Law&Crime Sidebar - Beauty Queen Accused of Plotting Husband's Murder Was Strangled by New Boyfriend: Cops

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Starting point is 00:00:35 keep you on the edge of your seat. Don't let your fears take hold of you as you dive into this addictive series. Love thrillers with a paranormal twist? The entire Oracle trilogy is available on Audible. Listen now on Audible. A former beauty queen accused of plotting the murder of her husband with a lover in the Bahamas is leveling accusations of her own against her latest boyfriend. We're breaking down what we're able to find out about him and the allegations, as well as the latest on her murder-for-hire case, all with trial attorney Bob Hilla. Welcome to Sidebar, presented by Law and Crime. I'm Jesse Weber.

Starting point is 00:01:13 Now, we've told you before about Lindsay Schiver. She's the mom of three boys accused of plotting with her boyfriend in the Bahamas to have her estranged NFL player husband killed. Now, it might not surprise you to learn that Shiver and her husband, Robert, they were going through quite a contentious divorce with allegations of domestic violence and withholding their children from each other. We have filed for divorce. Okay.

Starting point is 00:01:39 Living in the same house, it's hell on earth, as you can imagine. Okay. Some complicated legal issues in this story, right? And I tell you what, when it comes to sorting out the law, specifically in personal injury cases, got to call out Morgan and Morgan. They're the largest injury law firm in America and our proud sponsor here on Sidebar, And with over a thousand attorneys, Morgan and Morgan has been securing multi-million dollar verdicts and settlements across this country for years.

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Starting point is 00:02:34 line, they responded to the home because Robert and the boys were headed to the Bahamas on a private plane, and it seems Lindsay wanted to go to. So the last three weeks, maybe longer, she's had her couple's trip plan with her boyfriend to go to Key West.

Starting point is 00:02:50 Okay, but she just said you're going. That was the Key West. I'm taking my kids, my three boys to the Bahamas, Her kids. Our kids. Yesterday, she said in the message saying that she's going to change her plans and now get on the airplane with me and the kids to go to the Bahamas.

Starting point is 00:03:10 And when we're planning, she's going to go to her boyfriend. Elsewhere. And me and the kids are going to her house. And I've told her I'm not supporting that. And you're not getting on the airplane. That can mess with the kids' heads. And it's just something we're not going to do. In situations like this, the best thing that we always

Starting point is 00:03:28 recommend is y'all separate. Don't just separate from each other. You don't need to be going on vacation together if you file for divorce and it's obviously a volatile situation. Okay. And according to Bahamian authorities on this same day, Lindsay and her Bahamian boyfriend plotted the murder for hire plot against her husband. So Terrence Bethel was a bartender in the Bahamas. Authorities named him as an alleged co-conspirator. They reportedly recruited this man, Farron Newbold Jr. to carry out the hit. He has also been charged by Bahamian police alongside Bethel and Schiver. And police there say they uncovered the plot when they suspected the bartender of committing an unrelated crime and they went through his phone. So cops examined

Starting point is 00:04:13 Schiver's iPhone and they discovered that she had allegedly sent Newbold Jr. quote, several pictures of her husband Robert Schiver along with a text saying, kill him. This is according to court documents. There's also an alleged confession from Shiver to the police in the Bahamas that she apparently told Bethel she wanted to kill Robert and Bethel said he wanted to kill him too. But she also said that she was just venting. She was just angry. She never actually wanted to do him any harm. That's probably going to be a defense that she puts forward. She was arrested and jailed in Nassau in July of 2023. She got out on $100,000 bail. She has to wear an ankle monitor. She wasn't allowed to leave the island, but last December, the judge in the Bahamas agreed that Shiver could return to the U.S. to see her children and live with her parents in Alabama.

Starting point is 00:05:01 She still has to wear the ankle monitor and she can't travel to Georgia where Robert and the boys live. Now, at the time of her release, her attorney Owen Wells said, quote, she continues to face the legal process with complete transparency and honesty. Lindsay is looking forward to getting this ordeal behind her. And most importantly, she is looking forward to being reunited with her young children. who have been without their mother for many months. Now, since her return, the former Miss County, 2005, yes, former Beauty Queen, is apparently dating again. And this is where a whole slew of new problems come along.

Starting point is 00:05:36 Why? Because according to new court documents from Alabama, things aren't going so well. And that's what we want to talk about right now, because Shiver filed a protection order against 35-year-old Dorsey Robert Love in Houston County on July 20, She claims Love threw her onto a bed, tried to choke her, suffocate her with a pillow at a home in Dothan, Alabama. She also claims that he abused her on an earlier trip to Florida, but says she didn't report that to police. And she wrote in the protection order request, quote, he threatened to kill me. Love was arrested on July 31st.

Starting point is 00:06:13 He was charged with strangulation. Now, we have found multiple mug shots out there for Mr. Love, but we haven't been able to independently very. verify the exact charges that he's faced or any convictions. As for Shiver, her trial in the Bahamas is expected to begin in October of this year, made of questions right here. I want to bring in first time here on Sidebar, trial attorney, Bob Hilla, Bob, good to see you. So we, so for anybody doesn't know, Bob and I have appeared together on the Long Crime Network for years. I was on, I think like last week, the week before, I said, how come you haven't been on Sidebar?

Starting point is 00:06:50 And that is when you told me, I don't like you, Jesse. I don't want to be on. But despite your wishes, you're on now. Thank you for having me here today. It's great to be back with you. Good to see you. So how does this development fit into the overall story? And most importantly, how does this fit into the Bahamas case in any which way?

Starting point is 00:07:12 I don't know that it really does. I mean, it's a separate incident. It shows that her choice in men may be somewhat questionable. But the issue really is on this love person and what his actions were. He doesn't seem to be related in any way to any plot in the Bahamas to kill her husband. So with respect to whether or not anything in that case leads into the other one in the Bahamas, I just don't think it does unless he starts to say, she told me some things. And then he could be called as a witness in the Bahamas.

Starting point is 00:07:44 Right. Because I don't know if you take these allegations was true what led to this physical altercation between the couple. I will tell you, look, he's innocent until proven guilty. These are accusations. I have to say there is a little bit of overlap here because we remember in that body cam video that we played, she had accused Robert of getting physical with her.

Starting point is 00:08:11 And she says in the video, So that doesn't mean you get aggressive and push me out of the way. And he goes, Lindsay, I did not push you or anything. So assuming he's telling the truth, there's a lot of, I'm making a lot of assumptions here, but could it also be if she wasn't telling the truth about Robert, could she not be telling the truth about this individual? Well, credibility is always an issue in any case. And usually the adverse side is always looking to probe that.

Starting point is 00:08:37 You know, sometimes for a proof basis to establish an element of an offense, in this case, it might be used to attack her if she says something that the government in the Bahamas doesn't like and says, oh, we have other instances where she has not been accurate. But again, there's a question, was she inaccurate? You know, who really told the truth there? So the credibility issue would have to be where there's an inconsistency in what somebody said, not just where somebody's challenged what they said as true. And that case, this new case, is not going to get resolved before the Bahamas case, assuming it goes to trial before. So the question I have is if she were to testify, let's say the reason I asked that is because I was thinking,

Starting point is 00:09:17 let's say he's found not guilty. Let's say it turns out she made it up. If she were to take the stand in the Bahamas, and I'm not an expert on Bahamian law, but I wonder if she could be questioned about this incident. Obviously it'd be up to the judge to decide whether it's relevant in the case. I mean, Bahamian law, as I understand it, and I'm not an expert on it either, but is not too different from the United States in certain respects. In other words, there'll be a jury trial here.

Starting point is 00:09:45 The government has to prove that there is a conspiracy, that it's a credible plot, and not just something that hatch because of an angry spouse. And there are some problems with the case unless there's more evidence that hasn't been revealed yet. And that may be the case in the Bahamas. But in terms of something that she would say in the case with love, again, they have an alleged confession from her. They have a what's app statement to someone. else. I don't know that anything that she would say to love about abuse or fake accusations

Starting point is 00:10:18 about abuse would apply in the case there. He doesn't accuse her. Love doesn't accuse her of abusing her. It would be different if it showed a violent tendency, perhaps. But again, it's a stretch. It's just an interesting development when it comes to this. And I think about the case that she's currently facing, do you think it's relevant at all that she's dating while she's, I mean, essentially accused in a murder for higher plot. Does that strike you as strange at all? Well, she's not going to look like Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm here. I mean, you know, this is a woman, and it's interesting relationship,

Starting point is 00:10:57 because here she was going to go to Key West with her boyfriend, but then decides to join her husband and three children on a private plane, but then when she gets to the Bahamas, she's going to stay with the same boyfriend somewhere else in the Bahamas. But just wanted to get on. So one of the questions is going to be, did she create that scenario and getting the cops there? And was that some sort of a setup to say that she was a victim of abuse? And that's why she responded in the way she did.

Starting point is 00:11:28 But again, it's a stretch on that. They're going to look at what happened in the Bahamas. The problem with the case there with Shiver is you don't have any history of her having any communications on a plot before. that same day of the argument in the driveway and the alleged plot discussion down in the Bahamas. That was all the same day. So you don't have issues on that. There is a monetary issue here because... Before you go to the monetary, what do you mean by the same day in the sense why is that a problem? Well, I think that plots, conspiracies, first of all, you have to have an agreement to commit a crime. Correct. So it seems like they have that element here. And then there

Starting point is 00:12:08 has to be some action, though, in furtherance of that conspiracy. It doesn't have to be that they attempted to kill the person, but they have to go get a weapon. There has to be something to show you're actually going to intend to carry out this crime. That, to me, seems like there's some evidence that's lacking here in the Bahamas on that, unless, as I said before, they have something that they're not sharing yet. That could be very well true, but if you send a picture to somebody, allegedly said the pictures and say, kill them. Right. Is that enough? I don't think it is. I'm not sure how the Bahamas would treat that.

Starting point is 00:12:45 Why is if there's an exchange of money? Well, that's another thing. I mean, there is an issue here. Now, there was a divorce. So they already knew about the divorce. But there was a lot of money involved here. Now, if he does die, as I understand Georgia law, then the divorce disappears because it evaporates because the spouse is no longer living. Now it gets kicked over to inheritance law. So if he doesn't have a will that cuts her out, then whatever he would be entitled to

Starting point is 00:13:14 would then perhaps go to her. These people had a lot of money. So there could be a monetary motivation here, and it may be a monetary motivation or the boyfriend to even be involved if he was standing to gain. But again, I didn't see anything where there was a discussion about exchange of money.

Starting point is 00:13:35 Even Neubold, there's nothing that I saw that said he was going to get anything for this murder. And usually, you know, there's at least something about, hey, I'll pay you $10,000 or I'll pay you $15,000 for this where the money will be here. There's some sort of description here. All you have is an angry spouse with a boyfriend in proximity to her husband down in the islands,

Starting point is 00:13:57 and she's saying, kill him, and then she sends photographs and directs him. But then what happens after that apparently is nothing. By the way, let me ask you a question. If the charges were dropped or she's found not guilty, does that affect her ability to reunite with her children? Would there be any legal mechanism by which Robert could ultimately say, in light of everything, she shouldn't be around the kids,

Starting point is 00:14:23 but she's innocent? So what mechanism, what legal mechanisms could he use to prevent her from being near the children? Because I don't know if there could be. Well, and I'm not sure. Accusation charges in them themselves is probably not. And that's a great point. I'm not sure there are either. Yeah.

Starting point is 00:14:40 But it depends. If you go to a trial and there are proofs that are in and there's evidence and there's a record and a transcription of that record or other documents and things. And that establishes a basis for him to say she's a danger to the children. Right. The focus would always be on the children, as I understand it, with family court. So, you know, unless there's something to show that she's a threat to him or can create a toxic environment for those children because of a relationship with him, then... That's fair, because you don't always have to be found guilty of a crime to lose access to your children, right?

Starting point is 00:15:16 There could be other things that, and the standard could be lower there. Just generally speaking, before I let you go on this, have you seen murder-for-hire cases? where the defense is, I was angry. I wasn't serious. Is that the best defense and the most successful defense? I'll answer that in two parts. The first, I haven't seen anything where there's not a greater development than there was here. Sure.

Starting point is 00:15:39 I mean, there's usually a period of time where things are leading up to the critical discussion, and then there's some activity after that to start getting in place to commit the crime. Yeah. Now, is it enough? It depends on what happens, if there's a proof of an agreement as there seems to be here, and then they go ahead and they do something on that to further advance that plan, that plot. Then it becomes a credible plot. But the question's going to be, what is that significant issue?

Starting point is 00:16:10 If they go out by a weapon, I'd argue with you, yes. Yeah. And sadly, a lot of the murder-for-hire plots I actually cover end up with someone dead. And then it becomes a question, I wasn't involved, I wasn't serious. They took it into their own hands. But if you take these allegations as true and that she really did want this to happen to her husband or a strange husband, it is a miracle. And I think we should all be thankful that this father was not killed and that these children were not left without a father because this could have ended much worse. But again, she is innocent until proven guilty, at least in our United States.

Starting point is 00:16:46 And, you know, these are our accusations. we'll see how it ultimately gets prosecuted and when. It's just an interesting develop nonetheless about another aspect of her life coming into this. Well, and it doesn't help her in her perspective to a jury. But then again, that's going to be the argument. Does this have any linkage to this case, and is it too unduly prejudicial? Everything's prejudicial in a trial for one side or the other. It's a question whether it's unfairly prejudicial.

Starting point is 00:17:13 It made the news, and so if you're talking about jury selection, here in the United States, What do you know about Lindsay Schiafer? I saw that something happened with this restraining order. You know, it's make the news. And that's not something I think she wants or anybody who represents her wants is her making news in the middle of this. But Bob Hilla, good seeing you. Thank you so much, sir. Appreciate it.

Starting point is 00:17:33 Thank you very much. All right, everybody. That's all we have for you right now here on Sidebar. Thank you so much for joining us. And as always, please subscribe on Apple Podcast, Spotify, YouTube, wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Jesse Weber. Speak to you next time. You can binge all episodes of this long crime series

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Law&Crime Sidebar - Beauty Queen Accused of Plotting Husband's Murder Was Strangled by New Boyfriend: Cops

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