On the morning of May 26, 1994, 43-year-old Sharon Varnadore Chancey was killed after answering a deceptive plea for help. Finding the father absent, they redirected their plan toward Chancey, who was Lee’s father’s live-in girlfriend.

Lee’s girlfriend allegedly lured Chancey from her Pierce County, Georgia, home by pretending her car had broken down. When Chancey came to help, Lee ambushed her and shot her in the face, placed her wounded body in the back of a Chevrolet Silverado, drove to a remote area in Charlton County woods, and, after finding she was still alive, shot her two more times. Lee and his girlfriend then fled to Florida in the stolen truck.

Lee was arrested after making incriminating statements while in Florida and reportedly admitted he was wanted for murder in Georgia during a traffic stop. He was charged with malice murder, felony murder, armed robbery, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime; a jury convicted him on all counts and recommended death based on aggravating circumstances described at trial.