Nicole Zahnd Florentine, a 36-year-old Caucasian female, was found deceased on June 13, 2020, in a makeshift grave in Fredonia, Kentucky. Her body was discovered by a groundskeeper at Hill Cemetery, partially charred and concealed under branches and debris. An autopsy later determined that she had died from a gunshot wound to the head.
The investigation into Nicole's death quickly focused on her husband, Lawrence Joseph Florentine. The couple, who had married in 2018, had a volatile relationship, with records showing that Nicole had previously called law enforcement multiple times to report domestic abuse and threats on her life. In the weeks leading up to her death, the couple's home in Rock Hill, South Carolina, was destroyed by a fire that Lawrence Florentine later admitted to intentionally setting. Investigators believe he killed his wife in South Carolina around June 7, 2020, before transporting her body to Kentucky. Evidence, including the purchase of a shovel and a gas can, linked Lawrence to the burial site.
After disposing of his wife's body, Lawrence Florentine fled to Denver, Colorado. He was apprehended there on June 23, 2020. In October 2023, he pleaded guilty to federal charges of interstate domestic violence resulting in death, use of a firearm during a crime of violence, obstruction of justice, and use of fire to commit interstate domestic violence. He was subsequently sentenced to 30 years in federal prison. At his sentencing, the judge noted that Florentine had deliberately concealed his wife's death from her family, depriving them of the chance to properly mourn her.
