Bitter divorce case preceded Tuesday Cape Girardeau slayings

The estranged wife accused of a murder conspiracy that resulted in Tuesday's shooting of a pregnant woman and a teenager in Cape Girardeau was in the middle of an apparently bitter divorce.

Michelle R. Lawrence, 39, 921 Hackberry St., Apt. 111, and her husband, John D. Lawrence, had filed at least five cases seeking orders of protection from one another, the most recent in February when Michelle Lawrence accused her husband of being investigated by the Missouri Children's Division for abuse. That case lasted a little more than two weeks before being dismissed.

Ryan Patterson is accused of entering the home Michelle Lawrence owned with John Lawrence at 1224 N. Missouri Ave. shortly before dawn Tuesday and killing Jamie Lynn Orman, 30, and Orman's 15-year-old son Derrick. Hours later, the Lawrences' attorneys were in court in Jackson, where a trial date for the divorce, which has been underway for 16 months, was set for Jan. 22.

Michelle Lawrence

Michelle Lawrence is charged with conspiracy to commit murder. A sworn statement filed with the charges said she asked Patterson to kill John Lawrence and burn the home to collect nearly $400,000 in insurance settlements. John Lawrence was working a night shift job when Patterson entered the home alone and shot the Ormans.

Under a recently enacted Missouri law, filings in divorce cases are closed to the public. Court records of filings for protective orders are not. Two days before John Lawrence filed for divorce from Michelle Lawrence on June 13, 2008, he sought and obtained an order to protect himself and the couple's two children from Michelle Lawrence, who had attempted suicide on at least three occasions. That order was dissolved in August 2008 by mutual agreement between the battling spouses, according to court records on file at the Common Pleas Courthouse in Cape Girardeau.

John Lawrence again sought protection for himself and his children in January, a petition that was denied.

"I am scared for my life based on the threats she has made on my life in front of officers and others," John Lawrence wrote in his application for protection.

In the application for an order of protection for himself, John Lawrence wrote that Cape Girardeau police had been called to the couple's home at 1224 N. Missouri Ave. during a fight. Lawrence told police "she struck me several times," he wrote.

When John Lawrence sought that order Jan. 6, Michelle Lawrence had obtained one the day before. In her application for a protective order, she accused her husband of viewing pornography in front of the children, trying to change the locks and cheating on her.

"I fight in defense," she said to explain her violence.

Anyone may seek an order of protection if they feel threatened or if they have experienced violence at the hands of another. Courts generally grant the orders and direct both parties to come to court within 10 days to determine if the order should remain in place for a year. Once an ex parte order is issued, it is a criminal offense for the parties to have any contact.

In his first application for an order of protection, John Lawrence included three Cape Girardeau police reports about her suicide attempts. The first was dated Jan. 13, 2003, when Michelle Lawrence's mother, Billie Sue Hayden, called police to report that her daughter was in the kitchen of the Lawrences' home threatening to kill herself.

When police arrived, they found Michelle Lawrence holding an 11-inch knife. Michelle Lawrence told police that she was upset because her husband was having an affair and she "wanted to hurt someone else" or herself.

Michelle Lawrence attempted suicide again on March 28, 2004, by taking an overdose of prescription medications. She tried again, again with prescription drugs, on June 1, 2008.

Kelly Yates, Jamie Orman's sister, was unwilling to talk about what had happened in the past between her sister and Michelle Lawrence. "It is never an easy situation when you have a couple splitting," Yates said. "There were some issues. She had some issues with Michelle."

Jamie Orman was divorced as well. Her husband, Bruce Orman, filed for divorce on June 12, 2008, a case that was resolved by October 2008 without attorneys.

There was little acrimony between the Ormans as they went through their divorce, Yates said.

rkeller@semissourian.com

388-3642

Pertinent address:

1224 N. Missouri Ave., Cape Girardeau, MO