A Florida woman who killed her husband, buried him in their backyard and tried to blame her 7-year-old daughter, has been sentenced to life in prison.
In September, Laurie Shaver, 41, was found guilty of second-degree murder in the 2015 death of Michael Shaver, 36.
Shaver appeared to remain emotionless during her sentencing on Tuesday, as she looked straight ahead and nodded while the judge sentenced her to life behind bars.
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Michael, a technician at Disney World, was last seen in November 2015, according to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.
His body was discovered on March 9, 2018, after a friend reported him missing and police conducted a wellness check at the five-acre Shaver home in Claremont, west of Orlando. Authorities found Michael’s body buried beneath a firepit and concrete slab in the backyard.
Authorities said Shaver sent texts and Facebook messages, pretending to be Michael, after he was already dead.
Shaver also allegedly told friends that Michael had left the family and moved away to other states. She was arrested in 2020, five years after Michael’s death.
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During her trial, Shaver claimed that Michael had been an abusive husband and that her 7-year-old daughter had killed him.
Shaver’s daughter, now 15, testified in her mother’s defense during the trial, Fox35 reported.
“I shot him,” the teenager said under oath.
“Did you feel when you fired that shot, that that had to be done, or he would have killed your mother?” Shaver’s attorney asked.
“Yes, yes,” she said.
“While justice may offer some solace, it will not restore the wounds,” Michael’s brother, Brian Shaver, said during the sentencing, the local outlet reported.
One of Michael’s friends also wrote a plea to the judge that Shaver never go free.
“Laurie’s inhuman, ruthless, and savage actions, and especially her lack of any repentance, indicate that she will never change,” the letter read.
Shaver’s attorney has filed an appeal to the verdict.
