 --> 00:14:43,080 Speaker 1: Knowing where the rest of the story goes, it's not 245 00:14:43,120 --> 00:14:49,400 Speaker 1: a huge surprise. I want to jump ahead to the 246 00:14:49,400 --> 00:14:51,920 Speaker 1: early days of the investigation, which went on for a 247 00:14:52,000 --> 00:14:57,040 Speaker 1: really long time and became incredibly frustrating and intense, because 248 00:14:57,040 --> 00:14:59,800 Speaker 1: I want to talk about something else that Lawrence recorded. 249 00:15:00,840 --> 00:15:03,400 Speaker 1: But first you have to remember, whoever had killed Millie 250 00:15:03,440 --> 00:15:07,520 Speaker 1: Trevor in Janice left no evidence behind that could identify him, 251 00:15:07,600 --> 00:15:10,360 Speaker 1: and investigators were a long way from discovering the truth 252 00:15:10,480 --> 00:15:15,120 Speaker 1: behind this triple murder. On March twelfth, a little over 253 00:15:15,160 --> 00:15:19,040 Speaker 1: a week later, investigators got a warrant and executed a 254 00:15:19,080 --> 00:15:22,360 Speaker 1: search on Lawrence's Los Angeles apartment, where he lived with 255 00:15:22,400 --> 00:15:25,560 Speaker 1: his girlfriend at the time. The police gathered lots of 256 00:15:25,560 --> 00:15:30,040 Speaker 1: cassette tapes. Prosecutor Bob Dean, they looked at records that 257 00:15:30,080 --> 00:15:33,880 Speaker 1: he kept back on that day. He was a computer 258 00:15:34,120 --> 00:15:37,440 Speaker 1: specialist for the early nineteen nineties. He was very advanced 259 00:15:37,520 --> 00:15:41,960 Speaker 1: in his computer assessories and equipment. Lawrence recorded more than music, 260 00:15:42,440 --> 00:15:45,600 Speaker 1: He recorded everything. Really, he was just ahead of his time, 261 00:15:45,800 --> 00:15:48,480 Speaker 1: regularly documenting everyday moments in a way that is now 262 00:15:48,560 --> 00:15:52,120 Speaker 1: so commonplace. He taped phone conversations. He had a cam 263 00:15:52,280 --> 00:15:54,800 Speaker 1: quarter that he'd used to record trips around town with 264 00:15:54,880 --> 00:16:06,200 Speaker 1: his daughters. This is the audio from some of those tapes. Okay, 265 00:16:08,960 --> 00:16:12,120 Speaker 1: detectives found hours and hours of footage like this in 266 00:16:12,200 --> 00:16:16,120 Speaker 1: Lawrence's apartment, but one tape in particular stood out to 267 00:16:16,160 --> 00:16:20,600 Speaker 1: prosecutor Bob Dean. Can you describe it? Do you remember? 268 00:16:21,480 --> 00:16:24,600 Speaker 1: He had set up the camera in his TV room 269 00:16:25,000 --> 00:16:31,040 Speaker 1: videoed himself watching TV time stamped the night of the murder. 270 00:16:31,760 --> 00:16:35,560 Speaker 1: In this video, Lawrence is filming his TV that's tuned 271 00:16:35,640 --> 00:16:38,880 Speaker 1: to a rolling channel guide, clearly displaying the time and date. 272 00:16:39,520 --> 00:16:44,880 Speaker 1: It reads eleven o three pm March second Pacific Standard time, 273 00:16:45,480 --> 00:16:50,040 Speaker 1: showing he was definitely miles away when Millie, Trevor, and 274 00:16:50,120 --> 00:16:53,920 Speaker 1: Janice were killed and he wanted to prove it. Here's 275 00:16:54,000 --> 00:16:58,040 Speaker 1: John Marshall, a lawyer and close family friend. So you think, well, 276 00:16:58,080 --> 00:17:01,240 Speaker 1: that was pretty clever, until you think, why would you 277 00:17:01,320 --> 00:17:15,919 Speaker 1: do that? We'll be right back. It's actually kind of 278 00:17:15,920 --> 00:17:20,640 Speaker 1: an adorable, meat cute scenario. That's Lawrence and Millie's daughter, Tiffany. 279 00:17:20,960 --> 00:17:26,200 Speaker 1: They basically had like a whirlwind romance. It was pretty 280 00:17:26,280 --> 00:17:30,680 Speaker 1: quick as the sixties come to a close. Motown undergoes 281 00:17:30,720 --> 00:17:34,240 Speaker 1: some major changes. Barry Gordon decides to relocate Motown to 282 00:17:34,320 --> 00:17:37,200 Speaker 1: Los Angeles to be closer to the film and TV industry. 283 00:17:37,680 --> 00:17:40,679 Speaker 1: The hit making team of Holland Dozer Holland leave the label, 284 00:17:40,960 --> 00:17:44,600 Speaker 1: also move out west and take Lawrence with them. In 285 00:17:45,800 --> 00:17:49,920 Speaker 1: two on an American Airlines flight from Detroit to l A, 286 00:17:49,920 --> 00:17:53,600 Speaker 1: a young flight attendant named Millie Marie catches his eye. 287 00:17:54,240 --> 00:17:57,879 Speaker 1: Here's Millie's sister, Maryland Farmer. Millie told me that she 288 00:17:57,920 --> 00:18:01,680 Speaker 1: had met this man and she was really dazzled by 289 00:18:01,680 --> 00:18:04,679 Speaker 1: the fact that he was recording people like Diana Ross 290 00:18:04,760 --> 00:18:09,280 Speaker 1: and the Supremes and Stevie Wonder. She was excited about that, 291 00:18:09,920 --> 00:18:14,159 Speaker 1: but wow, she'd met someone who was big time. Millie 292 00:18:14,200 --> 00:18:17,840 Speaker 1: was born in ninety in a small town called round Oh, 293 00:18:17,880 --> 00:18:21,360 Speaker 1: near the city of Walterboro, South Carolina. Our parents were 294 00:18:21,400 --> 00:18:24,280 Speaker 1: sharecroppers and we were poor, you know, but I don't 295 00:18:24,280 --> 00:18:28,040 Speaker 1: ever remember being hungry, and my dad was adamant that 296 00:18:28,119 --> 00:18:31,480 Speaker 1: we had to take care of each other. Millie wanted 297 00:18:31,480 --> 00:18:33,080 Speaker 1: to get out and see the world, and as a 298 00:18:33,160 --> 00:18:35,280 Speaker 1: young woman, she figured there was one way she could 299 00:18:35,280 --> 00:18:39,040 Speaker 1: accomplish that goal and get paid for it. Here's Tiffany. 300 00:18:39,359 --> 00:18:42,200 Speaker 1: She would read these penny romances my aunt's tell me, 301 00:18:42,800 --> 00:18:45,920 Speaker 1: and many times the star was a flight attendant, she'd 302 00:18:45,960 --> 00:18:48,440 Speaker 1: be up all night under the covers with a flashlight 303 00:18:48,520 --> 00:18:51,640 Speaker 1: reading them. Like she was obsessed with these books. I mean, 304 00:18:51,760 --> 00:18:54,600 Speaker 1: she was living her dream life. To get hired as 305 00:18:54,640 --> 00:18:57,639 Speaker 1: a flight attendant during the nineteen fifties and sixties, a 306 00:18:57,680 --> 00:19:01,400 Speaker 1: woman had to meet very strict requirements. It buried by airline, 307 00:19:01,480 --> 00:19:04,320 Speaker 1: but in general, you had to be female, unmarried, and 308 00:19:04,440 --> 00:19:07,040 Speaker 1: under thirty. You had to weigh less than one thirty 309 00:19:07,080 --> 00:19:09,800 Speaker 1: five pounds and be no taller than five ft eight. 310 00:19:10,200 --> 00:19:13,600 Speaker 1: On top of that, airlines just weren't hiring many black women. 311 00:19:13,800 --> 00:19:17,320 Speaker 1: I know she applied to one and she was rejected 312 00:19:17,320 --> 00:19:20,280 Speaker 1: because of her knees. They said that her knees were 313 00:19:20,320 --> 00:19:26,360 Speaker 1: too big. Can you believe that Lawrence had definitely met 314 00:19:26,359 --> 00:19:29,679 Speaker 1: his match? A woman is driven and willful as he was. 315 00:19:30,119 --> 00:19:33,000 Speaker 1: They were larger than live personalities. And it's funny because 316 00:19:33,040 --> 00:19:36,000 Speaker 1: when they got together it was even more charismas so 317 00:19:36,080 --> 00:19:39,160 Speaker 1: on their own they were their own big personalities. They'd 318 00:19:39,160 --> 00:19:42,040 Speaker 1: walk into a room and you have this beautiful black 319 00:19:42,080 --> 00:19:45,240 Speaker 1: woman with green eyes and blonde hair and this tall 320 00:19:45,480 --> 00:19:49,360 Speaker 1: guy with curly hair and eyes are on them immediately. 321 00:19:49,440 --> 00:19:52,280 Speaker 1: They were both magnetic. Tiffany showed me a photo of 322 00:19:52,320 --> 00:19:55,000 Speaker 1: them together from around this time. Millie is sitting on 323 00:19:55,080 --> 00:19:58,280 Speaker 1: Lawrence's lap with his arm around her waist. Their style 324 00:19:58,400 --> 00:20:02,320 Speaker 1: is peak nine seventies, brown leather, high waisted pants. They're 325 00:20:02,320 --> 00:20:05,280 Speaker 1: both beaming. My dad, he knew what he wanted, and 326 00:20:05,320 --> 00:20:08,440 Speaker 1: he pursued her, and he bought her jewelry and took 327 00:20:08,440 --> 00:20:10,800 Speaker 1: her on trips to Vegas, and they ended up getting 328 00:20:10,840 --> 00:20:14,480 Speaker 1: married on one of those trips in secret. That was 329 00:20:14,480 --> 00:20:19,119 Speaker 1: August three, just a year after they met. He was 330 00:20:19,200 --> 00:20:22,600 Speaker 1: thirty three, she was twenty four. If they wanted to 331 00:20:22,640 --> 00:20:25,400 Speaker 1: do something, they did it. And I think that's probably 332 00:20:25,400 --> 00:20:27,440 Speaker 1: one of the things that attracted them to each other. 333 00:20:28,040 --> 00:20:31,359 Speaker 1: Whether it was considered a luxury thing or something where 334 00:20:31,480 --> 00:20:34,280 Speaker 1: maybe a lot of black people didn't have access to 335 00:20:34,560 --> 00:20:38,280 Speaker 1: at that time, I would say, honestly, like my parents 336 00:20:38,280 --> 00:20:41,720 Speaker 1: were never afraid. Tiffany was born about a year after 337 00:20:41,800 --> 00:20:45,479 Speaker 1: Million Lawrence were married. Even she remembers being swept up 338 00:20:45,480 --> 00:20:48,359 Speaker 1: in her parents aura. I can remember being in the 339 00:20:48,440 --> 00:20:51,199 Speaker 1: car on a ski trip and just being in the 340 00:20:51,280 --> 00:20:53,480 Speaker 1: back seat and just wishing that was my life all 341 00:20:53,520 --> 00:20:56,840 Speaker 1: the time, that they could get along and that it 342 00:20:57,000 --> 00:20:59,080 Speaker 1: was the three of us and we were together all 343 00:20:59,080 --> 00:21:01,520 Speaker 1: the time. This was before or my brother and sister 344 00:21:01,600 --> 00:21:05,359 Speaker 1: were born, but something was always a little off between 345 00:21:05,359 --> 00:21:09,200 Speaker 1: her parents. Tiffany told me this story about how Lawrence 346 00:21:09,240 --> 00:21:11,680 Speaker 1: and Millie were on one of their trips, this time 347 00:21:11,680 --> 00:21:15,720 Speaker 1: in Mexico. Millie couldn't swim, but one day at the beach, 348 00:21:15,960 --> 00:21:19,000 Speaker 1: Lawrence helped her out onto a raft anchored just offshore, 349 00:21:19,600 --> 00:21:22,280 Speaker 1: and then he just left her there. He just swam away, 350 00:21:22,880 --> 00:21:25,440 Speaker 1: and so she sat there crying until a stranger came 351 00:21:25,520 --> 00:21:28,280 Speaker 1: to help her back, and he was gone. He just disappeared. 352 00:21:28,560 --> 00:21:31,639 Speaker 1: That jumps out at me as like unusually cruel that 353 00:21:31,680 --> 00:21:38,520 Speaker 1: he did to her. Well, why don't you tell me 354 00:21:38,560 --> 00:21:43,840 Speaker 1: about your relationship? Describe that is towards the end of 355 00:21:43,840 --> 00:21:57,440 Speaker 1: the match, it was unique, unpredictable, A fast, me stormy. 356 00:21:58,320 --> 00:22:02,200 Speaker 1: That's Lawrence Horne's voice. This recording is from a deposition 357 00:22:02,240 --> 00:22:04,480 Speaker 1: he gave for a civil case. We'll get into later 358 00:22:04,480 --> 00:22:07,160 Speaker 1: in this story, but I wanted you to hear him 359 00:22:07,200 --> 00:22:10,160 Speaker 1: describe his relationship with Milly in his own words. Did 360 00:22:10,160 --> 00:22:17,040 Speaker 1: it change over that three Yes? And could you tell 361 00:22:17,080 --> 00:22:21,200 Speaker 1: us what the nature of the change was. It was 362 00:22:21,240 --> 00:22:24,879 Speaker 1: a series of events. I recall it as being just 363 00:22:27,400 --> 00:22:33,479 Speaker 1: constantly one negative on top of another. Trevor, the twins 364 00:22:33,480 --> 00:22:38,280 Speaker 1: were born in four They were premature. Millie had a 365 00:22:38,320 --> 00:22:43,320 Speaker 1: problem with the birth that created a problem. Because Tiffany 366 00:22:43,320 --> 00:22:49,280 Speaker 1: and I weren't here, it just got worse. When you 367 00:22:49,320 --> 00:22:51,919 Speaker 1: hear Lawrence describe the marriage, it sounds a lot like 368 00:22:51,960 --> 00:22:58,240 Speaker 1: the way Tiffany talks about it. Big personalities, huge emotional swings, breakups, reconciliations. 369 00:22:58,720 --> 00:23:02,520 Speaker 1: But there's something darker. Here's what he told Kevin Sullivan, 370 00:23:02,680 --> 00:23:06,320 Speaker 1: the Washington Post reporter after the murders. He talked at 371 00:23:06,440 --> 00:23:10,520 Speaker 1: length about Millie, and he really threw her under the bus. 372 00:23:10,560 --> 00:23:14,800 Speaker 1: He said that she was volatile and emotional and unpredictable 373 00:23:14,880 --> 00:23:20,479 Speaker 1: and violent with him sometimes. And and I said, well, really, 374 00:23:20,760 --> 00:23:24,480 Speaker 1: everybody else seems to say that she's this wonderful person 375 00:23:24,640 --> 00:23:27,159 Speaker 1: and and he said, well, I mean I think I 376 00:23:27,200 --> 00:23:29,080 Speaker 1: saw a side of her that nobody else did. And 377 00:23:29,119 --> 00:23:30,600 Speaker 1: he and he really kind of went on and on, 378 00:23:30,680 --> 00:23:33,800 Speaker 1: and at one point, I remember he even suggested maybe 379 00:23:33,800 --> 00:23:36,760 Speaker 1: she had done it. And I said, oh, come on, 380 00:23:36,840 --> 00:23:39,000 Speaker 1: I don't think a mother could arrange something like this, 381 00:23:39,160 --> 00:23:41,040 Speaker 1: And he said, yeah, no, I guess that's crazy. But 382 00:23:41,160 --> 00:23:44,440 Speaker 1: you know, my life with her was so so topsy turvy. 383 00:23:50,320 --> 00:23:53,959 Speaker 1: Back to the late nineties seventies, Lawrence and Millie are separated. 384 00:23:54,240 --> 00:23:56,560 Speaker 1: Millie and Tiffany moved to Maryland to be close to 385 00:23:56,600 --> 00:24:00,119 Speaker 1: her family, and Lawrence stayed in l A. But they 386 00:24:00,200 --> 00:24:03,800 Speaker 1: kept going round and round for another five years. In 387 00:24:03,800 --> 00:24:07,440 Speaker 1: in nine three, the same year Paladin put out hit Man, 388 00:24:07,680 --> 00:24:12,639 Speaker 1: a technical manual for independent contractors, they reconciled again. He 389 00:24:12,840 --> 00:24:16,120 Speaker 1: never really would let her go. I mean she would 390 00:24:16,240 --> 00:24:18,919 Speaker 1: date and he would pop back up. I think she 391 00:24:18,960 --> 00:24:22,000 Speaker 1: had filed for divorce, but she wasn't divorced. She was 392 00:24:22,040 --> 00:24:24,480 Speaker 1: even engaged at one point, but he was able to 393 00:24:24,520 --> 00:24:27,119 Speaker 1: get her to break it off. He had such a 394 00:24:27,160 --> 00:24:30,120 Speaker 1: power over my mom because she truly loved him, and 395 00:24:30,200 --> 00:24:33,240 Speaker 1: you know that's how she ended up being pregnant again 396 00:24:33,720 --> 00:24:37,080 Speaker 1: with my brother and sister. I was shocked. I thought 397 00:24:37,119 --> 00:24:39,800 Speaker 1: the marriage was over. You know, I knew something was 398 00:24:39,880 --> 00:24:42,119 Speaker 1: going on. I would hear her whispering on the phone. 399 00:24:42,800 --> 00:24:45,399 Speaker 1: I'm thinking, what is going on? So I'm like listening 400 00:24:45,440 --> 00:24:47,399 Speaker 1: at the door, like ear to the door trying to 401 00:24:47,400 --> 00:24:53,240 Speaker 1: figure out what's happening with my mom. In twins Tammiel 402 00:24:53,320 --> 00:24:56,640 Speaker 1: and Trevor were born, but even with Trevor and critical condition, 403 00:24:57,080 --> 00:25:00,320 Speaker 1: Lawrence showed no interest. And it was summer, which meant 404 00:25:00,359 --> 00:25:03,679 Speaker 1: Tiffany was visiting her father in California. He refused to 405 00:25:03,720 --> 00:25:07,760 Speaker 1: fly back and blamed me, and he told my aunts 406 00:25:07,800 --> 00:25:11,280 Speaker 1: who were calling, that I wanted to go to the 407 00:25:11,320 --> 00:25:14,679 Speaker 1: Motown Picnic, which was true. I was nine and it 408 00:25:14,760 --> 00:25:17,720 Speaker 1: sounded fun. This was an annual event where Tiffany got 409 00:25:17,720 --> 00:25:20,639 Speaker 1: to hang out with her favorite artist, Stevie Wonder. I 410 00:25:20,640 --> 00:25:22,320 Speaker 1: didn't want to go sit in the hospital, but I 411 00:25:22,359 --> 00:25:26,679 Speaker 1: had no idea what was happening. We wouldn't leave until afterwards, 412 00:25:26,680 --> 00:25:29,720 Speaker 1: which is awful and horrible, and I can't believe he 413 00:25:29,760 --> 00:25:32,000 Speaker 1: did that to my mother, and he put me in 414 00:25:32,000 --> 00:25:33,919 Speaker 1: the middle. And that's one of my worst memories and 415 00:25:33,960 --> 00:25:37,120 Speaker 1: when I kind of really realized my dad wasn't totally 416 00:25:37,200 --> 00:25:39,840 Speaker 1: my ally like he made himself out to be. At 417 00:25:39,840 --> 00:25:42,640 Speaker 1: the same time, Lawrence's marriage to Milly was falling apart, 418 00:25:43,119 --> 00:25:47,159 Speaker 1: so was his career. By the mid eighties, popular music 419 00:25:47,200 --> 00:25:50,280 Speaker 1: as well as Young America had really moved on from Motown. 420 00:25:50,560 --> 00:25:52,920 Speaker 1: He would always bring me music that I'm like, well, 421 00:25:52,920 --> 00:25:54,800 Speaker 1: this is not what I want. I want Madonna and 422 00:25:54,840 --> 00:25:57,760 Speaker 1: I want Prince and I thought Michael Jackson used to 423 00:25:57,760 --> 00:26:01,959 Speaker 1: be on your label, and he's like, not anymore. So 424 00:26:02,000 --> 00:26:05,000 Speaker 1: I had all of the old Jackson five albums and 425 00:26:05,080 --> 00:26:07,359 Speaker 1: I had Lionel Richie. That was kind of cool because 426 00:26:07,400 --> 00:26:10,320 Speaker 1: Lionel Richie had like a moment, you know, But other 427 00:26:10,359 --> 00:26:12,840 Speaker 1: than that, it was like, yeah, this is easy listening 428 00:26:12,880 --> 00:26:14,720 Speaker 1: and this is from the sixties. I don't want this. 429 00:26:15,080 --> 00:26:18,240 Speaker 1: Lawrence's venture with the hit makers Holland Osher Holland didn't 430 00:26:18,240 --> 00:26:20,560 Speaker 1: work out either, and he went back to work for 431 00:26:20,600 --> 00:26:23,960 Speaker 1: Barry Gordy. I don't think Barry Gordy ever looked at 432 00:26:24,040 --> 00:26:26,199 Speaker 1: him the same, so he felt like he kind of 433 00:26:26,280 --> 00:26:29,920 Speaker 1: was being punished Over the years for that. Lawrence fell 434 00:26:30,160 --> 00:26:35,320 Speaker 1: from chief recording engineer to tape librarian, cataloging and organizing 435 00:26:35,320 --> 00:26:37,800 Speaker 1: the work from his golden years in the basement of 436 00:26:37,880 --> 00:26:41,320 Speaker 1: Motown's l A operations. It's a task that must have 437 00:26:41,320 --> 00:26:44,440 Speaker 1: been humiliating for someone with so many hits on his resume. 438 00:26:45,359 --> 00:26:49,280 Speaker 1: Here's Eddie Holland, the technical people. They sort of moved 439 00:26:49,280 --> 00:26:52,399 Speaker 1: into the basement part of this building. I visited him 440 00:26:52,400 --> 00:26:56,040 Speaker 1: a couple of times. He was engineering somewhat, but he 441 00:26:56,119 --> 00:26:59,760 Speaker 1: was doing mostly cattle up it. He had been that lawless. 442 00:26:59,760 --> 00:27:02,440 Speaker 1: He grew up dealing with more talent. He could do 443 00:27:02,600 --> 00:27:06,160 Speaker 1: better than most people. By seven, Lawrence and Millie were 444 00:27:06,200 --> 00:27:10,160 Speaker 1: officially divorced and locked in a bitter custody battle. He'd 445 00:27:10,200 --> 00:27:12,919 Speaker 1: been ordered to pay six fifty dollars a month in 446 00:27:13,040 --> 00:27:16,080 Speaker 1: child support payments, on top of the seventy five dollars 447 00:27:16,119 --> 00:27:18,879 Speaker 1: per month he was paying in health insurance, and court 448 00:27:18,920 --> 00:27:21,600 Speaker 1: records show that at one point he had three hundred 449 00:27:21,600 --> 00:27:25,040 Speaker 1: sixty dollars in his bank account. My dad had been 450 00:27:25,080 --> 00:27:27,800 Speaker 1: at the top of the world, and the sixties and 451 00:27:27,840 --> 00:27:31,480 Speaker 1: seventies were his prime. He talked a lot about legacies. 452 00:27:31,880 --> 00:27:35,119 Speaker 1: Motown did create a legacy, and he was part of that. 453 00:27:35,160 --> 00:27:37,560 Speaker 1: He was very proud of that. And the eighties it 454 00:27:37,680 --> 00:27:40,800 Speaker 1: started to decline for him. He didn't have as much 455 00:27:40,800 --> 00:27:43,840 Speaker 1: money anymore and he was trying to hold on. That 456 00:27:43,920 --> 00:27:47,399 Speaker 1: was kind of painful to see. That experience is seeing 457 00:27:47,440 --> 00:27:50,879 Speaker 1: your parents kind of fall from grace in real time. 458 00:27:51,880 --> 00:27:56,240 Speaker 1: In Motown, founder Berry Gordy would sell the label to M. C. 459 00:27:56,400 --> 00:27:59,200 Speaker 1: A in a Boston based investment firm for sixty one 460 00:27:59,240 --> 00:28:03,840 Speaker 1: million dollar and Lawrence was let go in it's very 461 00:28:03,840 --> 00:28:07,760 Speaker 1: difficult for people to continue living a life that's no 462 00:28:07,880 --> 00:28:12,360 Speaker 1: longer as glamorous and as you know, financially gratifying as 463 00:28:12,400 --> 00:28:15,720 Speaker 1: it was. That's Mary Wilson again. Perhaps that's something that 464 00:28:15,800 --> 00:28:18,280 Speaker 1: may have happened with Mr. Horn. I couldn't tell you 465 00:28:18,320 --> 00:28:21,120 Speaker 1: if that's how it happened, but I'm sure a lot 466 00:28:21,160 --> 00:28:24,280 Speaker 1: of that is what was going on. And that's when 467 00:28:24,560 --> 00:28:28,760 Speaker 1: sometimes certain things, you know, happened, and they do desperate 468 00:28:28,800 --> 00:28:31,160 Speaker 1: things because they're trying to, you know, make their life 469 00:28:31,200 --> 00:28:34,400 Speaker 1: work again. His life sprailed down when so many things 470 00:28:34,480 --> 00:28:36,760 Speaker 1: were not going the way you know, he wanted or 471 00:28:36,840 --> 00:28:44,320 Speaker 1: thought or expected. Whenever I think about what was going 472 00:28:44,320 --> 00:28:47,360 Speaker 1: on between Million Lawrence and really will never know for sure, 473 00:28:47,840 --> 00:28:50,120 Speaker 1: but I keep coming back to the first chapter of Hitman. 474 00:28:50,960 --> 00:28:54,400 Speaker 1: Rex Ferrell actually starts off like he's a teacher with 475 00:28:54,480 --> 00:28:59,120 Speaker 1: a reading list for aspiring contract killers. Read and reread 476 00:28:59,200 --> 00:29:02,479 Speaker 1: pertinent articles relating to weapons and techniques that interest you 477 00:29:02,800 --> 00:29:05,680 Speaker 1: in magazines such as Soldier of Fortune, New Breed, and 478 00:29:05,760 --> 00:29:10,000 Speaker 1: Gung Ho. He says, keep up quote on New trends 479 00:29:10,040 --> 00:29:14,520 Speaker 1: and developments, as well as new gadgets and inventions. Get 480 00:29:14,560 --> 00:29:18,239 Speaker 1: into detective fiction. Quote, chuckle through the trench coats and 481 00:29:18,280 --> 00:29:23,160 Speaker 1: warped personalities. It's worth it, he says, because with the 482 00:29:23,240 --> 00:29:26,440 Speaker 1: right attitude, in an open mind, almost any good mystery 483 00:29:26,520 --> 00:29:32,160 Speaker 1: or murder story can provide some ingenious new methods of terrorizing, victimizing, 484 00:29:32,280 --> 00:29:36,560 Speaker 1: or exterminating. Sometimes the warped imagination of a fiction writer 485 00:29:36,720 --> 00:29:40,040 Speaker 1: we will point out and obvious but somehow never before 486 00:29:40,120 --> 00:29:46,000 Speaker 1: realized method of pacification or body disposal. Most important of all, 487 00:29:46,240 --> 00:29:49,680 Speaker 1: keep in mind this was but, he says, Quote, A 488 00:29:49,760 --> 00:29:53,400 Speaker 1: subscription to your local newspaper maybe the wisest investment with 489 00:29:53,440 --> 00:29:58,719 Speaker 1: the highest return that you'll ever make. He instructs the reader. 490 00:29:59,200 --> 00:30:03,080 Speaker 1: Each morning, sip your coffee and carefully study the paper. 491 00:30:03,360 --> 00:30:06,000 Speaker 1: Quote to see who in your area might be your 492 00:30:06,040 --> 00:30:11,520 Speaker 1: next employer or victim. Follow closely news or rumors of 493 00:30:11,680 --> 00:30:16,440 Speaker 1: particularly nasty divorce proceedings involving any wealthy or socially prominent couples. 494 00:30:16,960 --> 00:30:21,400 Speaker 1: Chances are one could use your discreete professional services, or 495 00:30:21,440 --> 00:30:24,000 Speaker 1: perhaps I'm not so wealthy acquaintance who prefers not to 496 00:30:24,000 --> 00:30:27,440 Speaker 1: become entangled and messy divorce proceedings. You may find it 497 00:30:27,520 --> 00:30:33,240 Speaker 1: a proper time to collect on that old life insurance policy. 498 00:30:35,040 --> 00:30:37,880 Speaker 1: By the early nineties, Lawrence and Millie Horn's divorce and 499 00:30:37,920 --> 00:30:41,800 Speaker 1: the subsequent custody battle had definitely gotten messy. My mother 500 00:30:41,840 --> 00:30:43,800 Speaker 1: didn't trust him at all. She felt like he was 501 00:30:43,880 --> 00:30:45,880 Speaker 1: up to something. I mean, she made it very clear 502 00:30:46,560 --> 00:30:48,920 Speaker 1: he couldn't come in to see Trevor, especially when she 503 00:30:49,000 --> 00:30:52,360 Speaker 1: wasn't at home. According to written testimony from the custody case, 504 00:30:52,880 --> 00:30:55,560 Speaker 1: Lawrence claimed that Milly interfered with his attempts to see 505 00:30:55,600 --> 00:30:59,520 Speaker 1: Tiffany and the twins Tammiell and Trevor. He wrote, quote 506 00:30:59,600 --> 00:31:02,480 Speaker 1: chief other advised me that if I wanted to exercise 507 00:31:02,480 --> 00:31:05,160 Speaker 1: my visitation with Trevor, I would not be permitted to 508 00:31:05,160 --> 00:31:07,920 Speaker 1: sit on any of her furniture or the floor, that 509 00:31:08,000 --> 00:31:10,440 Speaker 1: I would not be permitted to use the bathroom during 510 00:31:10,480 --> 00:31:14,200 Speaker 1: the four hour time period allotted for the visit. On 511 00:31:14,240 --> 00:31:16,800 Speaker 1: the other hand, Millie said he never made an effort. 512 00:31:17,120 --> 00:31:19,600 Speaker 1: As she put it, quote, he found the time to 513 00:31:19,640 --> 00:31:23,080 Speaker 1: ski and aspen and vow while I made decisions regarding 514 00:31:23,120 --> 00:31:27,200 Speaker 1: a life threatening condition concerning our ill son, Trevor, and 515 00:31:27,280 --> 00:31:30,800 Speaker 1: caring for Tammiel and Tiffany at the same time. But 516 00:31:30,840 --> 00:31:33,360 Speaker 1: all of a sudden, in the year before the murders, 517 00:31:33,840 --> 00:31:37,560 Speaker 1: Lawrence was showing up in Maryland a lot. My mom 518 00:31:37,800 --> 00:31:39,600 Speaker 1: said that he could come and pick us up after 519 00:31:39,640 --> 00:31:41,560 Speaker 1: school when he was in town, but he couldn't come 520 00:31:41,560 --> 00:31:45,400 Speaker 1: into the driveway. She was very adamant about that, and so, yeah, 521 00:31:45,440 --> 00:31:47,080 Speaker 1: I told him, you can pick us up, but you 522 00:31:47,120 --> 00:31:49,080 Speaker 1: have to, you know, meet us at the end of 523 00:31:49,080 --> 00:31:51,760 Speaker 1: the driveway. We'll walk down my sister and I. So 524 00:31:51,840 --> 00:31:54,280 Speaker 1: he would greet us sometimes with the camp quarter and 525 00:31:54,360 --> 00:32:00,959 Speaker 1: he would be, you know, videotaping us. I've been good, 526 00:32:01,360 --> 00:32:05,560 Speaker 1: You've been good? Are you never? Never not good? When 527 00:32:05,560 --> 00:32:09,240 Speaker 1: are you ever bad? I? Never? So why would you 528 00:32:09,240 --> 00:32:15,080 Speaker 1: say I've been good? My dad would record everything for 529 00:32:15,120 --> 00:32:17,360 Speaker 1: the most part, as much as he could. When we 530 00:32:17,360 --> 00:32:20,240 Speaker 1: would get in the car with him. In these video tapes, 531 00:32:20,440 --> 00:32:22,360 Speaker 1: they go to a toy store, they go out to eat, 532 00:32:22,520 --> 00:32:26,040 Speaker 1: drive around and listen to music. Who was that saying? 533 00:32:30,160 --> 00:32:32,840 Speaker 1: He would act like it was part of his video 534 00:32:32,920 --> 00:32:36,480 Speaker 1: diary of his visit to take back to our family 535 00:32:36,520 --> 00:32:41,240 Speaker 1: members in California, like his mom, his sister, my cousins 536 00:32:41,280 --> 00:32:44,880 Speaker 1: that lived there. Why it's Disney's my married from time. 537 00:32:46,840 --> 00:32:51,440 Speaker 1: That's not true. Have we I kind of believed him. 538 00:32:51,480 --> 00:32:55,080 Speaker 1: He definitely found it important to tape us. None of 539 00:32:55,120 --> 00:32:57,880 Speaker 1: it seems terribly unusual when you remember that recording was 540 00:32:57,960 --> 00:33:01,440 Speaker 1: second nature to Lawrence. But you can't miss the skepticism 541 00:33:01,520 --> 00:33:07,880 Speaker 1: in Tiffany's voice. Why yeah, out flee everybody stay high? 542 00:33:08,520 --> 00:33:12,600 Speaker 1: Why think I want to think that they can see 543 00:33:13,320 --> 00:33:21,240 Speaker 1: They've already seen that, showed them a picture. H don't 544 00:33:21,280 --> 00:33:25,000 Speaker 1: feel like that? Why you have a big dam And 545 00:33:25,040 --> 00:33:28,120 Speaker 1: then there's this moment in the tape Lawrence is picking 546 00:33:28,120 --> 00:33:33,200 Speaker 1: the girls up near the driveway. Where is Trevor? Which 547 00:33:33,200 --> 00:33:45,080 Speaker 1: one open you up front? Up there? That's where is Trevor? 548 00:33:45,880 --> 00:34:11,120 Speaker 1: Which one is his room? Where up front? Hitman is 549 00:34:11,160 --> 00:34:13,560 Speaker 1: a production of I Heart Radio and Hit Home Media. 550 00:34:14,080 --> 00:34:17,719 Speaker 1: It's produced and reported by me Jasmine Morris. Our supervising 551 00:34:17,760 --> 00:34:21,040 Speaker 1: producer is Michelle Lance. Mark Loto is our story consultant. 552 00:34:21,520 --> 00:34:24,880 Speaker 1: Executive producers are Main Guesh, Hatika Door and Me. Mixing 553 00:34:24,920 --> 00:34:28,640 Speaker 1: by Josh Rogison, Michelle Lance and Jacobo Penzo are fact 554 00:34:28,760 --> 00:34:32,520 Speaker 1: checkers are Austin Thompson and not Sumi Ajisaka. Voice acting 555 00:34:32,560 --> 00:34:36,600 Speaker 1: by Levi Petrie. Special thanks to Andrew Goldberg, Michael Garofolo, 556 00:34:36,719 --> 00:34:41,640 Speaker 1: Tori Piquette, Christopher Hasiotis, and Nathan Morris. Our theme song 557 00:34:41,760 --> 00:34:45,200 Speaker 1: by Alice McCoy and additional music written and produced by 558 00:34:45,280 --> 00:34:49,520 Speaker 1: students at DIME, powered by the Detroit Institute of Music Education,