In the early morning hours of July 9, 2019, the life of 21-year-old Lawrence Renfro, a Black/African American male, was tragically cut short in his West St. Paul, Minnesota apartment. Two men, later identified as Nathan McDonald, 22, of Oakdale, and Terrell Payne, 19, of Little Canada, arrived at Renfro's ground-floor apartment at the Oakdale Terrace Apartments.
After failing to get in through the main door, they made their way in through a bedroom window.
Renfro, who was in the living room with his two-year-old son, awoke to find the intruders and told them to leave. It was then that McDonald reportedly shot Renfro multiple times. An autopsy would later reveal that Renfro had sustained five gunshot wounds, including one to his head. The two men then fled the scene, leaving Renfro's young child alone with his deceased father.
Later that morning, around 11 a.m., a friend of Renfro's arrived at the apartment. Finding the door locked and getting no answer, the friend went to the bedroom window and noticed the screen was damaged. Upon entering the apartment, the friend made a horrifying discovery: Renfro was dead on the couch, and his toddler son was sitting next to him. The friend quickly took the child, left the apartment, and called the police.
West St. Paul police launched a homicide investigation, which was considered unusual for the city as it was its first since 2017. Investigators found five 9mm casings at the scene and began to piece together the events of that tragic morning. Their investigation led them to arrest McDonald and Payne on July 30, 2019.
Following his arrest, Terrell Payne provided a statement to the police, detailing his and McDonald's involvement in the home invasion and shooting. Both men were subsequently charged with second-degree murder. In August 2020, Nathan McDonald pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. The following month, Terrell Payne also pleaded guilty to the same charge. For his role in the murder, Payne was sentenced to more than 25 years in prison, while McDonald received a sentence of over 30 years.
