Detectives strongly believe that a woman found dead last Friday in a burning KIA minivan on the lot of a West Nashville trucking company was shot to death in Pennsylvania on January 28, and was then randomly driven to Nashville, where her vehicle and body were set on fire.
The victim is most likely Paula Lanz, 39, who was listed as a missing person in Allegheny County , Pennsylvania , last Thursday. The KIA is registered to her. A positive identification is pending a review of dental and medical information by the medical examiner.
The Allegheny County Police Department has now charged Lanz's husband, Henry Ricky Lanz, 40, with homicide. The couple had been involved in a continuing domestic dispute.
During an interview with investigators, Henry Lanz said his friend, Karl Kam Laughlin, shot and killed Paula after he told him about problems he was having with his wife. Lanz said Laughlin told him that he would dispose of the body, would be traveling south, and mentioned that a fire would destroy evidence.
Last Wednesday at 6:36 p.m., a man believed to be Laughlin attempted to use Paula Lanz's bank card at the US Bank automated teller located in the Kroger parking lot near the intersection of Charlotte Pike and White Bridge Road . North Precinct detectives have also interviewed three separate individuals who believe they saw Laughlin in the vicinity of Nashville 's Union Rescue Mission and the Gaylord Entertainment Center Saturday night. Laughlin is presently wanted on outstanding assault warrants in Pennsylvania . He is also a suspect in Paula Lanz's homicide in Pennsylvania and the arson of her minivan in Nashville .
Anyone seeing Karl Kam Laughlin in the Nashville area is urged to immediately contact Crime Stoppers at 74-CRIME. Investigators also want to speak with anyone who saw him at the West Nashville ATM last Wednesday.
Karl Laughlin
Karl Laughlin
Henry Lanz
Paula Lanz
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