FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

January 4, 2007

State Attorney Steve Meadows announces the conviction, in Bay County Circuit Court, of Laurie Lynn Bartlett, on a charge of manslaughter.

After two days of testimony, the four man, two woman jury took an hour and 10 minutes to find Bartlett, 45, of Fountain, guilty of the July 1, 2006, stabbing death of Ernest George Lamar. Lamar, 47, shared a home with the defendant. Deputies from the Bay County Sheriff’s Office responded to a 911 call and found Lamar dead on the floor of that home.

Bartlett first told deputies that Lamar was walking through the home, carrying food, when he slipped and fell on the knife. She later claimed self-defense. She did not testify at trial. The defense raised the issue of Battered Spouse Syndrome.

Sentencing is set for February 15, 2006. Bartlett faces the possibility of 15 years in prison.