1 00:00:07,241 --> 00:00:11,078 Their relationship was volatile, even toxic. 2 00:00:11,178 --> 00:00:14,748 [Jeffrey] The card said, "Roses are red, violets are blue, 3 00:00:14,848 --> 00:00:18,318 my wife's cheating on me, your husband too." 4 00:00:18,418 --> 00:00:21,054 It seems like he wants revenge, and she tells friends 5 00:00:21,154 --> 00:00:23,156 that he's been stalking her. 6 00:00:23,257 --> 00:00:25,192 I saw him read the message and I was like, 7 00:00:25,292 --> 00:00:27,094 "Is everything OK, dude?" 8 00:00:27,194 --> 00:00:28,462 And he goes, "No." 9 00:00:29,596 --> 00:00:32,866 He told me that something bad had happened on the property. 10 00:00:33,867 --> 00:00:34,968 [dog barking] 11 00:00:36,136 --> 00:00:38,805 [reporter] Investigators are searching areas where cadaver dogs have 12 00:00:38,906 --> 00:00:41,041 indicated there might be human remains here. 13 00:00:41,141 --> 00:00:44,211 Everyone is uneasy about what they might find there. 14 00:00:44,311 --> 00:00:46,547 There were some sort of foreign objects 15 00:00:46,647 --> 00:00:48,549 buried under the dirt. 16 00:00:48,649 --> 00:00:50,817 I thought we've got something going on here. 17 00:00:54,021 --> 00:00:56,023 [theme music playing] 18 00:01:01,695 --> 00:01:03,430 [theme music continues] 19 00:01:16,710 --> 00:01:18,045 [theme music concludes] 20 00:01:20,347 --> 00:01:22,983 This was one of the most mysterious cases we've covered 21 00:01:23,083 --> 00:01:24,985 recently here at People. 22 00:01:25,085 --> 00:01:27,955 Childhood sweethearts whose love went south. 23 00:01:28,055 --> 00:01:29,256 And when things got violent, 24 00:01:29,356 --> 00:01:31,558 even the cops weren't sure who was telling the truth. 25 00:01:33,026 --> 00:01:34,995 [ominous tones playing] 26 00:01:37,965 --> 00:01:40,267 [reporter] Tanya Winchester says she watched as Lake County 27 00:01:40,366 --> 00:01:42,301 detectives made a discovery while digging 28 00:01:42,402 --> 00:01:43,637 in her neighbor's backyard. 29 00:01:45,172 --> 00:01:48,709 I did see that law enforcement kind of circled around the site 30 00:01:48,809 --> 00:01:51,378 and took off their hats, and it looked like they had 31 00:01:51,478 --> 00:01:52,545 said a prayer. 32 00:01:58,418 --> 00:02:00,420 ♪♪ 33 00:02:04,324 --> 00:02:06,860 [Tina] Michael and Laurie Shaver seem to be the epitome 34 00:02:06,960 --> 00:02:08,428 of the fairy-tale couple 35 00:02:08,527 --> 00:02:11,298 and have been inseparable pretty much their entire lives. 36 00:02:12,399 --> 00:02:14,334 They were both born in the same small town 37 00:02:14,434 --> 00:02:17,504 of Laurens in upstate New York and grew up across the street 38 00:02:17,603 --> 00:02:18,605 from one another. 39 00:02:20,574 --> 00:02:22,476 [Strickland] Laurie was the youngest of five, 40 00:02:22,576 --> 00:02:25,545 and one of her brothers was special needs. 41 00:02:25,646 --> 00:02:29,216 She stuck up for her brother and took care of him at school 42 00:02:29,316 --> 00:02:30,817 to keep people from bullying him. 43 00:02:32,486 --> 00:02:35,522 [Jeffrey] It was a relatively close family structure, 44 00:02:35,622 --> 00:02:37,791 but the father was working full-time. 45 00:02:37,891 --> 00:02:40,961 I think it was financially a struggle for the family. 46 00:02:42,996 --> 00:02:45,232 Mike Shaver's parents divorced when he's young. 47 00:02:45,332 --> 00:02:48,869 He and his two siblings live with their mom full-time. 48 00:02:48,969 --> 00:02:50,704 [Strickland] Mike was close with his family. 49 00:02:50,804 --> 00:02:54,241 He was a hard worker and was a little bit of a clown. 50 00:02:55,709 --> 00:02:58,645 [Cory] Mike, he was an amazing person. 51 00:02:58,745 --> 00:03:00,280 He was always smiling, 52 00:03:00,380 --> 00:03:04,184 and you never really saw a frown on his face. 53 00:03:04,284 --> 00:03:07,054 [Tamara] Mike and Laurie started dating in eighth grade, so they were 54 00:03:07,154 --> 00:03:08,955 middle school sweethearts. -[school bell rings] 55 00:03:09,056 --> 00:03:11,324 A high school friend, she said that Mike was 56 00:03:11,425 --> 00:03:12,426 Laurie's little pet. 57 00:03:14,061 --> 00:03:15,896 [Cory] He loved Laurie unconditionally, 58 00:03:15,996 --> 00:03:19,032 would do anything for her, move heaven and earth. 59 00:03:20,734 --> 00:03:23,370 [Tina] Michael has always been obsessed with aviation. 60 00:03:23,470 --> 00:03:25,038 He even dropped out of high school and went 61 00:03:25,138 --> 00:03:28,308 to flight school instead before working at a regional airline. 62 00:03:29,810 --> 00:03:32,679 The people that we spoke with say Laurie was a sweet person 63 00:03:32,779 --> 00:03:35,248 who was easy to talk to and liked to have a good time. 64 00:03:37,150 --> 00:03:40,087 Laurie was working as a claims adjuster 65 00:03:40,187 --> 00:03:41,755 for an insurance company. 66 00:03:41,855 --> 00:03:44,291 It was convenient for her to be at home, 67 00:03:44,391 --> 00:03:49,129 and they wanted to get married and start building a family. 68 00:03:49,228 --> 00:03:51,665 [Tina] Laurie and Michael married in 2004 when they were 69 00:03:51,765 --> 00:03:53,734 in their early 20s and soon welcomed 70 00:03:53,834 --> 00:03:55,569 their daughter, Isabelle, and son, Aiden, 71 00:03:55,668 --> 00:03:56,737 into their family. 72 00:03:57,738 --> 00:04:01,041 [Jeffrey] Laurie as a mom was kind of like a mother hen. 73 00:04:01,141 --> 00:04:04,945 She really felt the need to protect the children. 74 00:04:05,045 --> 00:04:08,115 Those kids were the center of Laurie's life. 75 00:04:08,215 --> 00:04:10,884 [Cory] Michael Shaver was very family oriented. 76 00:04:10,984 --> 00:04:12,719 You know, every time we talked about his kids, 77 00:04:12,819 --> 00:04:14,020 you would see a glow in him. 78 00:04:15,088 --> 00:04:17,757 [Tina] Michael and Laurie wanted more space for their growing family, 79 00:04:17,858 --> 00:04:19,559 so they moved to Florida where they could afford 80 00:04:19,659 --> 00:04:21,060 a large plot of land. 81 00:04:25,966 --> 00:04:29,336 By 2014, they're fixing up their five-acre dream property 82 00:04:29,436 --> 00:04:33,073 in the town of Clermont, a rural suburb 25 miles 83 00:04:33,173 --> 00:04:34,341 to the west of Orlando. 84 00:04:36,643 --> 00:04:38,779 [Jeffrey] It was kind of like a mom-and-pop farm. 85 00:04:38,879 --> 00:04:43,016 They had some pigs and chickens and some ducks. 86 00:04:44,851 --> 00:04:47,454 Mike is a regional airline pilot, but that requires him 87 00:04:47,554 --> 00:04:49,623 to be away from home for long periods of time. 88 00:04:50,824 --> 00:04:53,226 That starts to wear down on Laurie and the kids, 89 00:04:53,326 --> 00:04:55,328 and it impacts their marriage. 90 00:04:55,428 --> 00:04:57,464 [Tamara] Sometimes that would lead to some frustration 91 00:04:57,564 --> 00:04:58,899 between Mike and Laurie. 92 00:04:58,999 --> 00:05:01,535 So he quit that job for his family and started 93 00:05:01,635 --> 00:05:03,403 working at Disney. 94 00:05:03,503 --> 00:05:06,273 [Strickland] He originally started out as a mechanic working 95 00:05:06,373 --> 00:05:08,608 on Spaceship Earth at Epcot. 96 00:05:08,708 --> 00:05:10,177 [Cory] Mike absolutely loved it. 97 00:05:10,277 --> 00:05:12,512 He loved being able to bring his kids to the park 98 00:05:12,612 --> 00:05:15,115 and them knowing that their dad was 99 00:05:15,215 --> 00:05:18,251 a part of making magic for Walt Disney World. 100 00:05:19,686 --> 00:05:21,388 [children chattering indistinctly] 101 00:05:21,488 --> 00:05:24,925 [Tina] With Mike working at Disney, everyone is seemingly happy. 102 00:05:26,393 --> 00:05:28,795 But all of this would soon change. 103 00:05:28,895 --> 00:05:30,897 [tense music playing] 104 00:05:31,932 --> 00:05:32,899 [phone ringing] 105 00:05:44,344 --> 00:05:46,746 [Strickland] Laurie Shaver tells the dispatcher that they were 106 00:05:46,847 --> 00:05:48,448 doing a home improvement project, 107 00:05:48,548 --> 00:05:50,817 and they started getting into an argument 108 00:05:50,917 --> 00:05:51,918 and it got heated. 109 00:06:12,839 --> 00:06:15,876 She's in a Target parking lot at that point, very upset. 110 00:06:17,277 --> 00:06:19,746 EMS checks Laurie out, and deputies do see 111 00:06:19,846 --> 00:06:21,014 some bruises on her arm 112 00:06:21,114 --> 00:06:22,883 and some lacerations on her hand, 113 00:06:22,983 --> 00:06:25,385 which corroborate her story. 114 00:06:25,485 --> 00:06:27,520 While they're doing that, the deputies respond 115 00:06:27,621 --> 00:06:30,557 to the home to make contact with Mike. 116 00:06:30,657 --> 00:06:33,560 He gives his side of the story, which is similar 117 00:06:33,659 --> 00:06:34,761 but kind of opposite. 118 00:06:36,129 --> 00:06:38,765 He said, "Laurie threw a vase against the wall. 119 00:06:38,865 --> 00:06:41,201 "If she says I grabbed her arms, I probably did 120 00:06:41,301 --> 00:06:42,402 to calm her down." 121 00:06:43,670 --> 00:06:47,841 Mike says it didn't work and things escalated fast. 122 00:06:47,941 --> 00:06:51,478 Laurie went into their bedroom and got her pistol, pointed it 123 00:06:51,578 --> 00:06:53,947 at her head, and said that she was gonna kill herself. 124 00:06:55,782 --> 00:06:57,617 [Tamara] According to Mike, he wrestled that gun 125 00:06:57,717 --> 00:06:59,486 away from her, unloaded it, 126 00:06:59,586 --> 00:07:02,122 and then she got another gun and hit him in the head. 127 00:07:03,123 --> 00:07:05,926 With two very different stories, the police don't know 128 00:07:06,026 --> 00:07:08,061 who to believe, so they tell Mike and Laurie 129 00:07:08,161 --> 00:07:10,597 that they'll have to arrest them both. 130 00:07:10,697 --> 00:07:12,799 But with both of them in jail, there would be no one 131 00:07:12,899 --> 00:07:14,134 to watch the kids. 132 00:07:14,234 --> 00:07:16,369 The deputies would have had to have called the Florida 133 00:07:16,469 --> 00:07:18,171 Department of Children and Families. 134 00:07:18,271 --> 00:07:20,974 Mike didn't want the kids to be without their mother. 135 00:07:21,074 --> 00:07:24,077 So he raised his hand and said, "It was me, I did it." 136 00:07:27,213 --> 00:07:30,817 So Mike Shaver ends up getting arrested for domestic battery. 137 00:07:32,919 --> 00:07:34,521 [Cory] Mike, he wasn't proud of it. 138 00:07:34,621 --> 00:07:37,457 He considered that as, like, a dark mark on his life. 139 00:07:39,960 --> 00:07:43,697 [Tina] Mike is released on bail, but just how and why did these 140 00:07:43,797 --> 00:07:46,299 childhood sweethearts get to a place where Laurie is 141 00:07:46,399 --> 00:07:49,235 calling 911 for domestic violence 142 00:07:49,336 --> 00:07:50,704 and Mike is being arrested? 143 00:07:55,308 --> 00:07:58,078 According to Michael's friends, it started a year earlier, 144 00:07:58,178 --> 00:07:59,612 when Mike discovered that Laurie was 145 00:07:59,713 --> 00:08:01,114 having an affair with her boss. 146 00:08:03,216 --> 00:08:06,286 [Tamara] Mike told Laurie, "I forgive you for what happened. 147 00:08:06,386 --> 00:08:07,687 I just want my family back." 148 00:08:09,155 --> 00:08:11,224 [Tina] But later that year, it happens again 149 00:08:11,324 --> 00:08:13,693 with another man who catches Laurie's eye. 150 00:08:15,195 --> 00:08:17,630 [Tamara] Laurie meets a guy named James Ballew. 151 00:08:19,432 --> 00:08:22,035 Pretty quickly, James starts coming over to the house 152 00:08:22,135 --> 00:08:26,673 while Mike is working at Disney, which develops into an affair. 153 00:08:28,207 --> 00:08:30,710 Mike works the overnight shift at Disney World. 154 00:08:30,810 --> 00:08:32,544 This allows Laurie plenty of time 155 00:08:32,645 --> 00:08:34,881 to indulge in her affair with James. 156 00:08:34,981 --> 00:08:37,484 But that changes when James' wife discovers 157 00:08:37,584 --> 00:08:39,219 what her husband has been up to. 158 00:08:41,321 --> 00:08:45,091 [Strickland] Mike Shaver got a message from James Ballew's wife one day 159 00:08:45,191 --> 00:08:48,128 exposing the affair between Laurie and Mr. Ballew. 160 00:08:51,898 --> 00:08:55,135 James's wife even showed Mike Shaver pictures 161 00:08:55,235 --> 00:08:57,570 of Mr. Ballew and Laurie together. 162 00:08:58,671 --> 00:09:01,241 That was an eye-opening experience for Mike. 163 00:09:02,709 --> 00:09:04,544 The relationship is really starting 164 00:09:04,644 --> 00:09:06,346 to head towards a disaster. 165 00:09:08,915 --> 00:09:12,552 And shortly after that, Laurie had mentioned to a friend 166 00:09:12,652 --> 00:09:14,454 that she thinks Mike would kill her. 167 00:09:19,692 --> 00:09:22,195 [reporter] Investigators are searching areas where cadaver dogs had 168 00:09:22,295 --> 00:09:24,431 indicated there might be human remains here 169 00:09:24,531 --> 00:09:26,599 on this acreage where the Shavers shared. 170 00:09:36,876 --> 00:09:39,446 [Tina] In March of 2018, a team of deputies 171 00:09:39,546 --> 00:09:41,314 and crime scene investigators 172 00:09:41,414 --> 00:09:43,415 from the Lake County Sheriff's Office 173 00:09:43,516 --> 00:09:46,419 swarm a five-acre property in the rural outskirts 174 00:09:46,519 --> 00:09:48,121 of Clermont, Florida. 175 00:10:01,835 --> 00:10:03,670 [dog barking] 176 00:10:06,673 --> 00:10:09,642 The dogs hit on a pile of dirt at the rear of the property. 177 00:10:13,446 --> 00:10:15,849 We brought the ground penetrating radar in 178 00:10:15,949 --> 00:10:18,685 and learned that there were foreign objects 179 00:10:18,785 --> 00:10:19,786 buried under the dirt. 180 00:10:21,821 --> 00:10:23,990 I thought, we've got something going on here. 181 00:10:35,335 --> 00:10:39,172 [Cory] I had heard that Laurie was seeing somebody. 182 00:10:39,272 --> 00:10:41,540 So I asked Mike, "Is everything OK at home?" 183 00:10:41,641 --> 00:10:43,309 And he was like, "No, not really. 184 00:10:43,409 --> 00:10:44,377 I found out some news." 185 00:10:45,512 --> 00:10:48,348 [Strickland] Mike had found out that Laurie has had two affairs 186 00:10:48,448 --> 00:10:52,318 in the past year and a half, so there's animosity between them. 187 00:10:54,387 --> 00:10:56,823 The affair sets Mike off, and he confronts 188 00:10:56,923 --> 00:10:58,858 Laurie about James, 189 00:10:58,958 --> 00:11:01,361 leading to the altercation on September 4th 190 00:11:02,829 --> 00:11:04,497 and his arrest for the battery. 191 00:11:08,001 --> 00:11:10,103 After Mike's arrested, he gets out on bail, 192 00:11:10,203 --> 00:11:12,739 but he's not allowed to go back home because of a court order. 193 00:11:13,840 --> 00:11:17,343 [Strickland] So in Florida, when somebody's arrested for domestic violence, 194 00:11:17,443 --> 00:11:21,080 whoever is charged with something has to leave. 195 00:11:21,181 --> 00:11:23,650 [Jillian] He's got limited options for places to stay, 196 00:11:23,750 --> 00:11:25,952 but Mike is a member of an air racing club 197 00:11:26,052 --> 00:11:27,253 called Precious Metal. 198 00:11:27,353 --> 00:11:29,689 So he ends up staying in an airplane hangar 199 00:11:29,789 --> 00:11:31,291 associated with his racing club. 200 00:11:32,358 --> 00:11:35,328 Laurie still lives at home with the kids. 201 00:11:35,428 --> 00:11:38,932 At this time, Laurie said she was very uncomfortable 202 00:11:39,032 --> 00:11:40,366 when Michael was around. 203 00:11:41,901 --> 00:11:43,870 [Tina] During the months that Michael is not allowed to live 204 00:11:43,970 --> 00:11:45,605 with his family, he attempts to mend 205 00:11:45,705 --> 00:11:47,340 his relationship with Laurie. 206 00:11:47,440 --> 00:11:49,242 But at the same time, he meets a woman 207 00:11:49,342 --> 00:11:51,978 named Kendall, who also works at Walt Disney World. 208 00:11:54,981 --> 00:11:58,885 [Tamara] In November 2014, Mike ends up asking out Kendall. 209 00:11:58,985 --> 00:12:01,721 He tells Kendall that he is married, but separated, 210 00:12:01,821 --> 00:12:04,691 so she is aware of that, and they begin dating. 211 00:12:05,992 --> 00:12:08,561 Eventually, Laurie finds out about the relationship, 212 00:12:08,661 --> 00:12:10,663 and even though she's having her own affair, 213 00:12:10,763 --> 00:12:12,532 she's livid that Mike would cheat on her 214 00:12:12,632 --> 00:12:14,000 and demands that they break up. 215 00:12:16,035 --> 00:12:18,304 When Laurie found out, she told Mike 216 00:12:18,404 --> 00:12:20,506 that he wasn't gonna be able to see the kids anymore 217 00:12:20,607 --> 00:12:22,141 if he continued to date other women. 218 00:12:23,343 --> 00:12:26,813 [Strickland] Laurie found Kendall on Facebook and started messaging her, 219 00:12:26,913 --> 00:12:28,514 calling her a homewrecker. 220 00:12:28,615 --> 00:12:33,019 And in spring of 2015, Laurie called HR at Disney 221 00:12:33,119 --> 00:12:35,488 and filed a complaint against Kendall. 222 00:12:36,823 --> 00:12:39,359 And at this point, Kendall kind of backed away from Mike 223 00:12:39,459 --> 00:12:41,327 and said, "I can't deal with this." 224 00:12:45,765 --> 00:12:48,801 Towards the end of the spring in 2015, the charges 225 00:12:48,901 --> 00:12:51,537 against Mike for domestic battery were dropped. 226 00:12:52,639 --> 00:12:53,606 It's not uncommon. 227 00:12:53,706 --> 00:12:55,508 There's pretrial intervention, 228 00:12:55,608 --> 00:12:57,610 counseling that can be mandated. 229 00:12:57,710 --> 00:12:59,846 When the charges are dropped, Mike can move back 230 00:12:59,946 --> 00:13:01,714 into the house, which he does. 231 00:13:02,882 --> 00:13:05,918 Mike and Laurie thought it was probably better for the kids 232 00:13:06,019 --> 00:13:08,021 to have both parents back in the house. 233 00:13:09,389 --> 00:13:11,791 [Tamara] But Mike and Laurie's relationship hasn't really 234 00:13:11,891 --> 00:13:13,359 changed or improved. 235 00:13:13,459 --> 00:13:15,461 Some days they seem to get along great, 236 00:13:15,561 --> 00:13:17,463 and other days, they're back to arguing. 237 00:13:18,831 --> 00:13:21,934 Mike tried not to talk about Laurie as much as possible, 238 00:13:22,035 --> 00:13:23,870 and there were days where I could see that he had gotten 239 00:13:23,970 --> 00:13:26,406 into a fight with her, because his demeanor 240 00:13:26,506 --> 00:13:27,607 would change. 241 00:13:29,008 --> 00:13:31,144 It almost looked like he was breaking down. 242 00:13:31,244 --> 00:13:34,814 I think Mike had thought about getting divorced several times, 243 00:13:36,182 --> 00:13:38,384 but he was more afraid that he was going 244 00:13:38,484 --> 00:13:40,053 to lose his kids in the divorce. 245 00:13:41,354 --> 00:13:43,122 I did hope, you know, nothing happens 246 00:13:43,222 --> 00:13:44,257 between the two of them. 247 00:13:47,960 --> 00:13:49,929 [ominous tones playing] 248 00:13:54,000 --> 00:13:56,436 We spent several hours digging in that location 249 00:13:56,536 --> 00:13:57,970 that the dogs hit on. 250 00:13:58,071 --> 00:13:59,138 [dog barking] 251 00:14:00,540 --> 00:14:03,076 We're sifting, using sifters in the dirt and shovels 252 00:14:03,176 --> 00:14:05,545 and trowels, and trying not to disturb anything. 253 00:14:08,581 --> 00:14:10,683 [Strickland] Our dig area got bigger. 254 00:14:14,287 --> 00:14:17,090 The bigger it got, we quickly realized 255 00:14:17,190 --> 00:14:19,359 that we needed to call in some heavy machinery 256 00:14:19,459 --> 00:14:20,526 to help us dig. 257 00:14:24,564 --> 00:14:27,266 [Tamara] With each foot that we dig down, the team is expecting 258 00:14:27,367 --> 00:14:29,736 to find a bone, article of clothing, 259 00:14:29,836 --> 00:14:31,137 some type of human remains. 260 00:14:33,773 --> 00:14:35,441 While we're digging in this area 261 00:14:35,540 --> 00:14:37,143 in the back of the property... 262 00:14:40,113 --> 00:14:42,615 ...we come across .38 caliber bullets. 263 00:14:53,960 --> 00:14:56,429 After Mike moves back home, although things aren't 264 00:14:56,529 --> 00:14:59,632 easy between Mike and Laurie, for the next six months, 265 00:14:59,732 --> 00:15:01,701 the Shavers try to get along for the sake 266 00:15:01,801 --> 00:15:04,871 of seven-year-old Isabelle and five-year-old Aiden. 267 00:15:04,971 --> 00:15:07,407 And on November 7th, they take the kids to a local 268 00:15:07,507 --> 00:15:10,410 tractor show with Mike's coworker, Frank Merritt, 269 00:15:10,510 --> 00:15:11,544 and his family. 270 00:15:12,512 --> 00:15:15,782 [Strickland] According to Frank Merritt and his wife, there was 271 00:15:15,882 --> 00:15:18,785 definitely some tension between Mike and Laurie that day. 272 00:15:20,119 --> 00:15:23,156 At the show, the Merritts got separated from the Shavers, 273 00:15:23,256 --> 00:15:25,591 and then Mike texted him and said, "Hey, the kids aren't 274 00:15:25,691 --> 00:15:27,493 feeling well. I'll have to leave early." 275 00:15:40,106 --> 00:15:41,607 [Cory] When we came back to work from our weekend 276 00:15:41,707 --> 00:15:43,376 and Frank and I were talking about the show, 277 00:15:43,476 --> 00:15:45,344 we noticed Mike was not there. 278 00:15:47,547 --> 00:15:50,016 Our boss, John, had walked up to Frank and goes, 279 00:15:50,116 --> 00:15:52,185 "Hey, have you happened to hear from Mike?" 280 00:15:52,285 --> 00:15:55,087 And Frank goes, "No, not since the other day, why?" 281 00:15:55,188 --> 00:15:57,857 He goes, "Well, Mike didn't call in." 282 00:15:59,992 --> 00:16:02,295 And I looked at Frank and looked at John, 283 00:16:02,395 --> 00:16:04,263 and we're like, "That's not normal." 284 00:16:05,832 --> 00:16:08,234 So John was like, "You know, I'm gonna call him." 285 00:16:08,334 --> 00:16:10,102 [phone ringing] 286 00:16:10,203 --> 00:16:13,005 Mike's boss at Disney tried to get a hold of him, 287 00:16:13,105 --> 00:16:14,240 didn't get any answer. 288 00:16:17,410 --> 00:16:19,312 [Tina] Mike isn't at work the next day either, 289 00:16:19,412 --> 00:16:22,048 and now his co workers are really getting worried. 290 00:16:22,148 --> 00:16:24,217 And once again, they text and call him. 291 00:16:26,886 --> 00:16:30,923 It was Frank that got a text message from Mike. 292 00:16:32,091 --> 00:16:34,460 And I was like, "Is everything OK, dude?" 293 00:16:36,829 --> 00:16:37,964 And he goes, "No." 294 00:16:41,667 --> 00:16:43,269 Investigators have been looking for evidence 295 00:16:43,369 --> 00:16:46,906 and now they believe they did find something just moments ago. 296 00:16:47,006 --> 00:16:48,107 [shovel thuds] 297 00:16:57,850 --> 00:17:01,921 [Cory] On Wednesday, Frank got a text message from Mike 298 00:17:02,021 --> 00:17:04,891 saying, "I'm going through some stuff right now. 299 00:17:04,991 --> 00:17:07,093 "I quit. Keep my tools. 300 00:17:07,193 --> 00:17:08,928 Just leave me alone." 301 00:17:10,762 --> 00:17:14,133 And I was like, "That's not like Mike at all." 302 00:17:17,670 --> 00:17:20,640 [Strickland] It's odd, but Frank said that he was just gonna back off 303 00:17:20,740 --> 00:17:23,608 and give him his space so that he could work things out 304 00:17:23,709 --> 00:17:25,511 and he would come back whenever he was ready to. 305 00:17:26,878 --> 00:17:29,181 [phone buzzing] 306 00:17:29,282 --> 00:17:32,985 [Tamara] And then on Thursday, which is the 12th, his boss got a text 307 00:17:33,085 --> 00:17:35,187 that said, "Hey, I'm in Georgia. 308 00:17:35,288 --> 00:17:36,389 "Just fire me or I'll quit. 309 00:17:36,489 --> 00:17:37,890 I'm not coming back anytime soon." 310 00:17:45,765 --> 00:17:47,600 [Jillian] Frank feels like this doesn't sound like the Mike 311 00:17:47,700 --> 00:17:48,834 that he knows. 312 00:17:48,935 --> 00:17:50,570 He decides to go over to the Shaver house 313 00:17:50,670 --> 00:17:51,971 and see what's going on for himself. 314 00:17:54,140 --> 00:17:58,544 Frank drives to the Shaver house and goes to the door. 315 00:17:58,644 --> 00:17:59,812 [knocking] 316 00:18:01,547 --> 00:18:03,416 Laurie answers. 317 00:18:03,516 --> 00:18:05,885 Frank asks, "Where's Mike?" 318 00:18:05,985 --> 00:18:08,654 Laurie told Frank that they had gotten into a fight 319 00:18:08,754 --> 00:18:11,857 and Mike left with a friend and she thought that 320 00:18:11,958 --> 00:18:13,993 he went to Georgia where his mom is. 321 00:18:15,928 --> 00:18:18,831 Frank and I were very, very worried that something was 322 00:18:18,931 --> 00:18:20,032 not right. 323 00:18:20,132 --> 00:18:22,134 That was not like Mike. 324 00:18:23,903 --> 00:18:25,304 [birds calling] 325 00:18:27,640 --> 00:18:31,210 Over the next few weeks, friends, coworkers, family are 326 00:18:31,310 --> 00:18:33,346 texting and calling and messaging Mike. 327 00:18:37,283 --> 00:18:39,218 [Strickland] Nobody's ever able to get him on the phone, 328 00:18:39,318 --> 00:18:42,989 but occasionally he will respond to text messages, 329 00:18:43,089 --> 00:18:46,859 which are usually short, abruptly end, saying things 330 00:18:46,959 --> 00:18:49,895 like, "Leave me alone. I don't have a family anymore." 331 00:18:51,030 --> 00:18:53,599 I tried messaging Mike a few times on Facebook. 332 00:18:53,699 --> 00:18:56,535 "We're always here, dude, whenever you need us." 333 00:18:56,636 --> 00:18:59,105 I never got a response, but I know it was read 334 00:18:59,205 --> 00:19:01,107 because if anybody knows social media, 335 00:19:01,207 --> 00:19:02,208 you can see when somebody's picture 336 00:19:02,308 --> 00:19:03,943 drops down below and you know it's read. 337 00:19:05,578 --> 00:19:08,781 [Strickland] According to text messages, it seemed like Mike was done, 338 00:19:08,881 --> 00:19:10,383 had just given up on his marriage, 339 00:19:10,483 --> 00:19:13,019 given up on his family, and who knew where. 340 00:19:20,860 --> 00:19:24,196 As the holidays pass, Laurie accepts that Mike is gone 341 00:19:24,296 --> 00:19:26,298 and keeps living her life. 342 00:19:26,399 --> 00:19:29,402 And at the end of 2015, she meets fellow parent 343 00:19:29,502 --> 00:19:32,705 Jay Townsend in the pick-up line at her children's school, 344 00:19:32,805 --> 00:19:33,873 and they begin to date. 345 00:19:34,907 --> 00:19:37,576 There's just one problem, that Jay is still married. 346 00:19:38,611 --> 00:19:42,314 Jay did tell Laurie that he and his wife were separated, 347 00:19:42,415 --> 00:19:43,649 but that wasn't true. 348 00:19:44,950 --> 00:19:48,387 So the relationship between Jay and Laurie abruptly ends 349 00:19:48,487 --> 00:19:50,656 when Jay's wife discovers the affair. 350 00:19:54,927 --> 00:19:58,497 [Tamara] Within a year, there's still no sign of Mike Shaver, 351 00:19:58,597 --> 00:20:02,301 but Laurie meets another man named Travis Filmer. 352 00:20:02,401 --> 00:20:06,138 Travis was a youth coordinator at his church he attends. 353 00:20:06,238 --> 00:20:07,973 Him and Laurie hit it off pretty quickly, 354 00:20:08,074 --> 00:20:11,243 and within a few months, Travis had moved in to Laurie's house. 355 00:20:12,578 --> 00:20:15,247 Laurie and Travis decide to get married, but she's still 356 00:20:15,347 --> 00:20:16,949 legally married to Mike. 357 00:20:17,049 --> 00:20:20,252 Although the family has texted with him over the last year, 358 00:20:20,352 --> 00:20:23,322 no one has actually seen or spoken with him. 359 00:20:23,422 --> 00:20:25,091 So Laurie and Travis decide to hold 360 00:20:25,191 --> 00:20:27,460 a commitment ceremony in their backyard. 361 00:20:28,994 --> 00:20:32,298 The Shaver children think that their dad, Mike, has left 362 00:20:32,398 --> 00:20:33,999 and isn't contacting them. 363 00:20:34,100 --> 00:20:36,235 Travis has become the father figure in their home. 364 00:20:37,603 --> 00:20:40,740 Laurie and Travis worked to make their house their home. 365 00:20:40,840 --> 00:20:43,509 They constructed a fire pit and put their initials 366 00:20:43,609 --> 00:20:45,344 in the fire pit, along with a heart. 367 00:20:47,913 --> 00:20:51,751 Then, out of nowhere, Jay Townsend's wife reaches out 368 00:20:51,851 --> 00:20:54,286 to Laurie about a delivery she received. 369 00:20:56,689 --> 00:20:59,892 [Tamara] In April 2016, Jay's wife receives 370 00:20:59,992 --> 00:21:01,193 a flower delivery at work. 371 00:21:03,129 --> 00:21:04,396 But they're not from Jay. 372 00:21:04,497 --> 00:21:07,867 The card has a little cryptic message on it. 373 00:21:09,502 --> 00:21:13,873 The card said, "Roses are red, violets are blue, 374 00:21:13,973 --> 00:21:17,343 my wife's cheating on me, your husband too." 375 00:21:19,011 --> 00:21:21,847 And the end of the note reads, "Check your Facebook, 376 00:21:21,947 --> 00:21:23,449 we need to talk, Mike." 377 00:21:26,886 --> 00:21:29,088 [Tina] The affair with Jay has been over for months, 378 00:21:29,188 --> 00:21:31,257 so Jay's wife finds it a little odd. 379 00:21:33,692 --> 00:21:37,329 Mike tells her that he has installed a spy app on Laurie, 380 00:21:37,429 --> 00:21:40,633 his wife's phone, due to his suspicions of the affair, 381 00:21:40,733 --> 00:21:43,035 and that he has captured several text messages 382 00:21:43,135 --> 00:21:46,672 and photographs between Laurie and Jay. 383 00:21:46,772 --> 00:21:49,642 [Jillian] It seems like Mike wants revenge for Laurie's affairs, 384 00:21:49,742 --> 00:21:51,944 and she tells friends that he's been stalking her. 385 00:21:57,116 --> 00:21:59,552 [Strickland] Laurie says that Mike keeps popping up. 386 00:21:59,652 --> 00:22:01,887 She'll see him driving beside her. 387 00:22:09,295 --> 00:22:13,299 Laurie felt the need to protect the children 388 00:22:13,399 --> 00:22:15,000 and protect them from Michael. 389 00:22:22,308 --> 00:22:25,444 But after all this time, no one has seen Mike in person 390 00:22:25,544 --> 00:22:26,679 except for Laurie. 391 00:22:29,648 --> 00:22:32,484 [Strickland] Two and a half years after Mike was last seen, 392 00:22:32,585 --> 00:22:34,620 one of Mike's close childhood friends 393 00:22:34,720 --> 00:22:36,455 ends up calling the sheriff's office 394 00:22:36,555 --> 00:22:37,690 to find out what's going on. 395 00:22:37,790 --> 00:22:38,791 [phone ringing] 396 00:22:40,192 --> 00:22:41,627 [Tamara] The sheriff's office responds 397 00:22:41,727 --> 00:22:44,263 at the Shaver residence to investigate. 398 00:22:44,363 --> 00:22:46,899 Laurie answers, says, "No, Mike's not here." 399 00:22:46,999 --> 00:22:49,301 The deputy asks if he can walk around. 400 00:22:49,401 --> 00:22:51,637 She's very cordial and friendly, and she says, 401 00:22:51,737 --> 00:22:52,938 "Yes, you can do that." 402 00:22:59,778 --> 00:23:01,380 The deputies look around the property 403 00:23:01,480 --> 00:23:03,349 and all seems normal, but when they get 404 00:23:03,449 --> 00:23:06,585 to the fire pit, one of them notices something strange. 405 00:23:11,891 --> 00:23:15,227 The deputy then notices a darkened area, kind of like 406 00:23:15,327 --> 00:23:17,062 a depression in the concrete. 407 00:23:20,633 --> 00:23:22,301 The deputy asks her, "Have you ever buried 408 00:23:22,401 --> 00:23:24,670 any of your livestock here?" She says, "No." 409 00:23:26,105 --> 00:23:28,374 And he asks her, "Well, is your husband buried here?" 410 00:23:31,644 --> 00:23:32,878 She says, "That's ridiculous." 411 00:23:35,748 --> 00:23:37,349 At that point, her demeanor changes. 412 00:23:37,449 --> 00:23:38,751 She kicks him off her property. 413 00:23:38,851 --> 00:23:40,619 She doesn't wanna talk about the fire pit at all. 414 00:23:43,422 --> 00:23:45,324 Knowing that no one's seen Mike in about 415 00:23:45,424 --> 00:23:47,793 two and a half years, except for Laurie, 416 00:23:47,893 --> 00:23:49,561 the Lake County Sheriff's Office 417 00:23:49,662 --> 00:23:52,531 launches a missing persons investigation into Mike Shaver. 418 00:23:54,433 --> 00:23:57,202 [Strickland] So, with the knowledge that he had been texting his family, 419 00:23:57,303 --> 00:24:00,539 I thought, "Surely this guy is alive somewhere." 420 00:24:00,639 --> 00:24:03,542 Maybe Laurie was just offended by the line of questioning, 421 00:24:03,642 --> 00:24:05,878 and that's why she told the deputies to leave, 422 00:24:05,978 --> 00:24:07,179 and we just need to find him. 423 00:24:09,315 --> 00:24:11,483 In order to find Mike, detectives start looking 424 00:24:11,583 --> 00:24:12,985 into his digital footprint. 425 00:24:14,286 --> 00:24:17,022 You typically can't just fall off the face of the earth, 426 00:24:17,122 --> 00:24:19,625 so my first step was to start seeing, where is 427 00:24:19,725 --> 00:24:22,828 he spending money? Is he getting paid? 428 00:24:22,928 --> 00:24:25,197 Once we started getting his bank records back, 429 00:24:25,297 --> 00:24:28,834 we realized that most of the activity had stopped 430 00:24:28,934 --> 00:24:31,971 early November of 2015. 431 00:24:32,071 --> 00:24:33,072 That was odd. 432 00:24:35,474 --> 00:24:39,044 The tractor show was the beginning of November 2015. 433 00:24:39,144 --> 00:24:41,747 That was the last time, that we know of 434 00:24:41,847 --> 00:24:43,349 anybody seeing Mike. 435 00:24:46,452 --> 00:24:49,989 We saw no record that he had worked anywhere, filed taxes, 436 00:24:50,089 --> 00:24:52,057 had a cell phone, used a credit card. 437 00:24:53,058 --> 00:24:54,893 His driver's license had expired. 438 00:24:54,994 --> 00:24:57,363 He didn't renew it anywhere in the country. 439 00:24:57,463 --> 00:24:59,198 His FAA medical had expired, 440 00:24:59,298 --> 00:25:01,133 which means he wasn't a pilot anymore. 441 00:25:03,402 --> 00:25:06,038 What that told us was either Mike was completely living 442 00:25:06,138 --> 00:25:07,206 off the grid somewhere... 443 00:25:08,607 --> 00:25:09,608 or that he was dead. 444 00:25:19,785 --> 00:25:22,788 To find out where Mike is, alive or dead, 445 00:25:22,888 --> 00:25:26,291 I wanted to talk to Laurie, but Laurie's already told us 446 00:25:26,392 --> 00:25:28,293 that she won't talk to us. 447 00:25:28,394 --> 00:25:31,764 So I went and talked to Travis, Laurie's now husband, 448 00:25:31,864 --> 00:25:36,702 and Travis told me that Laurie had told him 449 00:25:36,802 --> 00:25:38,670 something bad had happened on the property. 450 00:25:40,706 --> 00:25:43,542 [Tamara] Travis said, "It's not that Mike is missing, 451 00:25:43,642 --> 00:25:45,744 "it's that he's no longer walking the earth 452 00:25:45,844 --> 00:25:47,713 and there's a body on the property." 453 00:25:50,349 --> 00:25:54,219 On March 9th of 2018, we executed a search warrant 454 00:25:54,319 --> 00:25:56,155 on the Shaver property. 455 00:25:56,255 --> 00:25:57,689 [dog barking] 456 00:26:00,759 --> 00:26:03,762 Using ground-penetrating radar and the cadaver dogs... 457 00:26:05,998 --> 00:26:07,866 ...the team discovered the bullet casings, 458 00:26:07,966 --> 00:26:09,835 but they still haven't found signs of a body. 459 00:26:17,743 --> 00:26:19,611 We started thinking about this fire pit. 460 00:26:20,679 --> 00:26:21,980 We haven't even touched it. 461 00:26:29,555 --> 00:26:31,990 As the sun's starting to go down, we start digging 462 00:26:32,091 --> 00:26:35,060 a little bit to get the heavy concrete out of the way. 463 00:26:38,363 --> 00:26:40,866 And probably about two, two-and-a-half feet 464 00:26:40,966 --> 00:26:42,601 under the concrete pit, 465 00:26:44,736 --> 00:26:47,372 I hit something hard with the shovel. 466 00:26:51,443 --> 00:26:53,979 Immediately, I knew that we had found 467 00:26:54,079 --> 00:26:55,347 the remains of Mike Shaver. 468 00:27:01,153 --> 00:27:02,421 [reporter] We do have breaking details here. 469 00:27:02,521 --> 00:27:06,558 We can tell you that they have found a arm bone in a fire pit 470 00:27:06,658 --> 00:27:08,760 behind the home here that the Shavers shared. 471 00:27:11,830 --> 00:27:14,099 [Tamara] We returned the next day to the Shaver house. 472 00:27:14,199 --> 00:27:17,002 We were able to find almost a complete skeleton... 473 00:27:19,505 --> 00:27:23,475 wrapped in a tarp secured with ratchet straps. 474 00:27:23,575 --> 00:27:27,379 The remains were dressed in socks, shorts, 475 00:27:27,479 --> 00:27:29,648 underwear, and a T-shirt. 476 00:27:29,748 --> 00:27:33,952 We saw what appeared to be a bullet hole in the skull. 477 00:27:42,728 --> 00:27:43,896 We don't have a confirmation yet 478 00:27:43,996 --> 00:27:47,132 that this is Michael Shaver, but what are the odds 479 00:27:47,232 --> 00:27:49,735 of another set of human remains being 480 00:27:49,835 --> 00:27:52,738 on Laurie Shaver's property while Mike Shaver's missing? 481 00:27:55,040 --> 00:27:56,241 Obviously, we will be working with 482 00:27:56,341 --> 00:27:59,745 the medical examiner's office to get the identity confirmed. 483 00:28:01,914 --> 00:28:04,583 The Shaver family sees their son's house on TV, 484 00:28:04,683 --> 00:28:07,252 gets in their car, and drives down there. 485 00:28:07,352 --> 00:28:09,955 [Strickland] I spoke with the Shaver family. 486 00:28:11,056 --> 00:28:14,159 Mr. Shaver was quiet, reserved. 487 00:28:14,259 --> 00:28:18,497 Trying to process everything was of course, difficult for him. 488 00:28:18,597 --> 00:28:21,767 [Tamara] We still had to positively identify the body. 489 00:28:21,867 --> 00:28:24,870 So we obtained DNA from Mike Shaver's dad 490 00:28:26,205 --> 00:28:29,374 and positively and quickly identified him through DNA. 491 00:28:31,677 --> 00:28:33,745 We were really hoping that we could find him 492 00:28:33,845 --> 00:28:35,714 and, you know, say, "Hey, you gotta be in touch 493 00:28:35,814 --> 00:28:39,384 with your family better." But it was Michael Shaver. 494 00:28:44,156 --> 00:28:48,660 [Cory] News came on, and it said, "Breaking news, body found 495 00:28:48,760 --> 00:28:50,162 in backyard." 496 00:28:50,262 --> 00:28:52,831 And all of a sudden, I see Mike's picture 497 00:28:52,931 --> 00:28:55,534 up on the screen. And I'm like... 498 00:28:55,634 --> 00:28:56,668 no. 499 00:28:58,670 --> 00:29:01,039 At that point, I just -- I started to cry. 500 00:29:01,139 --> 00:29:02,107 And... 501 00:29:03,675 --> 00:29:06,078 I looked at my wife and I said, "That bitch murdered him." 502 00:29:10,182 --> 00:29:13,151 Mike's remains were autopsied and it was discovered 503 00:29:13,252 --> 00:29:15,454 his cause of death was a single gunshot wound 504 00:29:15,554 --> 00:29:16,788 to the back of the head. 505 00:29:16,888 --> 00:29:19,157 And his manner of death was homicide. 506 00:29:19,258 --> 00:29:21,760 The projectile used to kill Mike was still in his skull 507 00:29:21,860 --> 00:29:23,095 when we found the body. 508 00:29:23,195 --> 00:29:28,100 And it was determined to be a .38-caliber class projectile. 509 00:29:28,200 --> 00:29:31,637 I called Laurie and told her that we discovered 510 00:29:31,737 --> 00:29:34,306 human remains in her backyard. 511 00:29:34,406 --> 00:29:36,375 [phone ringing] 512 00:29:58,764 --> 00:30:00,432 So after I told Laurie that we found 513 00:30:00,532 --> 00:30:02,901 human skeletal remains in her backyard, 514 00:30:03,001 --> 00:30:04,503 she said, "Thank you," 515 00:30:04,603 --> 00:30:06,438 much like you would at a drive-thru 516 00:30:06,538 --> 00:30:08,173 or a grocery store when you check out. 517 00:30:12,077 --> 00:30:14,112 [chuckles softly] 518 00:30:14,212 --> 00:30:17,582 I think that a normal person, their response is gonna be 519 00:30:17,683 --> 00:30:18,717 a little bit more... 520 00:30:20,018 --> 00:30:22,521 dramatic than the one that I received. 521 00:30:22,621 --> 00:30:24,323 I immediately thought to myself, 522 00:30:24,423 --> 00:30:25,557 "This woman killed him." 523 00:30:28,293 --> 00:30:30,295 [Jillian] At this point, authorities believe all signs 524 00:30:30,395 --> 00:30:32,898 are pointing to Laurie Shaver, but they're looking 525 00:30:32,998 --> 00:30:36,001 for more circumstantial evidence to build their case against her. 526 00:30:37,169 --> 00:30:40,105 [Tamara] Although having your husband's body buried on your property 527 00:30:40,205 --> 00:30:43,909 does make Laurie look guilty, that doesn't 100% guarantee 528 00:30:44,009 --> 00:30:45,977 that she's the person who killed him 529 00:30:46,078 --> 00:30:47,913 or who put him there. 530 00:30:48,013 --> 00:30:50,549 According to the autopsy, we knew that Mike had been 531 00:30:50,649 --> 00:30:54,553 deceased for quite a while, but this didn't match up 532 00:30:54,653 --> 00:30:58,123 with Mike's social media and texts at that time. 533 00:30:58,223 --> 00:31:01,159 So one of the things we did was look back at times 534 00:31:01,259 --> 00:31:03,428 when his family thought they were texting him 535 00:31:03,528 --> 00:31:06,331 or he was posting on Facebook and try to find out 536 00:31:06,431 --> 00:31:09,935 who was actually behind that social media presence. 537 00:31:10,035 --> 00:31:14,373 We noticed that after November of 2015, when Mike would update 538 00:31:14,473 --> 00:31:18,310 his Facebook page or make a post, the IP address would 539 00:31:18,410 --> 00:31:21,079 come back to the same IP address that Laurie, 540 00:31:21,179 --> 00:31:23,949 sometimes within a few minutes, would use to update 541 00:31:24,049 --> 00:31:27,486 her Facebook, which told us that these posts, 542 00:31:27,586 --> 00:31:29,788 they were being made at the same location. 543 00:31:32,023 --> 00:31:34,960 Knowing she's under suspicion for Mike's murder, Laurie Shaver 544 00:31:35,060 --> 00:31:37,562 reaches out to her attorney, Jeffrey Wiggs. 545 00:31:46,772 --> 00:31:49,508 Early on, Laurie Shaver relayed to me 546 00:31:49,608 --> 00:31:52,811 that she had not shot Michael Shaver. 547 00:31:54,946 --> 00:31:57,983 We met with the prosecutor, and I said, "Well, there's 548 00:31:58,083 --> 00:32:00,318 some other actors in this." 549 00:32:00,419 --> 00:32:02,254 Laurie's attorney gave us two names. 550 00:32:02,354 --> 00:32:03,789 One was Jay Townsend, 551 00:32:03,889 --> 00:32:06,124 and the other one was James Ballew, 552 00:32:06,224 --> 00:32:09,795 the men that Laurie had affairs with in the past. 553 00:32:09,895 --> 00:32:13,565 And when we interviewed Jay and his wife, his wife told us 554 00:32:13,665 --> 00:32:16,334 this story about the flowers and the months' worth 555 00:32:16,435 --> 00:32:18,703 of text messages between her and Mike, 556 00:32:19,704 --> 00:32:22,607 who we now know was most likely deceased when that took place. 557 00:32:24,242 --> 00:32:29,481 I found that flowers had been purchased using Laurie Shaver's 558 00:32:29,581 --> 00:32:33,919 bank account, so that was a clue that Laurie is the person 559 00:32:34,019 --> 00:32:35,954 that sent the flowers and not Mike. 560 00:32:37,489 --> 00:32:41,493 That was a pretty big slip-up from Laurie. 561 00:32:43,762 --> 00:32:46,932 In September of 2020, the prosecutor believes 562 00:32:47,032 --> 00:32:49,301 that they have enough circumstantial evidence 563 00:32:49,401 --> 00:32:51,169 for an arrest. 564 00:32:51,269 --> 00:32:53,605 Breaking at noon, the wife of a man whose remains were 565 00:32:53,705 --> 00:32:55,807 found buried in a backyard has been arrested 566 00:32:55,907 --> 00:32:57,509 two years after the discovery. 567 00:32:57,609 --> 00:32:59,177 [reporter] The Lake County Sheriff's Office just arrested 568 00:32:59,277 --> 00:33:02,981 Laurie Shaver on a warrant of second-degree homicide. 569 00:33:03,081 --> 00:33:04,916 [Tina] Laurie, however, maintains her innocence, 570 00:33:05,016 --> 00:33:07,752 and while out on bail, she even posts a video 571 00:33:07,853 --> 00:33:11,089 to YouTube asking people to donate for her legal fees. 572 00:33:12,557 --> 00:33:15,927 I'm coming before you guys today just to let you know 573 00:33:16,027 --> 00:33:20,432 that we have our suspicions, but I don't know why I've been 574 00:33:20,532 --> 00:33:22,734 targeted, why I've been set up 575 00:33:22,834 --> 00:33:25,670 or charged with this heinous crime. 576 00:33:25,770 --> 00:33:27,005 I am not guilty. 577 00:33:28,640 --> 00:33:32,277 Laurie told me Michael was really very controlling. 578 00:33:32,377 --> 00:33:35,547 He battered and abused her for years, and it was 579 00:33:35,647 --> 00:33:37,649 an atmosphere of a lot of violence. 580 00:33:38,917 --> 00:33:41,920 100%, it broke my heart to have Mike painted in that light 581 00:33:42,020 --> 00:33:43,788 because, honestly, I don't think he had 582 00:33:43,889 --> 00:33:45,156 a bad bone in his body. 583 00:33:46,825 --> 00:33:49,728 Laurie's out on bail for about four years, and it finally goes 584 00:33:49,828 --> 00:33:51,663 to trial in September 2024. 585 00:33:54,933 --> 00:33:57,536 [Tina] As the trial begins, no one could have anticipated 586 00:33:57,636 --> 00:34:01,706 the surprise theory the defense puts forward of how Mike died. 587 00:34:01,806 --> 00:34:04,910 Laurie and Mike's 16-year-old daughter, Isabelle, 588 00:34:05,010 --> 00:34:06,878 who would have been seven years old at the time 589 00:34:06,978 --> 00:34:09,380 of Mike's death, is called to the stand. 590 00:34:12,551 --> 00:34:16,521 The story was that the seven-year-old heard 591 00:34:16,621 --> 00:34:19,623 Mike and Laurie getting into an argument in the house. 592 00:34:24,129 --> 00:34:26,130 [voice trembling] 593 00:34:28,967 --> 00:34:30,969 [sobbing] 594 00:34:59,864 --> 00:35:01,700 [Tina] Isabelle is referring to Jay Townsend, 595 00:35:01,800 --> 00:35:03,969 whose full name is Jereme Townsend. 596 00:35:04,069 --> 00:35:06,304 According to Isabelle, Laurie had met Jay 597 00:35:06,404 --> 00:35:08,173 a month before Mike disappeared. 598 00:35:09,641 --> 00:35:12,644 [Tamara] Seemingly out of nowhere, Jay appears to deal 599 00:35:12,744 --> 00:35:14,279 with the situation. 600 00:35:14,379 --> 00:35:16,848 Mike's still alive, so he grabs the gun from her 601 00:35:16,948 --> 00:35:18,316 and shoots him again. 602 00:35:19,718 --> 00:35:21,219 Tells Laurie to, "Take the kids to school. 603 00:35:21,319 --> 00:35:23,021 I'll take care of the body." 604 00:35:25,890 --> 00:35:28,226 But when they cross-examined her, you can see that 605 00:35:28,326 --> 00:35:29,427 that doesn't make sense. 606 00:35:54,052 --> 00:35:56,321 There's just one problem. 607 00:35:56,421 --> 00:35:59,557 There was only one bullet hole in the back of the skull. 608 00:36:02,293 --> 00:36:04,596 [Cory] It pissed a lot of us off that she would try 609 00:36:04,696 --> 00:36:06,598 to blame this on her daughter. 610 00:36:07,932 --> 00:36:10,535 What mother would let their daughter take the fall 611 00:36:10,635 --> 00:36:12,303 for their crime? 612 00:36:12,404 --> 00:36:15,206 [Jillian] This is totally different than what Isabelle told investigators 613 00:36:15,306 --> 00:36:16,608 back in 2020. 614 00:36:16,708 --> 00:36:19,377 When Mike's remains were first found, she said that she has 615 00:36:19,477 --> 00:36:22,113 no idea what happened to her dad and that he just disappeared. 616 00:36:23,815 --> 00:36:26,651 [Tamara] I've never met Laurie, but just from investigating 617 00:36:26,751 --> 00:36:29,587 this case, she seems to manipulate even those 618 00:36:29,688 --> 00:36:31,990 she loves the most to get what she wants. 619 00:36:33,191 --> 00:36:34,659 Laurie wanted it to be essentially 620 00:36:34,759 --> 00:36:37,595 a self-defense claim, but she couldn't take responsibility 621 00:36:37,696 --> 00:36:39,931 and say, "I shot Mike." 622 00:36:40,031 --> 00:36:41,900 Someone else had to shoot Mike. 623 00:36:42,000 --> 00:36:44,836 A seven-year-old can't dispose of a body. 624 00:36:44,936 --> 00:36:47,005 She couldn't take responsibility for that even. 625 00:36:47,105 --> 00:36:48,907 Her boyfriend had to swoop out of nowhere 626 00:36:49,007 --> 00:36:50,308 and dispose of the body. 627 00:36:51,876 --> 00:36:54,312 Later in the trial, Laurie Shaver takes the stand 628 00:36:54,412 --> 00:36:55,447 in her own defense. 629 00:36:59,250 --> 00:37:03,822 I had recommended that Laurie not testify, but I think 630 00:37:03,922 --> 00:37:05,924 she wanted to get her word in. 631 00:37:06,991 --> 00:37:09,494 Laurie's testimony lines up pretty closely with Isabelle's. 632 00:37:58,877 --> 00:38:01,346 The trial lasts about a week, and the jury comes back 633 00:38:01,446 --> 00:38:03,481 with a decision in less than a day. 634 00:38:03,581 --> 00:38:05,583 [dramatic music playing] 635 00:38:25,837 --> 00:38:27,372 Michael's family, you could tell 636 00:38:27,472 --> 00:38:29,707 there was just a sense of relief. 637 00:38:29,808 --> 00:38:32,744 It had been nine years for them from the time they last saw him. 638 00:38:35,580 --> 00:38:36,581 Elation. 639 00:38:38,917 --> 00:38:40,718 Elation. We were very happy. 640 00:38:40,819 --> 00:38:42,187 This was a long time coming. 641 00:38:42,287 --> 00:38:44,489 Finally, they got to see the end result, 642 00:38:44,589 --> 00:38:45,890 and justice served. 643 00:38:45,990 --> 00:38:48,726 While this will not bring our beloved Michael back, 644 00:38:48,827 --> 00:38:51,663 our family can finally, after all these years, 645 00:38:51,763 --> 00:38:52,964 start to get closure. 646 00:38:54,165 --> 00:38:57,869 When I learned she was guilty of killing Mike, 647 00:38:57,969 --> 00:39:01,406 I dropped down to the ground on my knees and I cried. 648 00:39:01,506 --> 00:39:03,808 My friend finally got justice. 649 00:39:05,243 --> 00:39:08,713 But then I was like, "Crap, what about the kids?" 650 00:39:08,813 --> 00:39:12,417 [Strickland] When you see the Shaver kids hearing that their mom is 651 00:39:12,517 --> 00:39:14,719 guilty of second-degree murder and then going to prison 652 00:39:14,819 --> 00:39:16,955 for the rest of her life, I mean, there's no winners. 653 00:39:19,357 --> 00:39:23,928 After the trial, Michael Shaver's parents filed 654 00:39:24,028 --> 00:39:27,632 a petition to gain custody of those kids. 655 00:39:27,732 --> 00:39:31,336 But Laurie's given Travis, her husband, power of attorney 656 00:39:31,436 --> 00:39:32,704 to take care of the children. 657 00:39:34,739 --> 00:39:36,741 [Tamara] I do feel this was an abusive relationship, 658 00:39:36,841 --> 00:39:39,244 with Laurie being the abuser. 659 00:39:39,344 --> 00:39:42,380 I think that what prevented him from coming forward was 660 00:39:42,480 --> 00:39:44,449 he wanted to keep his family together 661 00:39:44,549 --> 00:39:46,684 and he wanted to be a father to his kids. 662 00:39:48,753 --> 00:39:51,723 Ultimately, that abuse led to the extreme, 663 00:39:51,823 --> 00:39:52,991 and Laurie murdered Mike. 664 00:40:09,040 --> 00:40:13,578 [Cory] Having Mike in your life was a blessing, because the level 665 00:40:13,678 --> 00:40:17,749 of dedication that he showed to not only his kids 666 00:40:17,849 --> 00:40:20,551 and his friends is unparalleled. 667 00:40:20,652 --> 00:40:24,322 You will never find that in most people. 668 00:40:24,422 --> 00:40:27,659 He was always that man you could depend on every single time. 669 00:40:29,560 --> 00:40:31,696 Mike is definitely truly missed. 670 00:40:31,796 --> 00:40:33,898 There's honestly not a day that goes by that I actually 671 00:40:33,998 --> 00:40:36,668 don't think about him. I think about him quite a lot. 672 00:40:37,802 --> 00:40:47,645 [somber music] 673 00:40:47,745 --> 00:40:57,755 [music continues] 674 00:41:16,140 --> 00:41:18,109 [Dispatcher] Boston 9-1-1. 675 00:41:21,512 --> 00:41:24,015 There were so many bizarre elements to this case. 676 00:41:24,115 --> 00:41:27,518 [Newscaster] 25-year-old Mariah Wilson shot multiple times. 677 00:41:27,618 --> 00:41:30,488 Whoever did this, it was a very personal act. 678 00:41:30,588 --> 00:41:32,156 [screaming] 679 00:41:32,256 --> 00:41:34,292 I want to hear from you. I think you know what happened.