The Millionaire’s Mistress on ID is investigating the brutal murder of Atlanta millionaire Lance Herndon, who was killed by his girlfriend, Dionne Baugh, in 1996.
The case made national headlines when the police arrested the petite and unassuming-looking Baugh and charged her with beating her millionaire boyfriend to death.
The pair had been a steady item for some time, and they had bonded over their love of the finer things in life. Unfortunately, there was a problem, Herndon was a ladies man, and he had multiple partners, which drove Baugh to insane levels of jealously.
On August 8, 1996, Herndon’s mother went to check on him when he failed to appear at the office. She found his corpse lying in his bed with a bloody head and face.
An autopsy determined that his death had been caused by multiple blows to the head and face with a blunt object, possibly a wrench.
The police began to suspect Dionne Baugh when they retrieved matching hair and DNA evidence from Herndon’s body. Baugh admitted to seeing Herndon the night before but denied having anything to do with his killing.
However, the cops saw her as their number one suspect.
Watch the Latest on our YouTube ChannelSuspicion was further raised when the police realized Baugh had not been truthful with them. She had told them that Herndon had been at her home the night before he died, but telephone records indicted he’d been at his own home.
The cops also discovered fraudulent documents in Baugh’s possession that appeared to be an attempt to gain access to her victim’s assets. She was also found to have stolen a laptop and credit cards from Herndon.
Baugh had actually been arrested outside Herndon’s home approximately a month before the murder. She had been making a scene after catching her boyfriend with another woman.
The police suspected that Herndon had been about to end the relationship and cut off his supply of money to Baugh, and that is why she killed him.
Dionne Baugh was put on trial twice for murder of Lance Herndon
In a 2001 trial, it was the DNA evidence that proved instrumental in convicting Baugh of murder. She was sentenced to life in prison.
However, the case didn’t end there; her conviction was subsequently thrown out after a police officer’s evidence was ruled to be admissible.
A second trial ended in a hung jury. Baugh was all lined up for the third trial in 2004, but she decided to stop proceedings by pleading guilty to voluntary manslaughter. The prosecution agreed to the deal.
Baugh was sentenced to ten years in prison and was released in 2011.
More from Investigation Discovery
Follow the links to read about more heinous crimes profiled on ID.
Shane Young shot dead Ken Horton and held four women from four different generations of the Mann family hostage when he went looking for his ex-girlfriend. He wounded his hostages and two officers before he was taken into custody.
Theophilus Brooks brutally murdered Erica Vassell after a Super Bowl party in Clewiston, Florida, in 2011. He then dumped her remains by the side of the road in a neighboring county.
The Millionaire’s Mistress airs at 10/9c on Investigation Discovery.