On May 4, 2003, Correria's mother Linda went to check on her only four days after she moved to Anchorage. When Linda Correria arrived at her daughter's apartment she found the door unlocked with her daughter's purse, keys and cell phone there but Bethany Correira was missing.

As a young child Correira was home-schooled but attended public high school where she excelled in academics and sports.

After graduating she performed missionary work in Nepal before moving to Anchorage to pursue a medical degree.

Days after moving to Anchorage she was murdered by apartment manager Michael Lawson.

Michael Lawson is said to have confessed to murdering Correira to his brother Randy Lawson, saying he shot Correira when his gun went off during a struggle on May 3, 2003. The shooting took place inside a duplex near the apartment rented by Correira.

According to court documents and the confession of Randy Lawson given to detective Glen Klinkhart, Michael Lawson asked Robert Lawson to bring duct tape, plastic bags and other items and meet him at the duplex. Upon arriving Randy Lawson found his brother and the naked body of Bethany Correira in the garage of the duplex. The Lawson brothers wrapped her in the plastic bags and bound it with the duct tape. They then drove to a gravel pit outside of Talkeetna to dispose of Correira's body. After dumping Correira's body the brothers returned to the duplex where Randy Lawson set it afire while Michael Lawson waited in his Mercedes SUV. The brothers then went to a nearby bar, Blues Central, in an effort to establish an alibi.

Randy Lawson committed suicide before testifying in the case against his brother but the evidence was presented before the jury via Klinkhart, the detective who took Randy Lawson's confession.

Michael Lawson was sentenced to 99 years in prison for the murder of Bethany Correira.

Lawson had been previously convicted in the 1980s for raping and torturing his wife.