Share and Follow
In a tragic twist of fate, a seemingly innocent gift turned deadly for Marcus “Mark” Toney. On February 15, 2000, the 37-year-old unwittingly opened a lethal package left at his doorstep, detonating a pipe bomb that claimed his life and left his friend, Alphonso Butler, severely injured. This harrowing incident was revisited on Oxygen’s Killer Relationship with Faith Jenkins.
First responders arrived swiftly, only to be confronted with a horrifying scene. Retired Chicago Detective Neil Maas recounted the moment in the November 14 episode, sharing that “the fire chief himself went in there with one of his firemen. They surveyed the area, found blood, and then they saw the body, its head against the wall and the arm was missing.”
In the months leading up to the explosion, Mark had been on edge. Known for his financial prudence, he became increasingly anxious as someone was fraudulently opening credit accounts in his name, amassing significant debts and stealing his identity.
“The fire chief himself went in there with one of his fireman,” retired Chicago Detective Neil Maas remembered in the Nov. 14 episode. “They surveilled the area, found blood and then they saw the body, it’s head against the wall and the arm was missing.”
Before the deadly blast, the fiscally-conservative Mark had been increasingly paranoid as someone had begun taking out credit cards in his name, stealing his identity and racking up large debts.
The investigation into his murder would reveal a cold-blooded plot to take both Mark’s money and his life.
Who Was Marcus “Mark” Toney?
Mark, a native of Chicago, was the eldest of three siblings.
“He was a great big brother,” his sister Rita Toney remembered. “You know, he took care of his sisters. He always held our hands when we crossed the street.”
That same sense of responsibility followed Mark into adulthood. According to Rita, he was “very frugal” and worked hard to gain enough money to invest in real estate, while still taking time to enjoy life.
With a successful career established, the next part of Mark’s life fell into place when he met his future wife, Lisa.
“Lisa was a play by the rules corporate gal in Chicago,” said journalist Joy Bergmann. “She worked at the local phone company in management in human resources.”
The couple married in 1993 and purchased a home together in the south Chicago suburb of Dolton.
“My brother was very jovial,” Rita explained. “He was nice. Lisa felt that she had got her a gem.”
For the first few years of the marriage, Rita said the relationship was “good,” but then the couple began to have trouble. At the time of his death, they were taking a trial separation, although Mark had still been hopeful they’d be able to reconcile.
Investigators Learn About Stolen Identity, Threatening Messages
Those hopes were extinguished on Feb. 15, 2000, when Mark was killed in the pipe bomb explosion at his home.
He’d been killed when one of the end caps of the galvanized pipe bomb went straight into his heart.
At the hospital, Butler—who had been hanging out with Mark the night of his death—was later able to tell authorities that Mark had received the package days earlier, but found it suspicious and didn’t open it right away.
After peeling part of the wrapping away, Mark noticed a VCR box and, suspicious that his wife was having an affair, believed the VCR may have held a tape with her engaged in sexual activities with another man.
Mark had been paranoid for the last six months after finding out that someone had opened numerous credit cards in his name and charged expensive hotel rooms, trips and other expenses. He discovered that someone had stolen his identity.
Mark was also receiving threatening voicemail messages from an unknown male and began to suspect that his wife and her lover could be behind his financial problems.
“Hello Marcus, I understand you’re trying to cause some kind of drama over, ah, your credit report,” the caller said in one message. “I don’t think that would be actually wise considering I know you like the palm of my hand. F—k you, F—k Lisa. It’s about me. And I’ve been controlling this situation for quite some time.”
In another message, left on Feb. 15, he referenced the package, telling Mark to open his gift and “take a look at what I sent you. This is by far not over.”
Later that night, Mark decided to open the package, triggering the bomb inside.
Falling for a Con Man
Investigators decided to bring Mark’s estranged wife Lisa in for questioning. Lisa admitted to having an extramarital relationship, but initially claimed it was over and that the man’s phone had been disconnected.
They continued to press her and showed her photos of Mark’s dismembered body. Lisa vomited and eventually agreed to identify her boyfriend as a man by the name of “Sienky.” However, Lisa was was unable to give them any other identifying information.
Eventually, authorities were able to identify the man as Sienky Lallemand, a con-man who’d spent 18 months behind bars for extortion.
“When he got out of prison he’d meet women who worked at banks, medical facilities, people who knew other people’s social security numbers, dates of birth, full names,” Bergmann explained. “Sienky would seduce these woman and start getting data and he would take on these new identities.”
In 1998—after another prison stint—he was living at his parents house across from Lisa and Mark and set his sites on Lisa.
Clues Emerge Linking the Crime to Sienky Lallemand
Investigators began to suspect that Lallemand was behind the bombing, but they needed to find evidence to prove it.
While analyzing the gift wrap the package had been wrapped in, they were able to trace the gift wrap to a Marshall Field’s department store. An employee there remembered wrapping the gift for Lallemand.
“He had no problem taking this box, with two pipe bombs in it to a department store to be gift wrapped,” Bergmann said.
During the chase to find Lallemand, who’d slipped off the radar, investigators learned that Lallemand had spent time in Detroit. Authorities were convinced that Lallemand had help building the bomb and a confidential informant told them to look into a man named Jason Bucher, who lived in Michigan and had been arrested as a teenager for building pipe bombs.
Investigators learned that Bucher and Lallemand were connected by a mutual friend. During an analysis of Bucher’s financial records, they found credit card charges for the same components used in the bomb.
The confidential informant agreed to wear a wire to try to gather more evidence on Bucher.
According to Mitchell Wido, a retired special agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, “During that conversation, Jason said the magic words of ‘I made that bomb.’”
Bucher was arrested and, given the evidence against him, agreed to flip on Lallemand, saying he gave his friend all the components to build the bomb and then talked him through constructing it over the phone.
Who Killed Marcus Toney?
Lallemand was eventually tracked to Los Angeles, where he was staying with another unsuspecting woman after having undergone plastic surgery to try to alter his appearance.
Once facing the death penalty, Lallemand agreed to talk, telling authorities that Lisa had been part of the planning from the start.
“He told us exactly what Lisa did,” said Assistant United States Attorney Larry Beaumont, now retired. “How she knew about it and that she was part of all of it.”
According to Lallemand, he had targeted Lisa after spotting her outside one day, hoping to use her to gain access to Mark’s money.
“He gave Lisa love and attention,” Maas explained, “so she gave him Marcus’ bank statements and his credit card information, all that stuff.”
As the relationship progressed and Mark became increasingly worried about his finances, the couple decided to kill him.
Lisa was arrested and charged with fraud, the attempted murder of Butler and Mark’s killing.
She was found guilty in a 2003 trial and sentenced to life in prison, however, the sentence was later reduced to 25 years after an appeal.
Lallemand also agreed to plead guilty to killing Mark to avoid the death penalty.
