Lanard Curtaindoll, a 41-year-old male, vanished around Thanksgiving of 2018, leaving his family in a state of desperate uncertainty. For months, their search for answers proved fruitless. The grim discovery of his remains finally came on April 24, 2019, when a film crew stumbled upon his body in a vacant field in Pontiac, Michigan. An autopsy would later reveal that he had died from a gunshot wound to the chest.
The investigation into his death soon uncovered a story of betrayal and
violence. Suspicion fell upon his girlfriend, Lakeisha Hawkins, and her father, Kenneth Legrant Hawkins. Authorities determined that an altercation between Curtaindoll and Lakeisha Hawkins at a club she owned led to the fatal shooting. It was alleged that Kenneth Hawkins shot Curtaindoll at the club. In a chilling turn of events, it was revealed that after the murder, Lakeisha Hawkins had actively participated in search parties for Curtaindoll, feigning concern and offering a reward for information.
Following the investigation, both father and daughter were arrested and faced charges related to the death of Lanard Curtaindoll. They were tried jointly before separate juries. Kenneth Hawkins was convicted of first-degree premeditated murder, mutilation of a dead body, being a felon in possession of a firearm, and felony firearm. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Lakeisha Hawkins was convicted of mutilation of a dead body, accessory after the fact to murder, being a felon in possession of a firearm, and felony firearm.
However, the legal saga did not end there. In February 2022, the Michigan Court of Appeals overturned Kenneth Hawkins' convictions and ordered a new trial, citing the improper admission of certain evidence in his original trial. The appellate court also reversed Lakeisha Hawkins' conviction for mutilation of a dead body and ordered her to be resentenced on the remaining convictions. In June 2022, Lakeisha Hawkins was resentenced and was subsequently released on parole in April 2024. The final outcome of Kenneth Hawkins' ordered retrial is not publicly available.
