JMO but I disagree with the premeditation aspect. Events could have happened as Brandon said. Mickey just didn't realize how desperately he didn't want to return to prison. Brandon reacted as someone previously incarcerated and his damaged primal fight or flight thinking led to the rest of the events.
I don't think Louisiana's 1st Degree Murder charge uses the wording "premeditated". Premeditation can consist of seconds, though.
BSL was charged with LSA R.S. 14:30(A)(1).
§30. First degree murder
A. First degree murder is the killing of a human being:
(1) When the offender has specific intent to kill or to inflict great bodily harm and is engaged in the perpetration or attempted perpetration of aggravated kidnapping, second degree kidnapping, aggravated escape, aggravated arson, aggravated rape, forcible rape, aggravated burglary, armed robbery, assault by drive-by shooting, first degree robbery, second degree robbery, simple robbery, terrorism, cruelty to juveniles, or second degree cruelty to juveniles.
If BSL were driving under the influence, texting on his phone, hit and run (though it would be more like hit, kidnap, and run) and a felon in possession of a firearm that acted with intent to kill (1st Degree Murder charge wording) to not have the police involved as be claims... Why wouldn't he have pled to LSA R.S. 14:30(A)(9)(a.):
"(9) When the offender has specific intent to kill or to inflict great bodily harm upon a victim who was a witness to a crime or was a member of the immediate family of a witness to a crime committed on a prior occasion and:
(a) The killing was committed for the purpose of preventing or influencing the victim's testimony in any criminal action or proceeding whether or not such action or proceeding had been commenced; or
(b) The killing was committed for the purpose of exacting retribution for the victim's prior testimony."
-- law link:
http://www.legis.state.la.us/lss/lss.asp?doc=78397
This is a real question, I'm not being snarky. I am not a lawyer or LEO. I'm just reading what he was charged with specifically versus what he could have been charged with *if* it happened the way the released portion of his confession claims. He claimed to have committed a few crimes that night and he acted to cover it up, killing Mickey when she maced him because he threatened her when she attempted to contact the police. To me (a layperson), that falls under LSA R.S. 14:30(A)(9)(a): the killing of a person who was a witness to a crime who was killed to prevent any criminal action or testimony.
None of this really matters in the big picture because BSL pled to the charge of First Degree Murder LSA R.S. 14:30(A)(1). Statement he signed in support of his guilty plea included:
IMO, the time for benefit of doubt and "what if it happened like this instead?" is over. He pled guilty as charged to both counts of first degree murder. Again, going back to the released first version confession- If BS Lavergne didn't want to return to prison, then maybe he shouldn't have been allegedly driving under the influence, playing on his phone while driving, or been in possession of a firearm that he knew was a violation of the law for him to have. He broke the law, not Mickey. This is the second time it has been alluded to that Mickey is partially responsible for what was done to her by Brandon Lavergne. So what if she didn't realize how desperately BSL didn't want to return to prison? She had been hit- whether accidentally or with intent doesn't matter at this point.. She had been threatened- either with a weapon or just the verbal "When Shunick reached for her cellphone, "I panicked and that's when I grabbed the knife and I said, 'Don't call the cops. I ain't *advertiser censored***** playing,'" he said." (
http://www.theadvertiser.com/article/20121026/NEWS01/210260310/Lavergne-confession-tape-released). At this point, according to BSL's statement- he brandished his knife so she knew he had at least one weapon..(HER primal fight or flight instinct was kicking in too, I'm sure, and she didn't know that he was a convicted sex offender, known violent person, or a person of interest in a 13 year old murder case like we do) and she maced him. Mace is no match for a knife.. Not to mention, if she discharged the mace inside of the truck, she was most likely affected by it as well. She maces him, he stabs her multiple times.. Then she stabs him so he shoots her in the head.. She was fighting a monster for her life.. He was trying to cover up his crimes to avoid prison? Even *if* the BS story he gave was true and I highly doubt it was- he is still guilty of 1st Degree Murder.
I didn't understand the flack KATC got for releasing the video but now I do. Implications that Mickey was somehow responsible for BSL's choice to commit several crimes that night are ridiculous. I know her mother has said Mickey was no victim because she fought back, in the basic definition, she was a victim of this man who took her life. He didn't know her or care that she was supposed to be attending her little brother's high school graduation in a few hours, or that she was an inspiration to her young equestrian students, or that she planned to bike across the US with her friends to help build homes for the less fortunate, or any of the things that her family and friends loved about her. He didn't care. He took her life because he wanted to. He made the choices and now he is paying for them. Period. Whether Mickey had/used marijuana or not STILL doesn't give him the right to murder her. Beyond all of that- no one forced BSL into a confession or a plea. He accepted the plea and the LWOP sentence. The DA has stated that he feels like they were "soft peddled" by Lavergne, which is disturbing enough. If they felt they were being soft peddled by the official-pled-guilty-in-court- terrifying and senseless version of events, I hate to imagine what really happened that night. The plea documents version of events it's scary enough. Brandon Scott Lavergne was in no way a victim. His choices landed him a life sentence at Angola. It is my opinion that even if Mickey wouldn't have maced him, he still would have murdered her because he had intent to victimize her from the minute he saw her riding her bike. He just underestimated her. He probably didn't expect her to fight back as hard as she did. He underestimated the love of this young lady and the instant actions her friends and family took to find her as soon as they realized she was missing and because of her, he is where he belongs forever. :jail: