Marcus Toney case on Killer Relationship with Faith Jenkins - A detailed case overview

In the South Side neighborhood of Chicago, an explosion shattered lives on February 15, 2000. Marcus Toney, a janitor, lost his life when he opened a seemingly innocent gift-wrapped package containing a pipe bomb.

His best friend, Alphonso Butler, who was with him at the time, suffered severe injuries from the blast. What began as a loving marriage to Lisa Toney unraveled into a web of betrayal, financial fraud, and murder. 

Investigators later uncovered that Lisa had been involved in an affair with Sienky Lallemand, a convicted felon, and the pair had stolen Marcus Toney's identity to rack up over $200,000 in fraudulent debts. As suspicions grew, the couple turned to violence to silence him forever.

This story of seduction and swindling highlights how trust can turn deadly in intimate relationships. The case is featured in season 4, episode 6 of Killer Relationship with Faith Jenkins, titled Seduced and Swindled. Hosted by former prosecutor Faith Jenkins, the episode aired on December 14, 2025, on Oxygen True Crime, with streaming available on the Oxygen app and Peacock.

Killer Relationship with Faith Jenkins: The marriage of Marcus Toney and Lisa

Marcus Toney met Lisa Toney in the early 1990s, and they established a stable life together on the South Side of Chicago. During this time, he maintained consistent work as a janitor, while Lisa maintained multiple part-time jobs.

It seemed that their marriage was strong, too, with routines that involved shared activities with their social connections. This stability was derailed in about 1998 because Lisa grew fond of Sienky Lallemand, who was charismatic but had a criminal record for fraud.

Lallemand, who had a reputation for smooth-talking and scheming, engaged Lisa in a clandestine relationship. Initially, the relationship was casual enough, with the couple meeting for purely social purposes that developed into more complex emotional connections.

Lisa opened up to Lallemand about her marital issues, with Lallemand consoling her with promises of more adventurous living. Lisa became involved with Lallemand to the point of abandoning her domestic commitments by the end of 1999, as per the Chicago Tribune.

Identity theft and mounting debts

The deeper the affair, the more Lisa and Lallemand concocted a scheme to take advantage of Marcus Toney's good credit. Beginning early in 1999, the pair began to steal Marcus' personal information, including Social Security information and his mail.

With this information, they opened several lines of credit in Marcus Toney's name and bought Porsches, jewelry, and other high-class items to finance their life of luxury. The charges racked up for several months to a total of about $200,000 for everything from top-of-the-line electronics to travel expenses.

By mid-1999, Marcus Toney started to notice problems when bills showed up for accounts in his name that he had not opened. Later, he got notices regarding loans and inquiries from others. He then decided to obtain the reports. He fought with Lisa about the matter at this point, but she denied responsibility, indicating it was some kind of mistake or mix-up, according to the Chicago Tribune.

The fatal explosion

On February 15, 2000, Marcus Toney invited his close friend Alphonso Butler over for dinner at his South Side apartment. The evening started normally, with the men discussing Marcus's ongoing marital and financial woes.

After the meal, they returned home to find a gift-wrapped package on the living room table, addressed to Marcus. It appeared to be an innocuous delivery, possibly a VCR box, as Marcus speculated. 

As Butler examined the outer wrapping, which was partially open, Marcus Toney grew impatient and stepped forward to tear into the inner box himself. The moment he did, a powerful explosion rocked the room. The device was a sophisticated pipe bomb, rigged with electrical initiators and packed with shrapnel.

MarcusToney died instantly from the blast's force, his body torn apart. Butler, standing nearby, sustained critical injuries including burns, lacerations, and hearing loss, but survived after emergency treatment.

The explosion damaged the apartment and alerted neighbors, who called 911. Firefighters and police arrived at the scene of devastation, securing the site as a crime scene. Initial assessments confirmed the package's lethal intent, shifting focus from accident to deliberate attack, as per ATF.

Investigation and legal consequences

Chicago Police, alongside ATF agents and U.S. Postal Inspectors, launched a thorough probe into the bombing. Evidence from the scene traced the package's wrapping to a local department store, where surveillance captured Lisa purchasing materials days earlier.

Financial records linked the identity theft directly to her and Lallemand, revealing phone logs and shared addresses. Witnesses confirmed Lisa's affair, and intercepted communications showed discussions of eliminating MarcusToney to evade detection.

Lisa was arrested shortly after, charged with conspiracy to use explosives and mail fraud. Lallemand fled to Jamaica, altering his appearance with plastic surgery, but was apprehended in Los Angeles in 2001. In separate trials, Lisa was convicted in March 2003 on all counts, receiving a life sentence without parole. Lallemand pleaded guilty in 2003 to murder and fraud, earning four consecutive life terms, according to ATF. 

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