Lance Herndon Was Murdered in 1996 — Police Found a Woman's DNA Under His Fingernails

There were few better times to be living in Atlanta, than in the mid-1990s. According to Atlanta Magazine, it was the city's most "transformative time." It was during this era that groups like Outkast and Goodie Mob contributed to the rise of the Dirty South style of hip-hop. From Rupert's to Backstreet, back down to Club Kaya, you could dance any night of the week.

Although the arrival of the Summer Olympics heavily contributed to the city's ever-increasing gentrification, Atlanta was still an epicenter for Black culture in America. Like all cities, Atlanta was also a magnet for crime. In August 1996, the murder of millionaire Lance Herndon shocked a community. Believe it or not, the person who did it was looking for revenge. Where is Dionne Baugh now? Here's what we know.

On Jan. 19, 1998, nearly two years after Herndon was killed, Baugh was arrested and charged with his murder, per Oxygen. The case went to trial three years later, where police presented evidence like Baugh's DNA found underneath Herndon's fingernails. She also bought $3,000 worth of furniture the same day he died and charged it to one of Herndon's credit cards.

The jury deliberated for less than seven hours and returned with a guilty verdict, as well as a life sentence. However, this was overturned in 2003 when the Georgia Supreme Court found that a police officer's testimony had biased the jury. "The court said that it was an inappropriate bolstering of testimony and for that reason, the court reversed it," explained District Attorney Paul Howard in an episode of Snapped.

Baugh was released on $500,000 bail but decided to plead guilty to a lesser charge in an effort to avoid a third trial and another life sentence, reported the Associated Press. In November 2004, she agreed to serve ten more years in prison with an added ten years on probation. She got out seven years later. A relative told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution they hoped Baugh was doing well, wherever she was.

Herndon was a self-made millionaire who earned his money as a computer consultant, per United Press International. The 41-year-old was extremely popular, especially with the ladies, and often had a steady string of women on his arm. One of them was Baugh, who was still married when she began dating him. After her husband left, Baugh thought it would be full steam ahead for her and the wealthy Herndon, but he wasn't ready to settle down.

Things started to take a turn on the evening of July 10, 1996, when a distraught Baugh dropped by Herndon's house sans an invitation. Upon walking up to the house, Baugh saw through a set of windows that Herndon was with another woman. "She began to beat on the door and ring the doorbell and call him on the phone repeatedly," said Prosecutor Clint Rucker to a Snapped producer. This terrified Herndon, who called the police. That incident was the fuel he needed to finally end things with Baugh.

About a month later, Baugh broke into Herndon's home and bludgeoned him to death with a wrench. The weapon was never found, but forensic analysis deduced that was probably what was used. Police also theorized that Baugh straddled Herndon while he was in bed. There were no defensive wounds which means he most likely didn't wake up and died almost immediately.