Law&Crime Sidebar - Florida Mom Accusing Young Daughter of Killing, Burying Her Dad Suffers Loss Ahead of Murder Trial

Episode Date: September 8, 2024

Mom of two Laurie Shaver will soon go to trial for her husband Michael’s murder. Shaver’s daughter, who was seven years old when police allege Michael was shot and killed, has testified that she was the one who shot her father. Another witness, a family friend, says the child revealed her secret to him years later. But the jury won’t hear his testimony at trial. Law&Crime’s Elizabeth Millner breaks down the decision as Shaver prepares for court.PLEASE SUPPORT THE SHOW: If you’ve ever been injured in an accident, you can check out Morgan & Morgan. You can submit a claim in 8 clicks or less without having to leave your couch. To start your claim, visit: https://www.forthepeople.com/YouTubeTakeoverGUEST HOST:Elizabeth Millner https://x.com/_emillnerLAW&CRIME SIDEBAR PRODUCTION:YouTube Management - Bobby SzokeVideo Editing - Michael Deininger and Christina FalconeScript Writing & Producing - Savannah WilliamsonGuest Booking - Alyssa Fisher & Diane KayeSocial Media Management - Vanessa BeinSTAY UP-TO-DATE WITH THE LAW&CRIME NETWORK:Watch Law&Crime Network on YouTubeTV: https://bit.ly/3td2e3yWhere To Watch Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3akxLK5Sign Up For Law&Crime's Daily Newsletter: https://bit.ly/LawandCrimeNewsletterRead Fascinating Articles From Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3td2IqoLAW&CRIME NETWORK SOCIAL MEDIA:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lawandcrime/Twitter: https://twitter.com/LawCrimeNetworkFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/lawandcrimeTwitch: https://www.twitch.tv/lawandcrimenetworkTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lawandcrimeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Wondery Plus subscribers can binge all episodes of this Law and Crimes series ad-free right now. Join Wondry Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. Agent Nate Russo returns in Oracle 3, Murder at the Grandview, the latest installment of the gripping Audible Original series. When a reunion at an abandoned island hotel turns deadly, Russo must untangle accident from murder. But beware, something sinister lurks in the grand. views shadows. Joshua Jackson delivers a bone-chilling performance in this supernatural thriller that

will 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. She confided in Mr. Narvaz about certain facts and events. She confided in Mr. Narvaz about her desire to testify and come forward because of her emotional feelings in this case. There are some big changes when it comes to what a jury will and won't be able to see during a Florida mom's murder trial. Lori Shaver is accused of killing her husband, then pretending to be him on social media to trick people into thinking he'd just run off. At her final pretrial hearing, the judge in her case made some decisions that could have a major impact on defense strategy. Welcome to Sidebar presented by law and crime.

I'm Elizabeth Milner in for Jesse Weber. A judge in Lake County, Florida has ruled that a witness who might have been able to help Lori Shaver, the woman charged with killing her husband Michael several years ago, can't testify that someone else did the killing. 41-year-old Shaver, now Lori Filmer after getting remarried, allegedly murdered her husband and buried him under a slab of concrete on her property. A probable cause affidavit from 2020 says police. went out to the shaver home in February of 2019. They were doing a welfare check on Michael who had worked as a mechanic on the monorail at Disney World. His friend Scott said no one had seen or heard from the father of two in person in three years. The affidavit reads,

quote, Lori vaguely claimed Michael left in a black SUV. Yet Scott knew his possessions to still be at the home afterwards. Scott found the text messages to Michael's boss quitting his job and giving away his tools to be unlike him. believed Laurie was pretending to be Michael on his Facebook. Scott also thought the concrete slab slash fire pit that appeared on the property after Michael's disappearance, along with Lori quickly remarrying, was suspicious. Scott consulted with Michael's family who also agreed he would never leave his kids to start a new family as Lori claimed he had. It goes on to say quote, while investigating the well-being check, defendant Lori Shaver told deputies Michael left the family

and was in Georgia. She said the last time Michael was at their house was when he had picked up his belongings after his arrest for domestic violence in September 2014. And the last time she saw him was during a DCF custody trial in 2015. Law enforcement confirmed that he hadn't had cell phone activity in years. His license and passport had expired. His car was repossessed and no one had seen him. Deputies wanted to have a cadaver dog check out the fire pit area where the concrete slab was, but they say Shaver resisted. They got a search warrant and found skeletal remains underneath the slab in 2018. Quote also removed from around his body was a tarp, a set of ratchet straps, and the remains of a fitted sheet.

The tags indicate the sheet was queen-sized and purchased at Coles, a department store frequented by Lori Shaver, as proven by her bank records. The remains were confirmed to be those of Michael Shaver by DNA. Michael Shaver's cause and manner of death is homicide by gunshot wound to the back of the head, with a posterior to interior trajectory front to back. A single 38 caliber class projectile was recovered from Mr. Shaver's skull. Investigators recovered a 38 caliber handgun belonging to Lori Shaver in her home on a nightstand. Shaver was charged with second-degree murder, domestic violence, and accessory after the fact. Her defense team has claimed that it was actually Shaver's then seven-year-old daughter

who shot her father in the head after a domestic violence incident. In fact, the girl testified during a deposition. that she had been the shooter and was protecting her mother from being battered. I want to thank Morgan and Morgan for sponsoring today's Law and Crime YouTube Takeover. The stories we cover here on Sidebar and Law and Crime are very tough, and it shows that the world is an unpredictable and at times very scary place. So if you're ever hurt, it can be scary and confusing, especially if you don't know where to turn. But Morgan and Morgan, America's largest injury law firm can help.

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from your phone in eight clicks or less. So if you're ever injured, you can start by easily submitting a claim at for the people, dot com slash YouTube takeover. Previous court records do show evidence of violence within the shaver household. In September 2014, Michael was charged with battery. He agreed to a plea deal where he completed a pretrial intervention program. Both Lori and Michael claimed the other had brandished a gun, and they had to wrestle the gun away. After that incident, the affidavit says Michael moved out and lived in an airport hangar at work

and even started dating a coworker. Lori allegedly reported the relationship to HR and the two broke it off. In May 2015, he returned home to Lori and the kids, but just months later, prosecutors say he was shot dead. Shaver's daughter is mentioned by name and court documents, but we won't be identifying her since she was a minor. During that deposition, the girl mentioned someone named Jay, presumed to be Jeremy Townsend. He started dating Lori Shaver in 2015, after she told him her husband had left. He reportedly arrived at the scene soon after the shooting and also. also shot Michael, according to the daughter.

She testified that he told her and her mom to leave the home and implied that he disposed of Michael Shaver's body. But now we've learned from a newly filed transcript that another person on the defense's witness list planned to name the seven-year-old as the shooter, too. Adam Narvaez is a former member of law enforcement who now owns some building companies. Shaver worked at one of those companies along with her new husband, Travis Filmer. They were hired after Michael Shaver disappeared. When a sworn deposition with the prosecutor back in July of this year, Narvaez testified

that Shaver and her family were close with his family. Part of the deposition reads, quote, question. Specifically what, if anything, has Ms. Shaver told you about the fact of the night that Michael Shaver was killed? Answer. She shared with me, obviously, that there was a, you know, a specific history of abuse. I don't know specifically if it was, well, I know her daughter told me. I'm trying to remember if Lori ever told me about kind of the story and how it happened

and how it developed. Norvias went on to say that he and the filmer family were involved with the same church and that the girl saw him as kind of a mentor and someone she could confide in. So he believes she was comfortable sharing details with him about what allegedly happened to her dad. Norvias said the girl told him during a get together at his home that she had been the one to shoot her father. He testified that while other people were in the home at the time, no one else heard the conversation. And just last month, the prosecution filed a motion asking the court to prevent Norvias from testifying about what the girl told him, as well as what Lori Schaeber herself may have said to her boss about her relationship with Michael. The state recently

argued its motion in court. The state's focuses on two separate sets of statements made to Mr. Novias. The first set of statements are made to him by the defendant, Lori Schaeber. Mr. Narvaez indicated that Ms. Schaeber, the defendant, told him that she and the victim had a rocky relationship and a big bit of history. of abuse. Those statements the state is seeking to exclude because they are clear self-sruing yourself. As we all know in this room, the statements are admissions against a party opponent or admissible, which is why the state is able to introduce the defendant's statements against her. These are self-serving statements. They are inadmissible and can't be presented

through the defense by asking the witness, did the defendant tell you X, Y, and Z, or asking the witness what the defendant tell you. I've cited the three cases of many. that apply to self-serving here's taken to my motion. This concept would also apply to any witness that the defendant made similar statements to, not just Mr. Narvaez, but because my motion is focused on Mr. Narvaez, I'll limit my discussion to just that. The second portion of the state's motion

focuses on statements made by the defendant's daughter, Isabelle Schaeber, to Mr. Narvaez. As we know, the defense is going to potentially be that Ms. Shaver, Isabel Schaeber, was the one that actually shot the victim. Ms. Schaber made statements to Mr. Narvaez years later indicating such. Those are clear out-of-court statements made by a witness, Ms. Isabel Schaever, to Mr. Narvaeus, views to prove the truth in the matter of cert. So they are clearly hearsay. By no means, is by the state's motion,

are we trying to prevent Ms. Isabel Schaber from testifying? That's not the focus of the motion. The focus of the motion is to prevent witnesses from being questioned about hearsay statements made by this Isabel Schaeber. So, because statements made by Isabel Schaber to Mr. Narvaezzaa, the question is, is there a hearsay exception to those statements?

And the only exception potentially that could be raised is that it's a statement made by the declarant against the declarant's penal interest, pursuant to 904 to C. In order for that hearsay exception to be established, the defense, because they're the proponent of the evidence, would have to present, prove three things. Number one, the declarant, Isabel Schaeber,

is unavailable. Well, we know that's not the case because Isabel Schaeber has given a deposition and by everything that I know she is ready, able, willing, and is going to testify in this case. So that problem cannot be meant. Therefore, the exception for a statement against penal interest cannot be established. You don't have to get to the second and third wrongs because, again, Ms. Schaever is available.

Shaver's attorney Jeffrey Wiggs, who we've spoken with before here on Sidebar, had a chance to respond. We're not offering testimony of Mr. Narvaz to speak about the truth of the statements of Isabel Schaever, but the circumstances. under which Isabel Schaeber has come forward. There's inferences and allegations that, so to speak, she was called late in this game. The record shows she was not that Kelly Johnson was appointed as a consequence of her moving forward. Mr. Narvez, his involvement was he spoke to Isabel and then had to talk to Lori. shaver and thus there was a consensus at a certain stage to allow Isabel to move forward with their testimony thus that's how Kelly Johnson got appointed as her guardian and went through the steps

that she did it's just to show a sequence of steps as opposed to putting a witness on the stand as if we just pulled her out of off the street it just shows a sequence of events with the It's not to prove the truth of the statements of Adam and our vows, but to show the timeline and why the minor child step forward. That's why. And that's a non-hearsay purpose. You know, it's not to just show, she told me this, okay? It's, you know, what happened beyond that point. So that's the reason it would be offered.

Yes, sir. Which is non-hearsay? Is his response? If they're being used, if they're eliciting statements made by Isabel Schaber out of court that I shot my father, that is being used in truth, the matter of service. That's the whole point. To explain the circumstances surrounding it is not a valid purpose. That's like me asking a detective to talk about hearsay because it establishes, you know,

asking me, that's like me asking you to detect, who did you talk to them, what do they say, just to establish the context of the investigation? That's clearly your sake, and this is no different error. The testimony has not been proffered. Now, the state is saying, this is what the child's going to say,

and this is how she's going to say it. Judge, I think the state is getting ahead of themselves, assuming everything is hearsay that that child could say. The context in which the child makes those representations, defines whether it falls outside of the hearsay rules. But the state's saying that that child told Mr. Narvez, I did X, Y, and Z, and then she's offered as a witness. No, that's not the context in which those statements will come forward.

She confided in Mr. Narvez about certain facts and events. She confided in Mr. Narvez about her desire to testify and come forward. because of her emotional feelings in this case. That's not hearsay. It explains a timeline and why this child is going to be here testify that she's not being thrown under the bus, as the state may suggest, but that there is a rational basis and a timeline why she stepped forward. All right, is there anything further?

No. All right, I'll grant the state's motion. court finds that testimony regarding the timeline is his hearsay and what will make you appropriate hearsay rulings on trial so while the judge ruled that Narvaez can testify during Shaver's trial he can't talk about what Shaver might have told him about any abuse and what her daughter may have said about who fired the gun shaver's jury trial is expected to get underway on Monday of course we'll be following it right here on sidebar and law and crime well that does it for episode of Sidebar, you can check out more episodes and subscribe to us anywhere you listen to your

podcast, whether it's Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube. I'm Elizabeth Milner, and this has been Sidebar presented by Law and Crime. You can binge all episodes of this Law and Crime series add free right now on Wonderry Plus. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.