Woman who kidnapped Alabama lawyer missing since 1991 back in custody after brief escape
Karen McPherson, serving a life sentence in the 1991 kidnapping of a young Jasper lawyer, briefly escaped work release Monday morning but was quickly recaptured.
McPherson, 63, was convicted in the kidnapping of Carrie Lawson, whose body has never been found.
Crime Stoppers of Metro Alabama said Monday that McPherson was last seen earlier today – about 5 a.m. – exiting McDonalds at 5170 Medord Drive in Hoover.
She was with another woman identified as Sabrina Marie Torres.
McPherson, assigned to work release in the Birmingham area, was taken back into custody about 9 a.m., authorities said.
Additional details weren’t immediately available .
Authorities remove the body of Jerry Bland from his Jasper home on Oct. 1, 1991 after he committed suicide while FBI agents surrounded his home. (Associated Press)
Lawson was abducted from her Jasper home in the early-morning hours of September 11, 1991.
McPherson’s cousin, Jerry Bland, was identified as the main suspect and died by suicide as law enforcement surrounded his home.
The kidnapping happened about 3 a.m. at the home Lawson, 25, shared with her husband, 26-year-old Earl Lawson, also an attorney.
They received a middle-of-the night call from a woman claiming to be a nurse who said a close family member was at the hospital.
As the couple left for the hospital, a gunman appeared at their vehicle. Earl Lawson was bound, and Carrie Lawson was never seen again. She had recently graduated from the University of Alabama law school.
A new podcast is taking a look at the case of Carrie Lawson, the young Alabama attorney who disappeared in 1991.Charlie Project
A ransom demand was made, and paid, but Carrie Lawson was never found.
A search of Bland’s property found the majority of the $300,000 paid by her family. Carrie Lawson was declared dead two years after her disappearance.
McPherson was last denied parole in 2022.
Lawson’s sister, Margaret Smith Kubiszyn, previously told AL.com McPherson’s role in the disappearance has always been understated.
“She was alone with Carrie for a long time when they were holding her and she got to know her and still didn’t let her go,’’ she said.
“That’s always been really hard for me to swallow, that anyone could get to know Carrie and then turn her over to her executioner.”
Years ago, McPherson agreed to meet with Lawson’s father, who has since died, and give details about the crime in return for the family not protesting parole.
“She sat down with my dad for five hours and told all lies,’’ Kubiszyn said.