Murder or innocent? Jury deliberates in case of husband buried in backyard – WFTV

LAKE COUNTY, Fla. – The six jurors in the trial of Laurie Shaver are expected to begin deliberations Friday at noon and decide the fate of the woman who has been under surveillance for more than half a decade.

Shaver first came into the spotlight in 2018 when her husband's body was dug up from beneath a concrete slab in their Clermont backyard, three years after anyone other than Shaver had spoken to him directly.

Shaver maintained her innocence, saying her then-seven-year-old daughter shot Michael Shaver while he was beating her and threatening to kill her. At times, particularly during the trial, she also claimed that her ex-boyfriend, Jeremy Townsend, quickly approached Michael and shot him a second time to finish him off.

She also accused Townsend of caring for Michael's body while she took her children to school. She also denied impersonating Michael to his friends and family, who continued to receive text and Facebook messages from his phone and accounts over the years.

Read: Clermont woman accused of killing her husband testifies in murder trial

Townsend, Shaver and their daughter all testified Thursday. Townsend testified as a witness for the prosecution and denied ever having met Michael, let alone being present at his death.

“I didn't know who Mike was,” Townsend said, later denying defense attorney Jeffrey Wiggs's claim that he had lied about his interactions with the family.

Shaver and her daughter contradicted Townsend and the prosecution's account. Although all evidence pointed to Michael's death occurring around November 7, 2015, the Shavers said he was shot in May 2016 when he happened to show up at the house one morning after being kicked out for six months.

Laurie testified that Michael grabbed her and held her down because he was angry that she was in another relationship. She said he started hitting her and put her head and neck under his foot.

Read: All eyes are on Shaver's behavior on the dramatic third day of the trial

Her daughter, who turns 16 on Sunday, described Laurie as her “best friend” and confirmed her version of events.

“I went into my mother’s room [after seeing the violence],” the daughter said. “I went to her nightstand… I grabbed her gun… I went back out and to the door… and I shot him.”

The daughter said her parents' relationship was difficult, with daily arguments and violence several times a month. She said Laurie was always the mother and Michael did not have a real relationship with his two children.

Read: Sparks fly during tense exchanges in trial of Clermont woman accused of murdering her husband

“I should have learned my lesson then, but I didn't,” Laurie said, referring to the eight times she said she tried to leave her husband or considered it.

Laurie Shaver's testimony was decided at the last minute after her daughter took the stand. Her lawyer said Shaver decided to risk cross-examination because she wanted to leave the trial with no remorse.

It's unclear whether her daughter's testimony influenced Laurie's decision. During cross-examination of the daughter, jurors seemed to avoid looking at the teenager as she tried to explain some details of her memory of the events, including why she dated the shooting to May rather than November.

Read: 'She had a gun': Attempt to portray Shaver's husband as violent abuser backfires in court

Laurie had just as much difficulty when asked to provide information about her husband's whereabouts during that six-month gap, as prosecutors pressed her for details about how he collected his mail and managed his finances. She said she took his mail to the post office and generally had no contact with him, so she did not know the details of his life.

She knew better where the concrete slab was. She said she did not know that her husband's body was underneath it and she chose that spot because the area had already been cleared and leveled. She attributed a smell that neighbors noticed from her property between November and spring to dogs attacking her piglets.

If Laurie is found guilty by the jury, she faces a charge of second-degree premeditated murder and a separate charge of aiding and abetting the cover-up of his death.

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