Lawrence Horn
Encyclopedia
Lawrence Horn is a musician
, formerly a record producer
and chief recording engineer for Motown Records
. He is currently serving a life sentence for hiring a hit man to commit a triple-murder
.
Horn was notable for pioneering many mixing techniques while at Motown, and for directly supervising most of the mixes for Motown singles during the label's success period from 1964 to 1967.
Laid off by Motown in 1990, Horn slid into debt. In 1993, Horn contracted James Perry to kill his wife, mentally challenged son, and the family's overnight nurse in their Silver Spring, Maryland
, home. The motive for hiring the murder was that Horn stood to gain $1.7 million from his son's trust fund that was established after the settlement of a lawsuit resulting from a medical procedure that left him a quadriplegic. Perry was sentenced to the death penalty in 1995 for the murders, and in 1996 Lawrence Horn was found guilty on three counts of first-degree murder and one count of murder conspiracy and sentenced to life imprisonment. The conviction of the assassin, Perry, was overturned by an appeals court and a second trial sentenced him to three life terms in Maryland's prison system in 2001. Perry died of an undisclosed illness while still in custody on December 30, 2009.
The case prompted a lawsuit against Paladin Press
, the publishers of Hit Man
, which James Perry used as a guide to execute the murders. The lawsuit was settled when the publishers agreed to stop selling the book and pay millions of dollars in compensation to the families of the victims.
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
, formerly a record producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
and chief recording engineer for Motown Records
Motown Records
Motown is a record label originally founded by Berry Gordy, Jr. and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation in Detroit, Michigan, United States, on April 14, 1960. The name, a portmanteau of motor and town, is also a nickname for Detroit...
. He is currently serving a life sentence for hiring a hit man to commit a triple-murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
.
Horn was notable for pioneering many mixing techniques while at Motown, and for directly supervising most of the mixes for Motown singles during the label's success period from 1964 to 1967.
Laid off by Motown in 1990, Horn slid into debt. In 1993, Horn contracted James Perry to kill his wife, mentally challenged son, and the family's overnight nurse in their Silver Spring, Maryland
Silver Spring, Maryland
Silver Spring is an unincorporated area and census-designated place in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. It had a population of 71,452 at the 2010 census, making it the fourth most populous place in Maryland, after Baltimore, Columbia, and Germantown.The urbanized, oldest, and...
, home. The motive for hiring the murder was that Horn stood to gain $1.7 million from his son's trust fund that was established after the settlement of a lawsuit resulting from a medical procedure that left him a quadriplegic. Perry was sentenced to the death penalty in 1995 for the murders, and in 1996 Lawrence Horn was found guilty on three counts of first-degree murder and one count of murder conspiracy and sentenced to life imprisonment. The conviction of the assassin, Perry, was overturned by an appeals court and a second trial sentenced him to three life terms in Maryland's prison system in 2001. Perry died of an undisclosed illness while still in custody on December 30, 2009.
The case prompted a lawsuit against Paladin Press
Paladin Press
Paladin Press is a book publishing firm founded in 1970 by Peder Lund and Robert K. Brown.The company publishes non-fiction books and videos covering a wide range of specialty topics, including personal and financial freedom, survivalism and preparedness, firearms and shooting, various martial...
, the publishers of Hit Man
Hit Man: A Technical Manual for Independent Contractors
Hit Man: A Technical Manual for Independent Contractors is a book written under the pseudonym Rex Feral and published by Paladin Press in 1983. Paladin Press owner Peder Lund claimed, in an interview with 60 minutes, that the book started life as a detailed crime novel written by a Florida...
, which James Perry used as a guide to execute the murders. The lawsuit was settled when the publishers agreed to stop selling the book and pay millions of dollars in compensation to the families of the victims.