Boyfriend admits to July murder

Victim’s mother says daughter fell into role of abused

Rebecca Lauer, a 35-year-old mother of two, always swore she would never find herself in the type of deadly, abusive relationships featured on Lifetime television movies.

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"She never took anything from anyone," said her mother, Rosalie Henry.

But just a few weeks before she was murdered by her boyfriend, Lauer confessed that her turbulent relationship with Dennis Harrington, 42, had cast her in the very role she had long despised -- that of the victim.

"She had a hard time accepting that," Henry recalled.

In July, Harrington killed Lauer and, with the help of a friend, burned her body in the backyard of his Lonoke County home.

On Monday, Harrington pleaded guilty to first-degree murder, abuse of a corpse and third-degree domestic battery. He pleaded no contest to kidnapping Lauer amid assertions from witnesses that he had paraded her through at least one friend's home in handcuffs.

Harrington was sentenced to 45 years in prison. Because he is a habitual offender, he will have to serve 70 percent of that sentence, which means it will be more than 30 years before he is considered for parole.

Circuit Judge Sandy Huckabee also issued a permanent no-contact order that forbids Harrington from contacting Lauer's children, mother and other family members.

"I just hoped that he would finally do something right," Henry said Monday afternoon. "I'm happy that he did."

As a teenager, Lauer loved to ride horses. She competed in both English and Western riding styles.

"One of her goals, which she never was able to complete, was to raise a foal," Henry added.

As a mom to two children -- Kristin Hensley, now 17; and Blake Roper, 14 -- Lauer got involved in scouting while working in Pennsylvania.

As an assistant troop leader, Lauer accompanied her daughter's Girl Scout troop on a trip to New York, where she and the girls visited ground zero and saw The Lion King on Broadway. Henry, who joined the group, remembers that outing fondly.

For many years, Lauer worked in the information technology departments at several companies. Her longest stint was at T-Mobile, Henry said.

"She was very good with all of that high-tech stuff," she said. "She loved personal devices and computers."

Lauer was most content when working with electronics or animals, Henry said, explaining that her daughter leaned toward being an introvert.

But in the three years before she met Harrington, Lauer went through "a bad time" that left her feeling vulnerable around men.

"If she had been her normal self, this wouldn't have happened," Henry said.

In July, Henry became concerned when she didn't hear from her daughter for weeks. A search of phone records showed that Lauer's phone had been silent since July 21.

On July 28, the worried mother contacted the Lonoke County sheriff's office and filed a missing-person report.

The detective who read the report knew he'd heard Lauer's name before and searched through old documents until he found a report filed April 8, 2013, in which Lauer accused Harrington of physically abusing her.

According to a probable cause affidavit, two months of police interviews provided clues as to what had happened to Lauer.

On Aug. 1, investigators interviewed Harrington, who told detectives that on July 21, he and Lauer had talked about going to church that morning but decided not to attend. Harrington went to visit a friend, he said, while Lauer stayed at his house.

When Harrington returned, he said, he found a note that said, "Keep building! I Love you DH, Booboo, My Goober ... Yours Completely Your Sweet Heart."

The note was dated July 19, but Harrington insisted that Lauer had gotten the date wrong and left it for him July 21.

Harrington denied having anything to do with Lauer's disappearance.

On Aug. 5, a man named Danny Mathis went to the sheriff's office, where he told investigators that Harrington and Lauer had shown up unexpectedly at Mathis' home July 21. Lauer was handcuffed and appeared to have been beaten up, Mathis said.

Harrington kept ordering Mathis to have sex with Lauer but left after Mathis refused, according to the affidavit.

On Sept. 21, investigators interviewed a man named Eric Williamson, who told them that on July 21, he was sleeping at a friend's house when Harrington pulled into the driveway and ran into the home. Once inside, he hollered for Williamson's friend, Steven Boulanger.

Harrington told Boulanger that "he needed him more than ever right now," Williamson told investigators. When Williamson stepped outside, he noticed that Harrington's truck doors were open. A body was on the floor behind the front passenger seat, Williamson said.

After Harrington and Boulanger left in Harrington's truck, Williamson went to another friend's house and told him what he had seen. The pair then headed to a piece of land that abuts Harrington's property and used a BB gun with a scope taped to it to spy on Harrington, according to the affidavit.

The two men saw Harrington put what looked like pieces of clothing on a burn pile, Williamson told authorities.

Investigators interviewed Boulanger twice before he admitted that he had helped Harrington dispose of Lauer's body, according to the affidavit.

A search of Harrington's property turned up charred bone fragments that an examination by the Center for Human Identification Laboratory of Forensic Anthropology in Denton, Texas, determined to be human.

While the fire destroyed any chance of recovering DNA, scientists were able to identify the fragments as part of a vertebra and fibula belonging to a small-framed person.

Lonoke County Prosecuting Attorney Chuck Graham said Harrington told investigators that he had bludgeoned Lauer, but that there was no way to confirm a cause of death because of the condition of the remains.

State Desk on 06/17/2014

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