Crimeatorium
Part 3: The State of Florida vs Laurie Shaver | The Murder of Michael Shaver
Thu, 19 Dec 2024
Part 3: Laurie Shaver was a Florida woman whose seemingly ordinary life unraveled when authorities uncovered the body of her husband, Michael Shaver, buried in their backyard beneath a concrete slab. Michael, born in New York and just 33 years old at the time, was a Disney employee who disappeared in 2015. For years, Laurie claimed he had simply walked away from their marriage. However, suspicions grew when family and friends reported him missing in 2018, leading investigators to uncover the truth. Laurie Shaver was charged with second-degree murder in connection with her husband's death. This episode presents a condensed version of her trial, edited for clarity and length.The prosecution opening statement begins at about 30 seconds in.Contact:[email protected] Blog for updates and insights:https://crimeatorium.com/blogSupport:Donations are appreciated, if you would like to help support the show, use the link below and buy me a burrito and a Diet Pepsi:http://Ko-fi.com/crimeatoriumFor $3 a month, you can support this show on Patreon, in return you will receive ad free, early, and bonus episodeshttps://www.patreon.com/crimeatoriumIf you like the podcast, please share it on social media and with friends, and take a minute to leave a review for Crimeatorium on Spotify, Podchaser or Apple Podcasts.Music:CO.AG Musichttps://www.youtube.com/@co.agmusic1823Thank you for listening!Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/crimeatorium9009/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
Good morning.
Can you please introduce yourself to the jury?
Good morning. I am Robert Seha. I am the owner and operator of the equestrian facility on the premises of the location that you guys were all talking about in this case, behind.
Sorry. When you're talking about you operate that facility, was that a piece of property which was neighbor to the chamber residence? Correct. And through that, did you meet Lori Shaver? Yes. And do you see her in the courtroom today? Can you identify her by something that she's wearing?
Yes. Right over here in the black blazer.
Did you ever know Michael Shaver?
No.
Had you ever met Travis Filmer? I have. Now, when did your business move into that property?
2016, operations started to begin.
And you remember what month?
The summer months.
Now, at some point, did you purchase a firearm from Lori Shaver? Yes. And what was the circumstances that that happened?
Circumstances where I got a text, would you be interested in a firearm or someone that you know?
And who was that text from?
Lori Shaver.
Okay. And did you express potential interest? Yes. And can you describe the firearm that you missed out on?
Yes, it's a pink 38 special with black handle and a little bit of chrome or gray. Did you end up purchasing this weapon? Yes.
Now, at some point, law enforcement had come on to the property for a couple of days executing a search warrant. Were you aware or did you ever see that activity? Yes. Do you remember when the purchase of that weapon was in relation to that search?
Approximately three months, two to three months beforehand. And did you end up purchasing that weapon?
Yes. I'm going to show you what's been previously been marked as States Incident 4, identification. Without taking that out or anything like that, do you recognize that firearm?
Yes, I do.
Is that the firearm that you purchased from Orange?
Yes.
And the color and other features of it are distinctive to you?
The colors match and very distinctive.
After that purchase occurred, at some point, did law enforcement come to make contact with you and ask about this firearm? Correct. And at that time, did you turn this firearm over too long? I did. Your Honor, at this time of state move, states exhibit far into evidence that states 26.
And we renew our objection. It's not relevant. It's not frugitive to any mature effect in this case. This gun is not that linked to this crime in any form or any manner.
All right, the objection is overruled. Estates R will be entered into evidence. Estates number 26.
When you purchased this gun, no statements were made from Ms. Shaver indicating that use in any crime or any ill motive purpose, correct? Correct. Do you know if Ms. Shaver had ever sold any other items from her residence? Not to my knowledge. Okay. Now, did there come a time when you contacted Ms. Shaver advising her that you'd seen somebody trespassing on her property? Correct. Okay.
Tell us about that.
Okay. As stated, we have the... Sidebar, please.
Hold on, sir.
So, sir, you had seen somebody trespassing upon the property, correct? Correct.
uh correct uh i wouldn't possibly say just trespass until we're from the horse i'll get it in perspective we are 10 acres away on the other side i see a human silhouette i don't know at that time if anyone was supposed to be there or not but from the current situation of i believe that lori was off the property no one should be there
At that point, I would assume it would be on the terms of trespassing, but not on the terms.
So you knew Lori was off the property at that time or away from the residence? Correct. No further questions. Thank you, George.
All right. Thank you. State? Just say, when did that happen?
I cannot recall. Was it 2019, 2020, 2021? It would be in the realm of... 2018. Okay.
So sometime in 2018. But you don't know when?
Springtime, possibly around 2018, if I'm recollecting around there.
And you didn't see this silhouette carrying anything or doing anything? No. You actually don't even know who this person is? No, no clue, nothing. And you are just assuming that this person was not supposed to be there? Correct. Nothing further than that.
Please introduce yourself. My name is Joseph Bray. Where do you work? I own JB Guns.
What is J.D. Cox?
It's a retail sporting goods firearm business.
Where is that one?
It's in Bushnell, Florida.
And have you ever had an occasion to meet Lori Shaver?
I did. I met her at an audio shop in Lake County.
And when you were there, did you overhear Ms. Shaver discussing with any other individuals the potential scale of firearms?
Yes, the owner of the audio shop, she was talking to him about possibly trading guns for maybe audio work. As an individual that owns a gun shop, was that of interest to you? It was. I sat back and waited for her to quit talking to the owner.
And once she walked away from the owner, I went up to him and said, if you're not interested in any of this, I would be interested in possibly asking her about purchasing the firearms. And are you aware whether or not she did in fact sell any of those firearms to the audio shop? I believe she did trade one firearm to the audio shop owner. Did you end up purchasing any firearms from her?
I did, yes sir.
And how many firearms and what was the price that you paid?
I purchased nine in total from her, and I believe we agreed on $1,000.
And what kind of firearms did you purchase?
There was a little bit of everything. There was an AR-15. There was a few Colt revolvers, older revolvers, Maverick 88 shotgun, an old 410 bolt-action shotgun, an old FN 1900, and there was a Marlin Model 60 and I believe a Winchester 94 revolver.
And at some point, did you reach out and tell law enforcement about these firearms that you had purchased?
I did, yes, sir. After I saw the news coverage about the missing person, I recognized the house and Ms. Shaver. And I reached out to a friend that worked at Sumter County.
And ultimately, did you relay this information to the Lake County Sheriff's Office?
I did, yes, sir.
Nothing further at this time.
Mr. Wiggs?
Yes, sir. Mr. Bryant? Was there a male with Ms. Shaver?
There was, yes, sir.
Tall man?
Yes.
Dark hair?
I don't remember his hair color. I just remember a taller, in-shape man with her.
Kind of sad? Mm-hmm. Okay. How high? Do you remember?
I do not. I just remember he was quite a bit taller than she was.
Yeah. Taller than me?
What's that, sir?
Taller than me?
I would say so.
Was he introduced to you at all?
I don't recall.
Okay. Now, do you happen to know whether or not any of these guns were tested by law enforcement?
As far as I'm aware, they were not.
Okay. Were any of these guns returned to you?
What do you mean, returned to me?
After law enforcement had done whatever they had to do with them. Did anybody tell you that we don't need these?
I had already sold the guns long before law enforcement found out about them.
So you had sold them? Yes, sir. Okay, when law enforcement spoke to you. But you recall this mail with Ms. Shaver, correct?
I do, yes, sir.
Okay, thank you.
Mr. Wright, when did you first see Scott's phone, Mr. Shaver?
Date-wise, I believe it was December 5th to like the 8th, somewhere right in there.
Nothing wrong with that. All right, thank you. Morning. Please introduce yourself to the jury.
Hi, my name is Travis. I'm Lori's husband.
And are you a convicted felon?
Correct.
How many times have you been convicted of felony?
I have two charges against me. Two convictions. And...
Would it help refresh your recollection of that if I showed you your judgment, sir? Sure. So do you remember this case? Yes. Yes. One felony there? Yep. In this case, two felonies.
So when I was 18, that was two?
So you have a total of three?
Okay, yep.
Do you agree with that?
I do.
Now, you said you're Lori Schieber's husband.
Correct.
Did you identify her?
Lori's right there.
And when you see her, is she Savannah?
The second.
And how did you meet Ms. Schieber?
I met Ms. Filmer through my brother. He... He knew her from the gym, and he introduced us at her residence at a get-together that he had put together with his now current wife.
And when was that get-together?
Late January 2016, I believe.
And why did your brother put together a gathering at her house?
He said it was something for work, a get-together for work.
Were you aware of any time that either your brother or his now wife was looking at this shit?
At that time, no.
When did they look at it?
I think his wife was there. She was there sometime before that, I guess.
So she was living there before that time frame in 2016? Correct. When did you and Ms. Shaver start dating?
Late May of 2016.
So between January and May, what was your relationship at that time?
We didn't have one.
Did he communicate, text, phone, anything like that to you?
We had a few conversations here and there, but I was in a relationship. She made it very clear to me the first night that we met that she was in a relationship. So we just didn't communicate.
At the time that you started dating, had she ever told you what her marital status was?
No, sir.
Had she ever told you that she was single but she had been previously divorced? No.
She told me that she was in a relationship with a gentleman, but at that time never got into any marital status.
Do you remember giving a deposition in this case?
I do.
Do you remember saying anything different about what her representations of her marital status was at that time?
At the time that we first met?
I was talking about when you started dating her. Did she ever talk about her marital status?
No.
Do you remember giving that deposition?
I remember having a deposition, correct.
We've got to go ahead and refer to page 4, line 25. Do you know any copy of that deposition? Go ahead and read to yourself line 24 and 25.
Yeah, that didn't happen at that time.
Had she ever told you that she was divorced?
Yes, sir.
All right. What was her ex-husband's name then? Michael. And what did she tell you about the whereabouts of her ex-husband at that time?
She just told me that they were divorced and that he wanted nothing to do with the family, did not know where he was, and he was not around.
And had she expressed to you that he left and wasn't having contact with the children? Correct. And how long did you date until you moved into her home?
A few months.
Do you remember about when you actually moved in, what month that would have been?
Probably July, late July.
And who all was living at that home at that time?
Lori, her two kids, and Becca.
And Rebecca is?
Rebecca.
That would be your brother's girlfriend at the time? Correct. And they're now married? Correct. How long did Rebecca stay living at that home? I don't know. Did she end up moving out around December 31st, 2016?
I have no idea.
And in December 31st, 2015, did you have some sort of commitment ceremony with Lori?
I'm sorry, you just said December 31st, 2015.
For correct me, December 31st, 2016.
Yes, sir.
And when you say commitment ceremony, what is that?
Just a commitment to each other under God.
And have you had any discussions about why you wouldn't just get legally married at that point?
Yes, sir.
And why did she tell you that she didn't want to get legally married?
Lori, when we were talking about marriage and conversation, told me that she did not want to sign... All right, sidebar, please.
Why did she tell you she did not want to get legally married?
She told me that due to the extreme trauma abuse of her previous marriage, she did not want to sign a contract with another man that she felt like gives the man to make her property.
All right. Do you remember giving a deposition where I asked you a very similar question?
Yes, sir.
And at that time, you said she didn't want to get married because she had financial issues. 100%. Okay.
Not what you just said. No, no. Together with what I just said.
All right. I'm going to go ahead and show you that deposition. I'm just going to go ahead and ask you to reference that section where you're talking about that. Yes, sir. And at that time, you did not say anything about the violence. It was about financial issues. I did not. Okay. Now when you're testifying, when your wife is facing murder charges, now your testimony has changed.
She was facing murder charges when we had that deposition.
But your testimony has changed.
It has not.
Now, in September of 2016, did you help pour a cement slab in the backyard of the residence where you were now living? I did. And who helped you with that? Lori. Did your brother help you with that as well? No, sir. In order to do that... Did you go and rent a cement mixer from Home Depot? I did. All right. I'm showing you. Show defense. You've been previously demarked with sentences of AA.
Do you recognize this receipt? Sure. And is that the receipt for the cement mixer that you rented as a help for this?
Yeah, it looked like one. All right.
You're all right. This time, the stated move states AA. And to evidence, this states number 27. Any objection? No objection.
And can you go ahead and just read out when that was rented?
When it was rented? Yes. The date says 9-12-2016.
At that commitment ceremony that you referenced in December of 2016, what was Lori wearing? A white dress. Okay. And did someone escort her to where you were?
Yes, I'm trying to remember who that was.
Was it your grandfather?
Yes, sir, there was.
Was there basically some sort of official there doing the proceeding? Correct. For anyone looking at this, this would look like a wedding. 100%. And had you represented to everyone that you were getting buried at that time? No. So no one thought that this was the wedding? No. Showing your witness what had been previously marked as CCC. Do you recognize that photograph?
Yes, sir.
Is that a photograph from this commitment ceremony? That is. Is this a true and accurate depiction of the ceremony on that day, December 31st, 2000?
Yes, sir.
All right, this time the seat moves CCC into evidence as the next exhibit.
Any objection?
Yes, sir. So at the time you were doing this ceremony in this fashion in front of your friends and family, you're saying that you had not represented this as a way.
That we told everybody it was a ceremony, correct.
Now, in 2018, law enforcement responds to your call. and eventually skeletal remains are found in your backyard. Do you remember that?
I do.
And at that time, did you ask Ms. Shaver how that body got there? I did not. So this person that you were in this committed relationship with that had told you that her husband had just left, just had no contact with the kids, there's a body found in the backyard, and you don't ask her a single question?
That's not exactly what happened. Lori called me on the day that the detective showed up at the house. I was at work. I had just gotten off work and she called me sobbing, crying, and I asked her what was wrong. She proceeded to tell me that detectives had shown up at the house and they were asking about Michael. She then told me that they had left. I told her I will be home shortly.
I worked real close to where we were living and I got home, walked in the house. As soon as I walked in the house, a detective knocked on the door. He proceeded to ask me if I knew anything about Michael. I said, no, I've never met him. I couldn't even tell you what he looked like if you showed me a picture. And which detectives did show me a picture. I was like, okay.
They just told me, we'll be in touch. And that was that. I walked back in the house. I told Lori, I said, it looks like something serious is going on. You need to get an attorney.
But specifically, you did not ask her anything about the fact that that body was from the backyard? Correct. Do you remember ever saying that at one point you did ask her about it and she said she had no idea about it?
No, sir. No.
After the body was discovered, did you speak with law enforcement?
I had multiple conversations with law enforcement.
Did you ever make the statement relaying from Ms. Chambers that it is not that he is missing and it's that he is no longer walking the face of this earth? Have you ever made that statement to law enforcement?
Thank you for bringing that up because there's a point of clarification. I understand what you're saying.
Please don't argue. Please answer the question.
Yes, sir.
I did not make that statement.
Okay.
You never made that statement to law?
Not exactly as you're saying it, no.
Did you ever make that statement to Robert Croker?
Not as you're saying it, no.
Who is Robert Croker?
He's somebody that I have done work for.
Is he a friend of yours?
No, sir.
Have you known him for a long time?
I have known of him for a long time.
You have no issues with him, though?
I do not.
You are now officially married to Ms. Schaefer, correct? Correct. When did that occur? 2020. Do you have any children with her? I do. How many? Two. What are their names?
Aralyn and Samuel.
Has your relationship with your brother and your family changed in any way since you started a relationship with Ms. Shane?
Not since I started a relationship with her since this investigation started.
Has there ever been a time where Ms. Shaver used your phone to text your brother or she was acting as if she was you?
Not to my knowledge.
Have you ever told anyone that she did that?
No.
Nothing further, Ted.
Mr. Wiggs. Yes, please. Travis, let's start with one of the last issues that the state was asking you, not some statement. The statement was implying you had made some statement possibly that Lori made about willing to stop walking this earth, something of that nature. Tell us the circumstances of any questioning by law enforcement.
Law enforcement wanted to have an interview with me, and I did not want to speak with them. One of the detectives had told me that if I do not speak with them, I will feel the full force of the United States government. I ended up having a conversation with that detective. I told him that I was working for Mr. Proper and that him and I were sitting on the back of my truck at the time.
And he asked me, what did I think was going on? And I proceeded to tell him that based on law enforcement's response, I didn't think that this was a welfare check. I didn't think that he was walking around anymore. I see.
Now, tell me about, did law enforcement come out to the residents and say they were conducting a welfare check? I believe so. Okay. Did you confront or speak with law enforcement in the backyard about their presence and why they were there?
No. The only time I spoke with law enforcement at the property was the day that they were doing their investigation. Okay.
Did law enforcement question you in the yard whether or not you saw anything unusual or anything of that nature?
During the interview, law enforcement asked me if I had ever seen anything unusual. And I pointed a place out in the very back of the yard and said, if I had to point something out, I would say this is, and it was a large mound. It was a large mound of dirt. So I pointed that out.
The officer had the property pulled up on his phone, Google Earth, and he proceeded to point me towards the fireplace and asked me if there was anything unusual about the fireplace. I said, no. I said, the only thing that I've ever seen unusual is this very large amount of dirt in the back of the property. He then directed me back to the fireplace. And he did that a few times.
And I just told him, I said, I have no idea what you're talking about. I see.
Okay. So there was a period of time at which this patio was poured, correct? I'm sorry, say that again? There was a period of time, as the state referenced, about Megs are being rented, you and Lori pouring the patio, correct? Yes, sir. Okay. Now, the state has suggested... that this day to death was, I believe, around 9-12-16. Objection, Your Honor. Okay.
Sidebar, please. There's an objection. All right. Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, a specific date was stated on the record. Please disregard that date. Thank you.
Thank you, Judge. So law enforcement directs you to this Patio, correct? Yes, sir. You helped lay the patio, correct? Yes, sir.
Did you see anything unusual as you laid the patio? No. When Lori and I first met the patio slash fireplace that is in question right now, the dirt was already graded out.
the form of the fireplace was already there so there was concrete concrete bags in one of the sheds that was at the property when i met lori how long had they sat on the property to your knowledge i have no idea they were there several months or what after lori and i met yeah oh it was it was months months Did there appear to be any hurry to lay a patio? No, sir.
In fact, the only reason why we decided to lay the patio was Isabel, Lori's oldest daughter, her birthday's in September. So we were going to have a large get-together, a birthday party, and the area around the fire pit was all mud. So we decided, well, the concrete's there in the shed. We're going to go ahead and lay that so people don't have to stand in mud during the celebration.
The mixer that you rented, did you use a credit card or cash? I don't remember. It could have been either or. There wasn't any effort to try to conceal your whereabouts, disguise your presence in there, correct? No. Anybody substitute their presence for you? No, sir. Did you ask anybody other than taking care of this personally? No, sir.
Did you see evidence of any crime within the residence the whole time you were there? Never. One moment, please, Judge.
Yes, sir. That's all I have.
Thank you, Judge.
Thank you, sir. Redirect. Yes, sir.
Can you please introduce yourself to the jury?
Robert Bob Proper. I live in Groveland. I'm not sure what all you need.
Do you know Travis Duller?
I do.
And how do you know him?
Through my church, Real Life Christian Church.
And how long have you known Mr. Duller?
Since approximately 2013, 2014, something like that.
And what is your relationship? A friend.
I believe in mentoring and try to work with young men. And he's somebody that I met, and we became friends.
And through that, have you ever met Lori Shaver? Yes. Has there ever been a time frame where you would socialize with Travis Fulmer and Lori Shaver?
Well, we did have some small group sessions together with other couples. We did financial counseling and some marital-type relationship counseling.
Did you have any personal knowledge about when their relationship started or when they went in together or anything like that?
Not specifically, no.
And has she ever made any representations about what had happened with her prior husband?
That she was divorced and he was gone.
At some point, an investigation starts, and law enforcement is at the Shaver property, and the remains of Michael Shaver are found. Did you have any conversations with Travis Filmer about what was going on at that time?
Not specifically about those actions. My interaction with him was a little bit different than that.
At any point did he tell you any statements about what Lori said about Kermit? Sidebar, please. Did Mr. Culver make a statement that he said represented the problem?
Yes.
What was that?
We were discussing Mr. Shaver's disappearance and he made the statement basically that it wasn't a matter of he was missing, he was no longer walking the earth.
Nothing further, Judge.
All right, Mr. Wiggs. Yeah, please to the court. And was that Mr. Filmer's opinion?
He's the one that told me.
Yeah. He made some statement to you that, well, maybe he stopped walking this earth, right?
He told me that it wasn't a matter of missing, that it was a matter of he wasn't walking the earth. That was what he said. That was his statement to me.
He speculated, right?
His statement to me.
It was his statement. Overruled. Please continue. I'm sorry?
That's what you speculated his thought process was, correct?
No, sir.
Did you get any statement in writing from the SAM?
I had no need to.
Did you have a counseling session with me?
I'm not a counselor. I'm a friend.
Did you do any counseling?
Not professionally.
Did you do any prenatal counseling?
Not professionally.
Okay. Well, I mean, you don't hold a degree.
Correct.
Do you unofficially hold yourself out and give any kind of counseling?
I routinely meet with young men and older men. I'm doing that tonight.
Okay. So you do some counseling and some unofficially counseling?
I would call it mentoring.
Mentoring. Okay. That's what you call it. But whatever Travis said to you, stop talking to him. All right.
Just let him know. Just my word. Okay.
All I'm doing is repeating what he's told me. Okay. I don't know what you mean by that, but I can... One person may watch TFR, are you mad at him? No, I'm not. He says he doesn't. No, I'm overruled.
Please proceed.
Somebody may watch TV and see something on TV and interpret it a little different than the person seated next to him, correct?
Certainly that can happen.
Thank you very much. Thank you. Redirect. All right, please be seated. All right, sir, I'm going to make a preliminary inquiry. I'll swear you in.
Please state and spell your full legal name. My name is Austin James Filmer, A-U-S-T-I-N-J-A-M-E-S-F-I-L-M-E-R. Please raise your right hand.
Do you solemnly swear or affirm that any testimony you give today shall be the truth, whole truth, nothing but the truth, so help you God? Yes, sir. All right, sir. And are you married? Yes, sir. Who is your wife?
Rebecca Urbanowski. Okay.
So Rebecca Urbanowski, not Filmer.
Correct. She didn't take my last name.
All right, sir. And... Have you at any time seen your wife, Rebecca Urbanowski, conducting any research regarding this case?
No, sir.
Did you see your wife viewing any media concerning this case? No, sir. Have you done any research concerning this case? Have you viewed any media concerning this case? No, sir. Has your wife, Rebecca, spoken to you about conducting any research? In the case? No, sir. Has she spoken to you about commenting, making any comments on social media about the case? No, sir. All right.
And does the state wish to inquire? No, sir. Okay. Mr. Wiggs?
No, sir. You know if your wife's looking at any social media?
No, sir. All right. Is that to the satisfaction of the parties? Yes. All right. Please introduce yourself.
My name's Austin Filmer.
You know Travis Filmer?
I do.
How do you know him?
He's my brother.
Are you older or younger?
We're twins.
So are you older or younger?
I'm four minutes older. All right. Do you know Lori Shaver? I do. And how do you know her? She's married to my brother. You see her in the front room and can you point her out? I do. She's sitting right there. Blonde hair, black jacket, polka dotted blouse.
Now, when did you first meet the defense?
I was actually at my place of employment December 2015, I believe. And where do you work? I work at a fitness center in Claremont.
At the time, what was that fitness center called?
That was Gold's Gym at the time. And has it changed ownership? Not ownership, but names. What is its current name? Fitness CF.
Are you married? I am, yes. And what's your wife's name? Rebecca Urbanowski. Did she also work at that same facility at that time frame? Yes, sir, she did. What circumstances did you meet Lori Shaber?
My position at the time was to do an initial consultation for anyone joining the gym. So she was scheduled to do the first consultation with me, and I conducted the evaluation.
And approximately when was this?
December 2015.
And through that meeting, did your now wife end up becoming involved with a shamer? Yes. And under what capacity was that?
So again, my job was to do a fitness evaluation and then place the potential client with a personal trainer. And my wife was a personal trainer at the time.
And did they start basically working together as a client-trainer relationship? Yes, sir. Did they end up becoming friends? Yes. And at a certain point, did Rebecca move into Lori's home?
Yes.
When was that?
Not long after. A month or two, maybe? Yeah, not long after.
So sometime early in 2016? Yes, sir, correct. At any point, did you live at that residence?
Not per address, but I was there a lot, and I spent a lot of time there.
And that was because your girlfriend at the time was living there? Yep, correct. And how long was Rebecca living at the Shea Residence? At least six months, at least. At some point, was there something that you believed to be a wedding in December 2016? Yes, sir, correct. Did Rebecca stay living at the home until that time?
Yes.
How did Travis and Lori end up getting together?
Through my wife and I. Well, she wasn't my wife at the time, but through my girlfriend and I at the time. My brother and I spent time together. We were together. They were friends and roommates, so we had an outing or two where they were introduced.
And did there come to be a period of time where your brother and Ms. Shaver started dating?
Yes, sir.
And when did that start?
I have to say maybe April, maybe.
And now we're talking 2016?
Yes, sir.
During this time frame that your now wife was living over there, was there ever a time that you were over helping pouring a cement slab in and around the fire pit? Yes, sir. And tell me about how that came to be.
Sure. My brother contacted me, asking me to help him pour concrete around an existing fire, fire pit, I should say. He stated that Lori wanted concrete poured around the fire pit itself. And I told him, sure, I'd help him out.
And you ever poured a smith's lap?
No, sir.
As your brother?
Not to my knowledge.
Did you guys have difficulties in pouring?
Yes, sir, we did.
Now, after the body was found underneath that slab, did you ever have any conversations with Morty or your brother about that? Not to a large extent. I'm just asking if you had the conversations. Up until that point, had Lori ever said anything about the whereabouts of her previous husband? Not to me directly.
Were you ever present when Travis was talking to detectives about things Lori had said about the body underneath that slab?
Yes, sir, I was.
And what did you hear him say to the detectives about her husband and the body underneath that slab?
Objection. You're safe.
Sidebar, please. What did you hear your brother say to the detectives about that?
So the conversation from the detectives was a conversation that my brother had with another gentleman. And they asked him details of Michael's whereabouts, if he's known anything about their whereabouts. And his reply was something along the lines of he's no longer walking the earth.
Now, since Lori became involved with your brother, has your relationship with him changed?
Extremely.
And how so?
For the negative.
Do you have as much contact with him?
Not nearly as much as we used to. Are you able to visit in that spot? No, I cannot go over there.
Has there ever been a time that you received text messages from your brother that you thought were unusual?
Yes, sir.
And why do they seem unusual to you?
I know the language that my brother and I use when we're speaking to each other. We say things like bro and dude. I have received texts where that language was completely changed. It was more of a direct language than anything.
And have you ever asked him about those messages and whether or not he sent them?
Yes, sir.
And what did he tell you about that?
He told me it was not him and that I was blocked on his phone.
Has he ever made any statements about Lori making those texts to you?
He has told me that she blocked me on his phone, yes.
But as far as the text messages that were unusual?
Yes, sir.
Sidebar, please. Mr. Filmer, the specific text messages I'm referring to are the ones that you thought were unusual and were out of character for your brother. You ever asked him about the source of those texts? Yes, sir. And what did he tell you?
Okay.
Now, December 31st, 2016, did you attend a wedding ceremony at the chamber residence? Yes, sir. And who was that between? My brother and Lori. Nothing further, Judge.
Mr. Wiggs?
You're talking about an email you received, correct? An email? Yeah, or text. A text, yes. Okay, so you get a text on one day. Your brother denies that he sent it, correct?
Yes, correct. Okay.
Do you have a witness to homicide in this case, correct?
No, sir.
Okay. You were not present to testify here about any event of violence that may have occurred, correct? Correct. Okay. What you're saying is you got an email on one day and your brother tells you where he's sitting, correct?
For the questions that were asked, yes.
Thank you.
Redirect?
No, sir.
Good morning. Can you please introduce yourself to the jury?
My name is Wilma Nicholas. Yes. He was my neighbor.
When you say he was your neighbor, where were you living?
Sandy Pines Road in Claremont.
Ultimately, when you're referring to being a neighbor, a neighbor to the residence where his body was especially found.
Yes.
As the neighbor, did you also know Lori Shearer? Yes. I see her in the courtroom and can you identify her by something that she's wearing?
She's sitting over at the defendant table wearing a black blazer.
How long did you live next door to the Shavers?
The entire time that they lived there.
You were there first?
Yes.
When did they first move in?
In 2014. What kind of neighborhood is it? It's rural, country, farm.
Now, I'm going to go ahead and show... Photograph number one from States Exhibit 15. Do you recognize this property?
Yes.
Okay. And what property is this?
That's the Shaver property.
Can you just step down and point without touching on the screen where your property is in relation to that?
Wharton. This is my house. This was a tech room, passport, garage, and a barn.
Is there any sort of fence or anything like that between the two properties?
It's a cattle fence that's just wire.
So it's nothing that will prevent you from seeing anything?
No. All right.
Go ahead and have a seat. Thank you. Now, would you ever socialize with them?
Yes, in the beginning we did.
Was there a period of time in 2014 that Michael Shaver moved out of the home?
Several periods of time.
And when did he move back in the home?
Well, he was gone periodically. Whenever there would be a dispute, she would have him leave, and then she would bring him back. So it was multiple times.
When was the last time that he moved?
It was 2015 in the summer.
Now, did you see as a neighbor or any of the times that you socialized Michael interacting with his children?
Yes, sometimes, yeah.
When you would see it, how was he?
Very loving, patient, calm.
Have you ever seen him do anything for the kids in the backyard? Yes. What types of things did he do?
Well, he built a barn. He built a chicken coop, I think a bunny hutch. He was working on a duck pond.
When did that construction start?
It was in the summer, I believe, of 2015.
And when we were talking about pushing in the duck pond, what type of work had been done on that?
He had dug an area. It wasn't very deep. He was pretty meticulous, too, with everything that he did there. So it was very neat and tidy.
Okay.
Okay.
Right here.
Okay. Now, eventually, was there a period of time where it changed from a hole of a duck pond to something else? Yes. And what was that?
Okay.
Thank you. Now, have you seen or spoken to Michael Shaver since November of 2013? No, I have not. When did you first notice that the hole, well, that the area that was supposed to be a duck pond had been filled in with a fire?
It would have been around in the spring of 2016, maybe early part of the year.
Now, between the time frame in November of 2015, where you left, saw, or spoke with Michael Schaefer, and when you noticed that that fire pit started being put in, did you spell anything unusual in the proximity of your home, the neighborhood, things of that nature? Yes. In this rural setting, are there time frames where there are dead animals, cattle, horses, things of that nature?
Once in a while, my neighbor behind me had cattle, and probably in 2007, 6, 7, a cow died on her pasture. She didn't bury it. She just left it there. So whenever the wind blew up to my house, it was horrible. It was disgusting. So I was very familiar with that smell.
Very distinctive smell.
You don't forget it.
Now, in that timeframe between November of 2015 and when the fire pit started being installed, was there a timeframe that you smelled that this thing would smell again?
Yes, I did.
Now, based on your prior experiences in the neighborhood with the livestock and cattle, did that cause an immediate concern?
Yes. Actually, my son and I were on the back porch, and we were talking, and I had been smelling it, but he had just come, and he wrinkled his nose and said, Do you smell that? And I said, Yeah.
But nothing rose from the level of he felt that he felt alone because of the other livestock or anything?
No.
At some point... That area that was being used as a fire pit, I have a cement slab put in. Yes. And you remember when that was?
It was around in 2016. I believe there's two layers of cement that was done. The first one I think was in the beginning of the year.
springtime and then later on in the year during the summer i know it was an area that they actually launched fireworks off of during the fourth of july so i believe it was covered by then nothing further judge mr wiggs yes please yes sir sam you testified that you had smelled the dead cow in that area correct many years ago yes okay and the
Shavers also had pigs, correct?
Not at that time.
Well, tell me what time it was.
Pigs came in probably later in 2016, I think.
Okay.
I think there was one pot-bellied pig that was in and out of the house, and I'm not sure exactly when that arrived.
Okay. That never happened.
Yes. Not dinner. Yeah, we did.
Yes.
I didn't go to their house to have dinner. We had invited them over to our place for, it was an Easter barbecue cookout, and I'd made Easter baskets for the two kids and my grandson, and they went and hunted eggs that day. Not inside the house, no.
In fact, looking at this photo... This is your house, right? Correct. And there's not a clear line of sight between your house and this fire pit, is there?
Yes, there is.
There's a clear line of sight? Yes. Can we look at that and see a clear line of sight? Yes. Okay. Now, you don't go to the Shaber residence, correct? Correct. Yeah, I'd been to it several times. Did you sit down with Ms. Shaver on occasion to have tea, sit there and talk to her?
Not having tea, but I do recall I did go one time and sat and had quite a lengthy conversation with her.
Was that complaining about the pigs?
No.
Did you ever complain to Ms. Shaver about any of the animals?
No, not to her, no.
Did they ever kill a pig over there?
I don't know. They had animals that died frequently over there.
Okay. So they had animals on the property. They had some pigs, correct?
Yes.
Okay. And there was a neighbor behind y'all with horses, correct?
They came in 2016 and started a horse farm back there.
Okay. So we had horses in the area, a lady with a cow that died. We had the shavers next door with some pigs, correct?
There were not pigs there at the time.
okay okay so do you know the date of death of michael shaver no okay so when you say at the time you don't know when michael shaver died do you i do know there was a period of time in 2015 and there weren't pigs there at that time they have any rabbits or other animals they did have rabbits and i believe that came a little later
And you said this was, when did you detect, or when was the patio put in?
I believe some cement was poured sometime around in the spring of 2016. I did not see it being poured.
So you never saw it pour. We see there's not really a clear line of sight from your house, correct?
Yes, there is.
Okay. One moment.
Yes, sir.
That's all I have. Thank you, Judge.
All right. Thank you. Redirect?
Nicholas, can you explain to the jury why you're saying you have a clear way outside over here?
Well, in the back, on the backside of my house, I had a really large deck porch. And from there, I could see directly over. Also, as I mentioned, it was a carport, which was completely open all the way through.
Nothing further, Chuck. All right. When you please introduce yourself to the jury.
My name is Megan Cleek. Where do you work now? I'm working for the University of Maryland Global Campus.
What do you do for that?
I'm a student advisor.
Where did you work before that?
Before that, I worked with the Maryland State Police as a member of the firearms section of their crime laboratory.
What did you do for their crime lab?
The possession of a firearms examiner within a crime laboratory is responsible for the receipt, evaluation, examination of evidence specific to firearms examination.
Were you provided some evidence in this case of State of Florida v. Lori Shaver? Yes, I was. Evidently, were you provided a firearm?
Yes, I was.
Were you provided a fired projectile?
Yes.
Schilling has put in reviews that states it's evidence 46. Do you recognize that item?
Yes, I do.
Is that firearm currently unloaded?
It is.
Can you describe to the jury, and if you could show it to the jury as you're describing it, describe the firearm.
This is one .38 Special Caliber Cobra Enterprises Model Shadow 5-shot revolver.
Did you examine that firearm?
Yes, I did.
Is that firearm considered a single or double action firearm?
This is a double action only firearm.
Does it require more effort to fire a double action firearm?
It does require a longer or more aggressive trigger pull. It requires both the cocking of the hammer and the releasing of the firing mechanism.
What's meant by the term turner pull?
Trigger pull would be the weight that is required to pull the trigger fully to the rear, cocking and releasing the firing mechanism.
When you examine this firearm, did you perform any kind of a trigger pull analysis? I did not. At the time, did Florida Department of Law Enforcement do that type of testing?
It would not have been required on this particular examination.
What did you do with that firearm to begin your examination of it?
The first step in the process of examining a firearm is to evaluate its design and its function. This is for safety purposes. So I documented the make, the model, the caliber of the firearm. I also documented how it would function.
What were your results of that?
That's where I determined, again, that this is a Cobra Enterprises firearm. It's a model shadow. It's a double action only function. It has a cylinder that holds five cartridges.
Did you test fire it?
I did, yes.
What's your purpose in actually firing the gun?
The purpose of firing the firearm in the laboratory is one, to determine its function. The second is to create known test fires. These are known exemplars, bullets and cartridge cases that I know because I processed the firearm to have been fired in and from this specific firearm.
Did the firearm function as it should when you fired it?
Yes, it did.
I'm assuming when you fire the gun and retrieve those test fires, you fire it into like a water canister of some sort?
Yes, it's a large tank of water.
Are you then able to take those fired projectiles and compare them to other projectiles provided to you by law enforcement?
Yes. Creating known test fires allows me to compare unknown bullets in cartridge cases to, again, exemplars that I know to have been fired from a specific firearm.
Did you do that in this case?
Yes, I did.
What kind of markings are left on a projectile after it's fired out of the gun?
The class characteristic markings that are left on a projectile as the result of firing would be the land and groove impressions. These are the helical grooves inside the barrel of a firearm that produce the spin to a bullet, much like we throw a football with a spin, a bullet is fired with a spin. These helical grooves have a certain number, a certain direction, and a certain width.
And those direction, width, and number will differ between firearms. There are also individual characteristics that are transferred to a bullet during the firing process. These are called striations. They're resultant of the manufacturing process in that those helical grooves are cut by a tool into the barrel of a firearm. They're unique to that firearm.
You also provided a projectile recovered from the stall of Michael Shaver.
Yes.
You know, he wasn't introduced into the United States until he was 20. Do you recognize that item first?
Yes, I do.
Did you examine that projectile recovered from the skull that he just looked at?
Yes, I did.
Can you describe to the jury what condition that projectile was in when you first looked at it?
The projectile was in very rough condition, both its shape and material that was surrounding the projectile upon its receipt.
Because of the condition of that projectile, and if you consider that projectile was located in the ground for some period of time, could that affect the markings left on that projectile by the firearm that fired? Yes. Despite the damage... the damaged condition of that projectile, were you able to determine the caliber of projectile or caliber class of the projectile?
Yes, I was.
What is my caliber or caliber class?
The caliber was determined to be 38 caliber class.
Did you examine that damaged projectile to determine whether or not it couldn't have been fired from the firearm we looked at earlier, that pink and black Cobra revolver?
Yes, the class characteristics present on the fired bullet and the class characteristics of the firearm agreed.
Am I correct that all of the other characteristics of the gun in the bullet are consistent? You just can't say that that specific tool was fired from that gun because of the lack of individual characteristics. That is true.
Bottom line, the projectile could have been fired from that gun based on the consistency of all those different things we talked about, and you can't say scientifically if it actually was. That's correct. Thank you so much. I have no other questions.
All right. Thank you. Mr. Wiggs.
Mr. Buxman started off at, at your testimony, you had received a projectile from...
The projectile is transferred to me from the evidence section of the laboratory.
The comparison of individual characteristics was inconclusive, correct? So that's a good summation. There was no connection between that gun there and the projectile that was delivered to you, correct?
The examination resulted in the conclusion that all class characteristics were in agreement. The result of the individual comparison was inconclusive.
How many guns fit into that class?
Thousands of guns, if not tens of thousands, correct.
We were talking about double action, single action by firearms. Did you fire the projectile sample?
I was responsible for firing the test fires.
Okay. What's the advantage, the amount of force that's required on that gun to discharge a projectile?
The trigger pull on this firearm was not measured.
Okay. Any specific reason?
That was not part of the policy or procedure for an examination of this type.
Did law enforcement ever contact you at any time and request it?
They did not.
State Attorney's Office ever contact you and request that?
The State Attorney's Office would not contact me directly.
Okay. When you have a double action pistol as well, you can pull the hammer back and lock it, correct? Correct.
Not in a double action only firearm, no.
Okay. Can you pull the hammer back, lock it, and then discharge it by the trigger?
In a double action only firearm, no.
Okay. Single action?
In a single action firearm, a hammer can be pulled back and locked into position.
Okay. And then it can be released by a separate trigger pull, correct?
Yes.
Okay. So once the hammer is locked back, Does it require less force on the trigger on that type of car?
That is a question that could not be answered because the trigger pull of this double action only firearm was not measured. And I do not know the trigger pull of a single action. One could or could not be heavier than the other. I would not be qualified to answer that question. Approximately 15 years in firearms examination. I don't know anything about a child pulling a trigger.
I don't have any further questions. Thank you, Judge. All right, redirect.
Good morning.
I am Tara Mitchell.
What do you do for a living?
I currently work with mental behavior at Livestream.
Prior to that, where did you work?
I was the manager at Mariner Finance.
What did Mariner Finance do?
We did personal secured and unsecured loans.
How long did you work there?
Nine years.
I want to direct your attention back to November 2015. Were you working at Mariner Financial at the same capacity then?
At that particular time, I was an assistant manager.
Did Mariner Financial extend a loan to Michael Shaver in November of 2015?
At that time, we had mailers that came out from the corporate office, and they were sent out to several different people in several different cities.
Can you explain to the jury kind of how that worked? Were they just kind of sent unsolicited to people's residences?
Not totally sure as to how corporate determined as to who they were going to send it to, but it would have something to do with their credit. And we call them LBMs, which is the loan by mail. And so they would send them out to different people.
So this is not a situation where somebody comes to your financial institution and says, hey, I need a loan. This is a financial institution reaching out to people to say, hey, I need a loan.
Absolutely, and it made it look really good because they gave you a certain amount and all it required you to do was fill out some information on the back.
Your Honor, this time the state would move into evidence states exhibit DD, as in dog, as states exhibit 29 as a business record certification and notice has been provided. Any objection? Using the process that you just described was a loan extended to Michael Shamer via mail.
Yes, it was.
And how, in what form would that loan have been extended?
A check was mailed directly to an address that was attached to his social, and that's all it would require for them to do is fill the information out on the back and submit it to a bank or deposit it.
So a check is sent to Michael Shaver's residence in the mail with basically a loan check.
Yes.
Describe the process. How would somebody accept that loan or accept the money in that check when it was mailed to them?
They would be required to sign it on their telephone number as to how they could be reached.
I want to show you what that is. It's a 30. And do you recognize the check that I'm showing you? Absolutely. All right. If, say, someone doesn't pay that loan back or misses payments, does the bank... have a log to show the attempts the bank made to collect that money?
Absolutely. From the moment it is cashed, within 72 hours, we have to make contact with them.
And is that what these documents are contained in this exhibit at 630?
Absolutely.
Do you recognize them?
Absolutely.
Okay. Are they accurate?
Yes.
$2,539.
And to what address was that check sent?
9850 Sandy Pines Road, Claremont, Florida, 34711.
When was that check mailed out to Michael Shaver's address?
It had to be mailed before 11-30-2015.
What was done with that check to signify that the loan was accepted by whoever filled out this information at the back of the check?
Because there are signatures on the back of the check and phone numbers listed with the date. And what was the phone number listed on the back of the check?
352-431-5121 Was there a date written on the back of the check signifying when it was accepted?
Absolutely.
What date was that? 12-11-15 Would that information have been filled in by whoever received the check at the address? Absolutely. That's not information filled out by you or by the bank?
Oh no.
Does the filling out of that information on the back of the check signify an acceptance of the loan?
Absolutely.
Did Michael Shaver have any in an account with Meritor Financial or anything?
Not until he cashed his check.
What were the terms of the repayment of this loan? For instance, if the loan was accepted, what would be the monthly payments that you make?
30 monthly payments of $122.89.
Were any of the monthly payments made in this case regarding this loan extended to Michael Shaver? Absolutely not. All right. Was there ever any personal or phone contact from Michael Shaver to the Mariner Financial Institution regarding the repayment of this loan?
Absolutely not.
What was done to try to reach Michael Shaver from Mariner Financial to get this loan paid off him?
First, it's solicitation calls to have them to come in, but we never made contact. And after 30 days being delinquent, it goes into collections, and we start collection calls on a daily basis.
What do you mean by a solicitation call was made?
when lbms the loans by mails are sent out there's really no real contact with the customer other than what is written on the back of the check so to make it more of a personal we solicit an extra 500 for coming into the bank and signing up to come over onto a mariner paper where so we're able to have better access and we'll know a little bit more about the client
Okay. So you reach out to the person who accepted the loan and say, hey, why don't you come on into our bank?
According to the number that they put on the back of the check.
Okay. When is that done in relation to the acceptance of the loan and you getting information that the loan has been accepted?
Within 24 to 72 hours, we're notified that a check has been cashed. So it automatically appears in our system of new loan by mails.
That when you reach out for these solicitations, they come into our bank.
That is correct.
Was that done in this case? Absolutely. Was any response received by the bank from Michael Shaver?
There were no answering of the phone calls.
When the time for the first payment came due, you had already indicated that no payment was made. What did the bank do or you do to try to make contact with Michael Shaver?
We started reaching out with the number that was on the back. We will use pre... websites where we can look up to try to find if there's any other numbers that's attached to the name.
Did the bank continue to try to reach out to Michael Shaver for a lengthy period of time?
Oh, absolutely. It doesn't charge off until 180 days.
What do you mean by charge off?
We have no payments, so unfortunately.
Did I ask you this?
Yes.
Okay. Let me direct your attention specifically to February 17, 2015. Did you specifically try to call the no front rooms listed on the back of the check?
I did.
What happened when you did that?
A female answered the phone and stated she had just gotten that particular phone that Friday before.
Basically indicating, I don't know what you're talking about. This is the wrong number. Absolutely. Did you have any personal knowledge as far as who you were speaking with?
I had no idea.
Was the loan eventually turned over to collections when the payments weren't made? Yes, it was. It's within the Mariner financial system, but it's turned over to a different department?
At that time, after 180, it goes to a higher level.
Did anyone by the name of Lori Shaver ever contact Mariner Financial about this loan?
No.
If that would have happened, would there have been notes in your... Absolutely. Did you eventually speak with a Sergeant Tammy Dale from the Lake County Sheriff's Office?
Yes, I did.
Once you spoke with Sergeant Dale, what was ultimately done with this loan?
It eventually charged off.
Meaning the bank?
The bank. We could no longer do any more collections on it because in our local level.
Thank you, ma'am. Thanks.
Did the law enforcement take that check from him? No, the check is given to the bank.
Okay, but I mean, did law enforcement get a copy of that check?
We do have access to it.
Well, then that's when they have access to it. Did they come by and request a copy of the check?
I cannot determine at this particular time if they requested it at that time or not.
Okay. You don't know that fact, all right. And did you have any video of the man in the back who sucked your child up or anything like that?
Because it's a loan by mail, they never enter our office.
So nobody came down to the back to your personal office, right?
That is absolutely correct.
Do you help the law enforcement after it took a copy of the check to do any kind of handwriting analysis?
That's beyond my knowledge.
Thank you.
All right, did he redirect? No, Your Honor, as you can see. Can you please enter?
I'm Vanessa Townsend.
And do you know what Jeremy tells you?
I do.
How do you know?
He's my husband.
When did you get married?
April 12, 2008.
And you have children together?
We do.
How many?
One.
14.
In 2016, where were you working?
Pine Ridge Elementary.
And what was your position there?
A teacher.
Did you work there the whole school year of 2015, 2016? Correct. And in 2016, while you were at work, did you receive an unexpected delivery?
I did.
Shit.
Sidebar, please. Please proceed. Did you receive an unexpected delivery?
I did.
And what was that delivery?
Flowers.
And those flowers come with a car?
They did.
Your Honor, may I approach? Yes, sir. Showing what fence was previously marked as a specific tee.
Judge, we have filed a motion with respect to this. Please approach.
I'm going to go ahead and ask that you cut along the top here and just take a look at the card that is inside. It is. It is. I did. All right.
Objection is overruled. State's T will be entered in the evidence of state's number 30.
The car that came with those flowers, did that include a message?
It did.
And then you go ahead and read that message to the jury.
That's okay.
Ms. Dow says it's a difficult day for you.
It is. It says roses are red, violets are blue, my wife is a whore, your husband is too. Sorry about this. Check your Facebook message. We need to talk. Mike.
Now, up until this point, have you ever had any interactions with this particular Mike or a Michael Shaver?
No.
Up until this point, had you noticed any messages from a Facebook profile identified as Michael Shaver prior to receiving those flowers? No. Up until this point, did you have any knowledge or that your husband was potentially having an affair?
No.
When did you receive that card and those flowers?
In April, April 11th, 2016.
And the time frame leading up to you receiving those flowers, was there ever any time that your husband was sleeping anywhere other than the home, which would have given you concerns that he was having some sort of actuarial affair?
Sleeping elsewhere?
Yes.
No.
So you always came home at night, he was always around?
Yes.
After you received that card, did you in fact go, well, did you have a Facebook profile at that point?
I did.
And after receiving that card and that message, did you go onto your Facebook profile and realize that there had been, you know, a friend request or some sort of messages from Michael Shamer's Facebook account? I did. And once you saw that request had come in and those messages had come in, what did you do specifically as it relates to FaceTime?
I contacted the person back.
Did you accept this friend request to be able to look at these messages?
I did.
And did you go through the messages that had been sent to you up until the point that you had received those files? Yes. I'm going to go ahead and show defense. States exhibit EE.
Who can escape? All right, sidebar.
Come on up.
I'm showing you states EE.
Do you recognize that thumb drive?
I do.
What does that thumb drive contain?
The messages from the Facebook account.
And did that contain all the messages that you received from Michael Shaver's Facebook account, including any screenshots, screenshots of text messages, these Facebook messages we're referring to here, along with photographs that may have been sent to you?
Yes, to my knowledge.
And how do you recognize that that is what is contained on that thumb drive?
I dated and initialed it.
And you reviewed that information before doing so? Correct. Your Honor, at this time, the statement states EE into evidence at, I believe, number 31.
Yes, sir. Objection is overruled. States EE will be admitted into evidence at states number 31.
Now, I want to start with the actual Facebook messages you received from Michael Shaver's account. Showing defense states FF.
Judge said objection. Yes, sir.
Mr. Price, the objection is overruled.
Showing you with the previous report, the six documents. What are those documents?
The messages I received through Facebook account.
Correct.
And those are actually also contained on the thumb drive that we just talked about, this is a pretty valid version of that. Right. Bureau, at this time, states FF into evidence as states exhibit number 32.
Over defense objection, states FF will be admitted into evidence.
Now, I'm going to go ahead and start publishing some of these, looking at the blue numbers on top, page 2447. Is that where the first message that you would ever see from the Michael Shamer Facebook?
That's correct.
And first of all, what was the date of that message?
February 25th, 2016.
And what was the content of that message?
Hello, Vanessa. I know you don't know me, but I keep sending you a friend request because I really need to talk with you about something important. I am not a creep. I promise. I'm looking to confirm some information concerning my wife.
Now, moving on into page 2446. Are there messages in 2447? We will start on page 2447. Did you receive any sort of follow-up message there on April 5th of 2007? The message there for April 5th, what is that statement?
So April 5th, 2016, it says, I don't think you are seeing my messages. I just sent you something. Hope you contact me when you receive.
And moving on to the seeing page, is there a message then from April 9, 2016? April 9, 2016, please contact me at 352-801-0941.
And what is the next message that you receive after getting that phone call? April 11, 2016.
And what is that message?
I received multiple. It says, your special delivery is to arrive today. Hope to finally hear back from you.
The special delivery message, was that close in time to when you received the flowers?
That is.
Is that that same day?
It is.
After you accepted the friend request, did you start communicating with this Facebook profile identified as Michael Schaefer?
I did.
And in the course of that, did you receive any sort of screenshots of text messages between your husband and Lori Shafer?
I did.
Did you also receive photographs that showed your husband with Ms. Shafer?
I did.
The phone number that was placed in that Facebook record, did you reach out and contact that individual?
I did.
And how did you do so?
I tried to call it.
Did that person ever answer the phone?
No.
So after asking you to call, they never picked up?
Correct. They texted me back.
And were you ever able to talk on the phone with the person that had given you that phone number?
No.
I'm sure I do. It's been previously been marked as state's exhibit GG. Do you recognize the state?
I do.
And what is state's GG?
Text message.
And is that the text message that you reached out or received back from that phone number you just stated?
That's the one I received back.
33.
33. Objection is overruled.
Now, also during the period of time that this was going on, did you obtain Lori Shaver's phone number?
I did.
Did you reach out and send a text to that number?
I did.
Did you correspond with Ms. Shaver through that phone?
I texted, but I never received a message back.
I am showing what's previously been marked for identification as States 4RR. How did you get Lori Shaver's phone number? Was it included in the screenshots on the text messages that you received?
I don't remember if it was text message or Facebook, but it was given to me through one of those two.
I'm showing you what's been previously been marked for identification as States 4RR.
Yes, I do.
And is that a screenshot of text that you sent to Lori Shaver's phone? That's correct. You're right. This time the statement seeks RRR into evidence of states number 34. Any objection?
All right. Over defense's objection, states RRR will be admitted into evidence of states number 34.
During the time frame that you were corresponding with... The individual utilizing the Michael Shaver Facebook account, did they encourage you to get a divorce?
Yes, they did.
Did they make any offers to you in relation to that?
I don't know what you mean, offers.
I'm sorry. Did they bring out matters of a divorce attorney?
Yes, they did. They recommended one.
Now, ultimately, when you got this information, did you confront your husband about it?
I did.
At that time, did you both decide to stay together, married, and in the relationship?
We did.
When did that process and that period of time begin?
For the end of April, May.
And after that period of time, was there ever instances where Mr. Townsend left and found an unknown without the police to say that you weren't aware of her in that time frame? No. No further questions at this time? All right, Mr. Wicks? I don't have any questions. Thank you, Judge.