Laurie Shaver, woman accused of killing, burying husband, testifies in murder trial: 'I loved Michael'
Laurie Shaver and her daughter testify in murder trial
Laurie Shaver, the Florida woman accused in the death of her ex-husband, Michael, testified Thursday at her trial. "I loved Michael," she said, also alleging that she suffered abuse from Michael. She's charged with second-degree murder and accessory after the fact in Michael's death. Her daughter testified that she shot Michael -- then 7 -- because he allegedly attacked and threatened to kill her mom.
Laurie Shaver, the Florida woman accused of killing her husband and burying his body beneath a firepit and concrete slab in 2015, testified in her own defense on Thursday.
Shaver is accused of killing her husband, Michael Shaver, sometime in 2015 – and then hiding his body for years beneath a concrete slab in the backyard of her Clermont home. She's on trial for second-degree murder and accessory after the fact.
Laurie Shaver testified for nearly two hours on Thursday.
"I loved Michael," she said.
Attorney: "Did it work out?"
"No, but we tried," Shaver said.
Laurie Shaver takes stand in murder trial | Full interrogation
Laurie Shaver, the Florida woman accused of second-degree murder in the death of her husband, Michael Shaver, took the stand in her own defense on Thursday. She's accused of killing her husband and helping to bury him in concrete in her backyard.
Shaver alleged that at the crux of their relationship, Michael was mad that she became pregnant. And that the two fought before he was shot and killed.
Laurie Shaver's daughter claims she shot and killed Michael: ‘I shot him’
Another surprise during trial, Shaver's daughter testified under oath that she – not Laurie – shot her father, Michael, because he allegedly attacked Laurie and threatened to kill her.
"I shot him," Shaver's daughter said. She would have been around 7 at the time.
"Did you feel when you fired that shot, that that had to be done, or he would have killed your mother?" Shaver's attorney asked.
"Yes, yes," she said.
"Are you firm on that," the attorney asked.
"I'm firm on that," she said.
According to the probable cause statement, Michael's skeletal remains were found in March 2018 buried three feet beneath a firepit and concrete slab. Officials determined that Michael was shot one time in the back of the head, the report said.
Prosecutors and officials alleged that after Michael's death, Laurie pretended to be Michael for months, communicating with friends, family, his boss, and colleagues via text messages and Facebook messages.
Shaver allegedly told friends that Michael left the family and moved to Georgia and other states, which, according to family and the arrest report, seemed out of character for him.
The investigation broke in February 2018 after a friend contacted authorities to request a well-being check on Michael after not seeing him since 2015.