Ex-cop beat, strangled former girlfriend to death after he chased her down as she screamed 'help,' then wiped blood from her face and claimed it was a drug overdose

A former Tennessee police officer will spend the rest of his life in prison for beating and strangling his ex-girlfriend to death and then trying to convince investigators she died of a drug overdose.

Lawrence Goodine, 46, was convicted Friday of first-degree murder, aggravated kidnapping and tampering with evidence, along with other charges, in the death of 48-year-old Kara Akins in Chattanooga. He was sentenced to life in prison.

Cops found Akins dead on Nov. 29, 2023, at her home on Carr Street.

According to a courtroom report from the Chattanooga Times Free Press and local NBC affiliate WRCB, Ring camera footage, Akins’ autopsy and the defendant’s own statements to police were key to the guilty verdict.

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The Ring footage showed Goodine chasing down Akins as she ran outside the home, yelling “Help!” and pulling her back inside. He then beat and strangled her to death. Goodine spent the next several hours covering up his crimes before calling 911.

He moved her body across the living room, rearranged her arms and took photos of her body in an attempt to stage the scene, prosecutors reportedly said during closing arguments.

When officers arrived at the scene, he immediately tried to convince them Akins died of a drug overdose, saying several times “she took something.”

“He told you that Kara Akins took something,” Prosecutor Roger Layne reportedly told jurors. “The evidence in this case tells you what Lawrence Goodine took. He took Kara Akins’ life.”

The medical examiner determined Akins died of blunt force trauma and manual strangulation.

Goodine and Akins reportedly had a mutual no-contact order stemming from a domestic violence incident about a month before the murder.

Jurors returned with a guilty verdict after about seven hours of deliberation.

Goodine previously worked for the Chattanooga Police Department but was fired after he was accused of stealing and extortion although he was cleared. He never returned to the department.

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Several of Akins’ family members attended the five-day trial. They were relieved by the guilty verdict.

“She was all love and she was true to herself to the very end and even with her abuser she tried to have the most patience with him and said, all the time, he’s a good person with a bad anger issue, and I want her to remember like how loving she was,” her sister, April Lamothe, told WRCB, after the verdict.

Though Goodine will spend the rest of his life in prison for the murder, a judge will sentence him on the other counts on Oct. 22.

The post Ex-cop beat, strangled former girlfriend to death after he chased her down as she screamed ‘help,’ then wiped blood from her face and claimed it was a drug overdose first appeared on Law & Crime.