INDIAN TRAIL, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — A Union County woman will spend the next 230 to 301 months in prison following the attempted murder of her husband, according to the Union County District Attorney’s Office.
Officials say 52-year-old Lavonda Marie Earley was found guilty by a jury on September 7, 2023, of attempted first-degree murder and assault with a deadly weapon with the intent to kill inflicting serious injury.
Investigators say that on January 25, 2022, Early shot her husband seven times at their Indian Trail home on Chandler Forest Court before taking his cell phone, wallet and car keys.
According to authorities, the victim crawled out of the master bedroom where he was shot, went downstairs and onto the home’s front porch. A neighbor saw the man and called 911.
Officials say the victim reported being shot during an argument between him and his wife, Earley. She later turned herself in to the Union County Sheriff’s Office.
In court, prosecutors claimed that Earley planned the shooting ahead of time based on “financial gain and unfounded suspicions of infidelity”.
Earley attempted to claim self-defense; however, the jury did not agree with the claim, according to the DA.
On September 8, 2023, Earley was sentenced to the maximum punishment allowed of 157 to 201 months in prison, followed by an additional sentence of 73 to 100 months in prison. In total, Earley is expected to spend between 19 years and 2 months to 25 years and 1 month incarcerated.
