A Texas Man Was To Marry His Fiancée During A Weekend Ceremony. But He Murdered The Bride Before They Could Exchange Vows.

A north Texas man will spend 40 years in prison after beating and murdering his bride-to-be on the weekend of their planned wedding while high on drugs.

Anthony Young, 45, learned his sentence Wednesday from a Tarrant County judge for what one police detective called “a very violent physical fight” in January 2021.

Authorities said they found the body of Lauren Schick, 65, under a couch in her Hurst apartment. She had a slit throat as well as bruises to her head. A medical examiner ruled she died from violent blunt force trauma.

KTVT reports Young and Schick met at a Narcotics Anonymous meeting. They lived together for six months before the attack.

A neighbor reported hearing breaking glass and thrown tables from their apartment on the day Schick died. Then Young drove off in Schick's car, taking it to a dumpster.

One day later, Young went to the home of Schick's sister and claimed Schick “passed out on the floor.” He seemed high on drugs at the time.

Authorities concluded Young was on methamphetamine and crack when he murdered Schick.

The Dallas Morning News quoted a news release from prosecutors as saying Young pleaded guilty to murder in February. Yet before his sentencing Wednesday, Tarrant County Jail records show he could have gone free on $100,000 bail.