Florida woman charged with murdering husband blames 7-year-old daughter trends now
A Florida woman who is accused of murdering her husband and burying his body under their backyard firepit has now claimed that their daughter carried out the killing when she was just seven years old.
Laurie Shaver, 40, is charged with murdering her husband Michael Shaver at their home in Claremont in November 2015 with a gunshot to the back of his head.
Michael's body not discovered until 2018, when officers were called to conduct a wellness check on the missing Disney World employee, and the case has suffered numerous delays on the way to trial, due in part to the pandemic.
In a court filing last week, Laurie's defense team made the stunning claim that a girl, now aged 14, had admitted to killing Michael when she was just seven years old, and is prepared to make a full confession.
The motion also alleges the girl has repeatedly expressed 'her desire to testify,' but clamed that prosecutors and the court have tried to prevent her from giving evidence 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 his head
Though the filing does not name the minor girl or state her relation to Laurie and Michael, defense attorney Jeffrey Wiggs identified her as the couple's daughter, claiming the girl shot her father to protect her mother from his abuse.
Wiggs also told WKMG-TV that Laurie's ex-boyfriend was at home at the time of the killing and fired a second shot, striking Michael.
'The minor child does not want to see her mom go to jail for a crime that her mother did not do,' Wiggs told the CBS affiliate 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 attorney claimed.
It's unclear what charges the child might face if she makes a full confession to the fatal shooting.
In the US, there is no federally mandated minimum age of court jurisdiction, and many states do not have a minimum age of criminal culpability, including Florida.
Florida did recently pass a law prohibiting the arrest or
