Lawrence Florentine Murdered His Wife, Nicole Zahnd Florentine, Burned Her Body and Buried Her in a Shallow Grave

 

Lawrence Joseph Florentine Murdered His Wife, Burned Her Body and Buried Her in a Shallow Grave

Lawrence Joseph Florentine of South Carolina was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison for the 2020 murder of his wife, Nicole Zahnd Florentine.

The couple married in 2018. Their marriage was marked by multiple incidents of severe domestic abuse.

In June 2020, while the couple was traveling across state lines, Florentine shot Nicole in the head, killing her.

He then transported her body to Hill Cemetery in Fredonia, Kentucky.

There, Florentine poured gasoline on Nicole's body and set it on fire before burying her in a shallow, makeshift grave.

A cemetery groundskeeper discovered her remains on June 13, 2020.

By then, Florentine had fled across the country. Authorities arrested him in Denver approximately 10 days later. Investigators also connected him to a May 2020 arson that destroyed the couple's home in Rock Hill, South Carolina.

In October 2023, Florentine pleaded guilty to federal charges including interstate domestic violence resulting in death, use of a firearm during a crime of violence, obstruction of justice, and being a felon in possession of a firearm.

On April 10, 2024, he was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison.

Florentine later challenged part of his sentence, arguing that burning Nicole's body occurred after the murder was complete. The federal appeals court rejected that argument and upheld his conviction, concluding that his actions were part of a continuous course of criminal conduct.

Nicole's name belongs at the center of this story.

Her name was Nicole Zahnd Florentine. Her husband shot her in the head, drove her body across state lines, burned her with gasoline, and buried what remained in a shallow fucking grave. He got 30 years.