Kriti Mehrotra
It was on March 14, 2015, when 69-year-old Carlene Ann Hartman Conley was heinously murdered inside her own Kentucky home, leaving both her community and family utterly heartbroken. She was actually stabbed 79 times, as explored in Investigation Discovery’s ‘Evil Lives Here: She Knew It Was Goodbye,’ and it turned out that one of her daughters, Lara Paige Conley, was responsible. The entire brood was aware that the latter was rather troubled, especially her youngest sister, Ginger Conley Goetz, yet no one could have ever imagined that she would go to the extent she did.
Lara Paige Conley Reportedly Showed Signs of Lawlessness From an Early Age
Born and brought up in a financially stable, secure household in Independence, Kentucky, as an elder sister, Lara Paige Conley’s initial years were reportedly the epitome of sunshine and roses. However, after her two sisters, Ann Conley Gorman as well as Ginger Conley Goetz, came into this world and her parents divorced when she was a teenager, things took a turn for the worse. According to records, she allegedly started acting out so as to get attention, but it quickly evolved into her behaving rather delinquently/violently until most of her family was simply afraid of her.
Lara Paige was actually kicked out of private school for cutting classes and causing trouble before later also being expelled from a Christian boarding school for smoking pot as well as doing tarot readings. Then, around the age of 15, she broke into her father’s apartment alongside some friends to steal alcohol, cash, a stereo, and his car, amongst other things, for a road trip to Lake Tahoe. Tired of such antics, her business executive father had decided to file a formal complaint, resulting in her being arrested for theft in Colorado and being forced to spend the weekend behind county bars.
Lara Paige’s father hoped this would get her on the right track, but to no avail; instead, as time passed, things only grew worse as she also formed a co-dependent relationship with her mother. The mother-daughter duo resided together until the end, with the former having to adhere to her every whim because there would be a meltdown that could even turn violent if she didn’t. Following a few alleged severe domestic abuse instances, Ginger did try to have their mother kick the 30-something-year-old unemployed local out, yet Carlene could never go through with it. This is despite the fact that these incidents reportedly include Paige hitting her mother with the metal back of a broom, spanking her nieces and nephews while babysitting, getting jealous over Carlene spending time with her grandkids, as well as ever hesitating to become physical after an argument.
Lara Paige Conley is Currently in Prison For Murder
Although police had been called to the Conley household several times in the years leading up to 2015, Lara Paige and Carlene continued to live together – the latter didn’t want to abandon her blood. Yet, there was an eerie feeling in the air around mid-March while the family was preparing for a double birthday party, which had become their routine in recent years since Paige and Ginger’s young son had their birthdays just one day apart. Therefore, on March 14, 2015, Carlene had spent most of the day at her younger daughter Ginger’s home planning for the event, only to leave after atypically ensuring that everyone had given her a proper hug goodbye.
Little did anyone know that this would be the last time the 69-year-old mother, as well as grandmother, would ever be seen alive again – she was brutally murdered that very same evening. According to records, when Carlene returned to the house she shared with Lara Paige, she openly asked her daughter what she would like to have for dinner, but was met with sheer silence. Thus, she chose to make her grandson’s favorite lasagna, which reportedly angered the 37-year-old to such an extent that she attacked her mother, starting by bashing her head with a knife block.
As per court documents, Lara Paige then stabbed Carlene 79 times, some of which were with such force that the knife tips broke in her body, before going as far as to bite her dozens of times, too. She herself called the police upon calming down, asserting she’d found her mother dead in the kitchen after coming up from her room in the basement, but the blood on her, as well as her changing stories, made the situation clear. Lara Paige was arrested for murder with the special circumstance of domestic violence, for which she was found guilty and sentenced to 27 years in prison in June 2017. Hence, today, at the age of 47, she is incarcerated at the Kentucky Correctional Institution for Women, where she is expected to remain until at least she becomes eligible for parole in March 2032.
Ginger Conley Goetz is Trying to Move Forward in Life
While the loss of her mother at the hands of her sister continues to hang over Ginger Goetz’s head like a dark cloud, she appears to be doing her best to move on while keeping Carlene’s memories alive in her heart. It’s actually imperative to note that she is unafraid to admit that she believes Lara Paige to be a monster to her core, which she even elucidated on the Investigation Discovery original.
Ginger often thinks about what would happen when her sister is up for release, especially as her daughter, Taylor Goetz, has PTSD owing to her aunt, but she feels brave in her heart because she now knows the law is on her side. After all, Lara Paige has already been ordered never to contact any member of her family again. Coming to her current standing, she now resides in Cincinnati, Ohio, where she serves as the Creative Director at Senior Living Smart and the President of RVGP Inc., all the while being a proud wife and mother. She is also a travel enthusiast who has been to Germany, Italy, and several other places in the past few years alone.
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