Daily updates on bizarre Lake County murder trial

The Lake County woman accused of killing her husband and burying his body in their backyard is currently on trial. In March 2018, Lake County investigators were searching a property near Clermont that, at one point, Michael Shaver shared with his wife Laurie.Investigators say they found Michael Shaver’s remains under a concrete slab at the property one month after a friend told deputies he had not heard from the man since 2015. Officials believe Laurie Shaver assumed Michael’s identity over text and Facebook messages after he was dead, adding that none of the woman’s accounts made sense.Related: Woman posed as dead husband in texts after burying him under concrete slab, deputies sayAccording to Laurie’s arrest affidavit, messages were sent from someone claiming to be Michael even after investigators believe he died. Those messages included requests to family members to leave him alone and messages to his boss to say he was quitting his job and moving to Georgia.In a wild twist to an already bizarre murder investigation, Laurie Shaver claimed a child pulled the trigger when Michael was killed. In 2023, Laurie’s lawyer said the woman did not kill her husband, but instead, two other people were involved. At that time, the lawyer said the child was willing to testify in her defense.Related: Central Florida woman accused of killing husband claims a child pulled the triggerAttorney Jeffrey Wiggs is representing Laurie Shaver.”The minor can relay how this crime was committed, when it was committed, and precisely how it was committed,” Wiggs said in 2023. Laurie’s second-degree murder trial officially started on Monday, Sept. 9.>> Bookmark this page for daily updates as the trial goes on for what is expected to be two weeks.Monday, Sept. 9: Jury seated, opening statementsA little after 3 p.m. on Sept. 9, a jury of three men and three men was seated, and each side began to deliver their opening statements. “Evidence suggests the defendant gradually got rid of Michael Shavers’ property. She sold his expensive tools, his guns. She knew Michael was never coming back. She knew Michael Shaver was dead,” Rich Buxman said.Wiggs made other statements. “Mr. Shaver, you will hear, was very possessive. He was very combative. He was very destructive. He imposed fear in his family over and over again,” Wiggs said.Tuesday, Sept. 10: Prosecution beings painting picture of victim, Michael ShaverTestimony continued in the trial of Laurie Shaver on Tuesday.For most of the afternoon, testimony involved the work to dig on the Shaver property when a suspicious area led officials to believe Michael’s body would be found there — including testimony from the man’s friends and family.One coworker, Robert Mercado, said Michael vanished out of nowhere, which he said was out of character. “He kind of just stopped talking to me, said he wanted to be left alone,” Mercado said, adding that one time he witnessed an intense interaction between Laurie and Michael involving a gun. Several members of Michael’s family made similar testimonies, saying that Michael disappeared out of nowhere.”There was no contact. My mother had gotten sick, was in the hospital. We couldn’t get a hold of him to let him know about her sickness,” said Brian Shaver, Michael’s brother.A corporal from the Lake County Sheriff’s Office testified about a suspicious issue with a cement slab in the Shaver’s backyard, which led to the discovery of Michael’s remains. At that point, nobody had seen the man for more than two years.”You could clearly see a depression that was approximately between six feet and three feet in dimension and about eight inches depressed,” Corporal Cory Anderson said.The defense asked many of the witnesses if they actually saw a murder being committed, suggesting the state’s case is circumstantial. They also suggested they have no concrete proof that Laurie sent out messages posing as Michael.Wednesday, Sept. 11: Current husband of Laurie Shaver testified in her trialLaurie Shaver listened as her current husband testified in her trial for the second-degree murder of her former husband, Michael Shaver, in Lake County.”She called me, sobbing, crying, I asked her what was wrong and she proceeded to tell me detectives showed up at the house, asking about Michael,” said Travis Filmer.Filmer, who married Laurie Shaver after Michael Shaver disappeared, testified that he was unaware of Michael’s whereabouts and only knew what Laurie had told him.”She just told me they were divorced, and that he wanted nothing to do with the family, did not know where he was and he was not around,” Filmer said. Filmer, who helped pour the slab, testified that he did not notice anything unusual at the time.”Did you ask Ms. Shaver how that body got back there?” Filmer was asked. “I did not,” Filmer replied.Filmer also mentioned that he advised Laurie Shaver to get a lawyer after the body was found.Earlier in the day, a neighbor testified that he had purchased a handgun from Laurie Shaver.The gun was the same caliber as the bullet that killed Michael Shaver, but a firearms expert could not make a positive match due to the bullet’s poor condition.Robert Proper, a mentor to Travis Filmer, recounted what Filmer had told him about Michael Shaver’s disappearance.”It wasn’t a matter that he was missing, he was no longer walking the earth,” Proper said.Filmer’s brother corroborated that he had heard Travis make a similar remark.Wednesday afternoon, Laurie Shaver’s defense attorney cross-examined a detective, attempting to undermine the state’s case by suggesting that the discovery of the body led to premature conclusions about Laurie Shaver’s guilt.Thursday, Sept. 12: State rests its caseThe state called a man who was in a brief relationship with Laurie Shaver around the time her husband had disappeared. Jereme Townsend told the jury he had met Laurie Shaver at a park. Their two sons were playing together. Townsend said Laurie Shaver said her husband had taken off, and moved out. Townsend was having marital problems at the time as well, so the two started seeing one another. The defense has said Michael Shaver was abusive to her, and suggested Townsend might have come to her defense – the state asked him if he was anywhere near the Shaver home at the time the state believes Michael was harmed.He repeatedly said no. Laurie Shaver listened to her daughter’s testimony before taking the stand herself.The 15-year-old daughter, who is not being named, testified that her mother is her best friend and that her relationship with her father was poor due to his physical abuse towards her mother.”And I grabbed her and I grabbed her gun. And I went back out and I went to the door. The door was already open. And he had my mom on the ground still. Still laying on the ground. Still kicking her. And I shot him,” the daughter said.The state challenged the daughter’s story, noting that they had met with her on several occasions and had never heard this version before.The daughter also claimed that a family friend shot Michael Shaver after she did, but that man testified he never met Michael Shaver.Physical evidence indicates that Michael Shaver was shot exactly one time, and Laurie Shaver is the one charged with his murder.