Fla. woman accused of killing husband, leaving body under concrete now says her daughter did it

LAKE COUNTY, Fla. (TCD) -- A teen girl is reportedly now confessing to murder several years after her mother was arrested on suspicion of killing her husband and burying his body under a piece of concrete.

Court documents shared by WOFL-TV show Laurie Shaver’s attorneys filed a motion for reconsideration that states the minor "confessed to having committed the murder in this matter." The teen reportedly spoke with her court-appointed attorney on several occasions, and she "represented her desire to testify in this case" and has "persisted in seeking to testify."

WOFL reports the girl was 7 years old when Michael Shaver was killed in 2015. She is now 14.

Shaver’s attorney Jeffrey Wiggs told WESH-TV, "The minor can relay how this crime was committed, when it was committed, and precisely how it was committed."

The Lake County Prosecutor’s Office, however, said in a statement to WESH there was "no credible evidence supporting the claims made concerning the involvement of the child' and that the child never spoke with law enforcement.

On Feb. 28, 2018, Lake County Sheriff’s Office deputies conducted a welfare check at Michael Shaver’s home after a friend called to report he had not heard from Shaver since 2015. When law enforcement officials got there, they spoke with Laurie Shaver, who also said Michael had been missing since 2015.

Deputies searched inside the home, but Laurie Shaver allegedly became uncooperative once they tried looking outside.

According to Laurie Shaver’s probable cause affidavit, deputies executed a search warrant at her home March 9, 2018, and a cadaver dog sniffed out human remains. Investigators located Michael Shaver’s skeletal remains wrapped in a sheet 3 feet under a concrete slab that was formerly a fire pit. Investigators believe he was killed between Nov. 7 and Nov. 10, 2015. He died from a gunshot wound to the back of the head.

Laurie allegedly posed as Michael and messaged his friends on Facebook, though some of the friends noted the responses were "unlike" Michael.

After his disappearance, Laurie Shaver allegedly claimed her husband was in Georgia and that he "left her and their kids to start a new life." Shaver, however, never reported him missing.

As the missing person investigation went on, Shaver reportedly told her boyfriend, "It’s not that he’s missing — he’s no longer walking this Earth." She also reportedly said there was a body buried on her property.

Shaver was arrested Sept. 17, 2020, and is charged with second-degree murder with a firearm and accessory after the fact. She was later released after posting bond.

MORE:

• Teen confesses to 2015 murder of man found buried underneath concrete in Florida backyard: attorney - WOFL
• Laurie Leigh Shaver Affidavit of Probable Cause
• Central Florida woman accused of killing husband claims a child pulled the trigger - WESH
• Missing, 2/28/2018 - Lake County Sheriff's Office
• Lake County Jail inmate information