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Schanda Handley, a Louisiana mother-of-one, was kidnapped from her Lafayette home at gunpoint in the presence of her teenage daughter on a fine August day in 2017 in a plot hatched by her estranged millionaire husband, Lawrence Michael Handley.
Sources state that Handley was home alone with her 14-year-old daughter, Isabella Cumberland, when two "delivery men" appeared at their front door, nothing out of the ordinary, held her at gunpoint while she tried to reason with them, put her in the back of a windowless white van, and drove off. She was rescued from a near-death experience by an off-duty cop that day.
Schanda Handley will be narrating her brush with death on Saturday's episode of 48 Hours on CBS. The episode, titled The Kidnapping of Schanda Handley, will air on October 22, 2022, at 10 pm ET. The episode preview says:
"A daughter watches in horror as her mother is kidnapped from their home by intruders posing as deliverymen. CBS Mornings lead national correspondent David Begnaud reports for 48 Hours."
This article explores the timeline of events ahead of the episode premiere.
Everything that happened after Schanda Handley was kidnapped by two "delivery men" from her home
On August 6, 2017, two "delivery men" knocked on the door of Schanda Handley and her daughter, Isabella Cumberland, at their home in Lafayette, Louisiana. Given that Handley was impatiently awaiting something she had ordered online, nothing seemed out of the ordinary.
The events that transpired after she opened the door, however, came as a shock to her. She found herself held at gunpoint and was handcuffed. The two men then shoved her into the back of a windowless van and drove off while her daughter watched. Handley claimed that while one of the kidnappers was driving the vehicle, the other undressed Schanda and fed her pills while sitting on top of her.
Fortunately, an off-duty officer from the Iberville Parish Sheriff's Office named Chad Martin noticed the van and followed them. The kidnappers took a turn on a dead-end road, but soon got stuck in the mud. They reportedly abandoned the van with Schanda in it and escaped on foot.
Upon checking the van, Deputy Martin discovered a naked and barely conscious Schanda Handley cuffed in the back. She was immediately saved and expressed her concerns regarding her estranged husband Michael's involvement in the matter. A day later, the remains of her kidnappers were found in a waterway close by to the area where they had left the vehicle.
When detectives started investigating Michael Handley's life, they found that Schanda had repeatedly called the police on him in the months before the kidnapping and had even issued a restraining order. They discovered a great deal of evidence that implied that he was involved in the kidnapping. The detectives discovered that the van was rented under Michael's name a day prior to the incident.
Handley was arrested after a four-day manhunt. Further video evidence was found at one of the couple's properties, which showed him talking to the two kidnappers and planning the abduction about two weeks before the event. Based on the evidence, authorities alleged that he intended on getting her killed. Michael admitted to second-degree kidnapping in July 2021 and was given a 35-year jail term.
CBS 48 Hours airs this Saturday, October 22, 2022, at 10 pm ET.
