On the night of November 29, 1992, Sara was returning home with her two sons after a Thanksgiving holiday visit with her family. An intruder was waiting inside the family's home. Curtis Rower, a hired gunman, forced Sara and her children into her car at gunpoint. During the drive, Rower shot Sara in the head while her young sons sat in the back seat. The children survived physically unharmed but witnessed their mother's murder. The crime initially appeared to be a carjacking or home invasion gone wrong. However, investigators quickly began looking at Rick Tokars as a person of interest due to the couple's troubled marriage and Rick's questionable financial dealings. ## The Investigation and Key Players The investigation into Sara's murder uncovered a disturbing chain of events. Rick Tokars had enlisted Eddie Lawrence, a business associate involved in drug trafficking and nightclub operations, to arrange the killing. Lawrence, in turn, recruited Curtis Rower to carry out the actual shooting.
As detectives dug deeper, they discovered that Rick Tokars had been living a double life. While presenting himself as a respected attorney and former prosecutor, he had been laundering money for drug dealers, operating shady nightclub ventures, and engaging in widespread financial fraud. Sara's growing awareness of these activities — and her potential to expose them during divorce proceedings — gave Rick a powerful motive to have her killed. Eddie Lawrence eventually cooperated with authorities and provided crucial testimony linking Rick Tokars directly to the murder plot. Curtis Rower also provided information about how the scheme was carried out. ## The Trial and Conviction of Rick Tokars Rick Tokars initially maintained his innocence and attempted to portray himself as a grieving husband. However, the weight of evidence against him was overwhelming. Both Eddie Lawrence and Curtis Rower testified about their roles in the conspiracy and Rick's direct involvement in planning the murder.
Curtis Rower pleaded guilty to murder and received a life sentence. Eddie Lawrence also pleaded guilty and received a life sentence for his role in arranging the killing. Rick Tokars ultimately pleaded guilty to federal charges of racketeering and murder in a deal that allowed him to avoid the death penalty. He received two consecutive life sentences plus 20 years. He later also pleaded guilty to state murder charges in Georgia, receiving an additional life sentence. ## The Impact on the Tokars Children One of the most heartbreaking aspects of the case was the fate of Sara and Rick's two young sons, who not only witnessed their mother's murder but lost both parents — their mother to violence and their father to prison. The boys were raised by Sara's sister and her family. The case became a powerful example of how domestic violence and criminal behavior can devastate entire families, particularly children.
## Legacy of the Case The Sara Tokars case remains one of the most notorious murder-for-hire cases in Georgia history. It exposed how a person in a position of legal authority exploited the justice system for personal gain and criminal enterprise. The case also highlighted the dangers faced by spouses who discover illegal activity and attempt to leave dangerous marriages. ## Finding Additional Information For those researching the Sara Tokars case or looking for related records, court documents from both federal and state proceedings are part of the public record. Obituary records for Sara Tokars may be available through funeral home archives or newspaper databases, though availability of older records is not guaranteed. Some funeral home websites allow searching by name or browsing listings by month or by the first letter of the last name. Individual listing pages may contain obituary text, service details, and tribute options. Local library archives and Georgia court record databases can also serve as reliable sources for verified case information.
