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An open marriage ended in a closed casket. Laurie and Michael Shaver were together, but seeing other people…because that always ends so well, even when you’re living in the shadow of the happiest place on earth, Disney World.

But one day, Michael, who was a monorail mechanic at Disney, didn’t show up for work or anywhere for that matter. For all intents and purposes, the husband and father had all but disappeared except for a cryptic message sent to his boss, friends, and family on social media telling everyone to “leave him alone.” 

And people did, for a long time. Especially his wife, who promptly had not one, not two, but three boyfriends after Michael left. She had enjoyed her newfound freedom for years, often sharing random messages from Michael, until the day his friends and co-workers became suspicious and asked for a welfare check. 

Police only had to look three feet under a new slab of concrete in the backyard to find the answer, Michael Shaver was dead. His widow, who claimed to be getting messages from him, became the prime suspect. Not only did she deny it, she blamed the couple’s then seven-year-old daughter as well as one of her lovers for killing Michael who had been shot in the back of the head. 

Join us for more on the latest episode of the Gulf Coast Confidential podcast, “A murderous third grader, deadly paramour, and a missing husband buried in the backyard: Laurie Shaver’s blame game.”

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