LEE COUNTY, Fla. — In January 2022, a tornado ripped apart Barbara Weigold’s community at the Century 21 Mobile Home Park.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Widespread damage along Iona-McGregor corridor following Sunday tornado
A month later, Weigold saw something even more wicked than mother nature’s fury.
The evil that can lurk inside a human’s heart.
“This evil did not show its face to any of us until it was too late,” Barbara Weigold said.
It’s a story of love that turned deadly.
“She just thought that everyone was like her. Open, loving, generous,” Weigold said.
Suzanne Lappierre was loved by her community and her mother Barbara Weigold.
“She was funny but very caring. This is how she got killed… quite frankly,” Weigold said.
On February 18, Weigold dropped off her daughter at her home.
She didn’t know then it would be the last time she saw her daughter alive.
Lapierre and her mom spoke daily multiple times a day and lived in the same community.
After 48 hours of not hearing from LaPierre, she knew something was wrong… so she called 911.
Weigold filed a missing person report with the Lee County Sheriff’s Office (LCSO).
Deputies immediately began investigating. They learned the home on Apollo drive held a sinister secret.
“When we get to the residence, we start to look around and we see what looks like drag marks out of the rear of the house,” Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno said.
Deputies also saw a bed bathed in blood.
“The hairs on the back of your head stand up and you say ok, this is not a welfare check,” Sheriff Marceno said.
In a matter of days, deputies found her killer, her boyfriend James Lally.
Lally was more than 300 miles away in Jacksonville.
PREVIOUS STORY: Lee County man gets 25 years for murdering girlfriend with hammer
Only NBC2 got video of the moment Lally confessed to investigators that he murdered Lapierre.
Lally killed LaPierre with a hammer.
“When I look at that picture over there… all I visualize is her beautiful face smashed to pieces and her head,” Weigold said.
Lally took LaPierre’s body to a field off Alico Road.
“So he threw her away like trash,” Weigold said.
It only gets worse.
“He goes back to the home, he tries to clean the blood up, tries to tamper the scene and alter it so it looks like it never happened,” Sheriff Marceno said.
Lally then stole LaPierre’s family heirlooms and drove north.
“Unfortunately in Sarasota County, we located our victims’ jewelry pawned, very specifically our victims’ heart-shaped ring,” Sheriff Marceno said.
Lally pawned the jewelry for $140, enough for gas to make it to Jacksonville.
Weigold said she never saw this coming.
“I never saw him doing an angry thing. In all the time they were together. I mean… he was just a straight con man from the get-go,” Weigold said.
Wiegold said she has forgiven Lally.
“I am not his judge. God is, and that’s how I have made my peace with my own faith,” Weigold said.
2022 would have been enough to shake anyone’s faith.
First the tornado, then Hurricane Ian, but houses can be rebuilt and debris cleaned up.
It’s the thread that connected Suzanne to her daughter that can’t be repaired.
The thread that James Lally’s evil shredded.
“The sad part is I can’t remember what she sounds like anymore. It’s gone,” Weigold said.
Despite this unimaginable pain — there’s one thing Weigold holds onto.
“The stars are a little brighter because she is in it,” Weigold said.
A testament to the resilience, strength and love inside a mother’s heart.
Now Weigold is encouraging everyone to make sure they know who they are dating.
“I wish I would have spent the $30 on a background check. This could have been different,” Weigold said.
If you are in an abusive relationship, here is a list of resources.
National Domestic Violence Hotline
Hours: 24/7. Languages: English, Spanish and 200+
800-799-7233
The ACT Emergency Shelter in Fort Myers
24-Hour Helpline 239-939-3112
Emergency Shelter 239-939-3112
The Shelter for Abused Women & Children in Collier County.
Crisis Hotline at 239-775-1101.
The post Lee County mother discusses violent murder of daughter at hands of boyfriend appeared first on NBC2 News.
