A Florida woman accused of killing her husband and burying his body under the fire pit in their backyard has now claimed their daughter committed the murder when she was just seven years old.
Laurie Shaver, 40, is charged with murdering her husband Michael Shaver at their Claremont home in November 2015 with a gunshot to the back of the head.
Michael’s body was not discovered until 2018, when agents were called to conduct a welfare check on the missing Disney World employee, and the case has seen numerous delays en route to trial, in part due to the pandemic.
In a court case last week, Laurie’s defense team made the stunning claim that a girl, now 14 years old, admitted to killing Michael when she was just seven years old and is willing to make a full confession.
The motion also alleges that the girl has repeatedly expressed “her desire to testify,” but alleges prosecutors and the court have tried to dissuade her from testifying in the case.
Laurie Shaver, 40, is charged with murdering her husband Michael Shaver at their home in Claremont, Florida in November 2015 with a gunshot to the back of the head
While the filing does not name the underage girl or mention her relationship with Laurie and Michael, attorney Jeffrey Wiggs identified her as the couple’s daughter and claimed the girl shot her father to protect her mother from his abuse.
Wiggs told it too WKMG TV that Laurie’s ex-boyfriend was home at the time of the murder and fired a second shot, hitting Michael.
“The underage child doesn’t want her mom to go to jail for a crime her mom didn’t commit,” Wiggs told the CBS station.
“We went to the state. We know who committed the crime. We know how the crime was committed. We were basically just pushed out the door,” the lawyer claimed.
It is unclear what charges the child will face if she fully confesses to the murder.
In the US, there is no federally mandated minimum age for judicial jurisdiction, and many states do not have a minimum age for criminal guilt, including Florida.
Florida recently passed a law prohibiting the arrest or criminal prosecution of children under the age of seven, except in cases of coerced felony, a category that includes murder and manslaughter.
Michael worked as a mechanic on Disney’s monorail and was last seen alive on November 7, 2015.
Court records revealed that the couple had a domestic dispute in 2014, when Laurie allegedly hit Michael with a gun. However, he was the one who was arrested, after police believed he drew the gun first.
Michael worked as a mechanic on Disney World’s monorail and was last seen alive on November 7, 2015
Investigators made a grim discovery in March 2018, when Michael’s remains were found buried by a fire pit on the five-acre estate where he lived with Laurie.
According to an affidavit in the case, Laurie told Michael Shaver’s friends that he quit his job and left his family after his disappearance in 2015.
Those friends and colleagues found the story strange and continued to receive texts from Michael’s number saying “leave me alone” or “don’t bother me,” the affidavit said.
Detectives said these messages, along with others sent on Facebook, could be traced to Laurie’s home IP address, and investigators believe she impersonated him online.
Neighbor Curt Ruhl told Click Orlando he used to see Michael working in the garden before “suddenly disappearing.” Soon after, another man moved in with Laurie, the neighbor said.
Though the couple never divorced, other neighbors said WFTV Laurie had remarried in a ceremony near where Michael’s body was later discovered.
Over the years, police say Laurie’s stories changed constantly, and she would sometimes make various claims that Michael had moved to another state, that he was in jail for failing to pay child support, and even that he was a pilot and traveled constantly for work.
Laurie was arrested in September 2020 and has been out on $52,000 bail since late 2020 awaiting trial
The police first got involved in February 2018, when a friend contacted the police, who conducted a welfare check at Laurie’s home in Claremont.
Officers saw fresh concrete at a fire pit on the five-acre property and requested permission to bring a cadaver dog.
At the time, police said the mother-of-two was uncooperative, so officers returned in March 2018 with a search warrant and recovered human remains and some clothing.
Investigators said the remains were wrapped in a tarp, fitted sheet and secured with webbing straps.
Laurie was arrested in September 2020 and has been out on $52,000 bail since late 2020 awaiting trial.