Brooke Elaine Lawson was a 17-year-old White female from Lansing, Michigan, described by her father as a "strong young woman who would fight for the less fortunate." Her family remembered her as a loving daughter, sister, granddaughter, niece, and friend. They cherished their family trips to Drummond Island, which her father said would never be the same without her.
On the evening of December 21, 2023, a dispute at a home in the 1400 block of Ravenswood Drive in Lansing Township turned fatal. During the altercation, a resident of the home, 35-year-old Lydia Renee Nance, called 911. While on the phone with a dispatcher, she warned, "So, I just 'wanna' let you know, when I shoot these bitches in my yard, it's 'cause' they came up here 'messin' with me and my family." Nance then shot two unarmed women. Brooke was struck in the chest and rushed to a local hospital, where she died from her injury.
The second victim, 20-year-old Autumn Hansbarger, was shot in the hip but survived.
Lansing Township police, who were responding to the 911 call and heard the gunfire over the phone, arrived at the scene and arrested Nance. The Ingham County Prosecutor's Office charged her with one count of open murder for Brooke's death, one count of assault with intent to murder for the shooting of Hansbarger, and two counts of felony firearm. She was arraigned on December 23, 2023, and her bond was set at $200,000.
During legal proceedings, Nance’s defense attorney argued that she had acted in self-defense. The prosecution countered that the shooting was an act of anger, stating that Nance had brought a gun to a fistfight. Nance ultimately pleaded no contest to a reduced charge of manslaughter. On June 24, 2026, an Ingham County Circuit Judge sentenced her to serve 52 months to 15 years in prison. As of June 2026, Lydia Nance is serving her sentence.
