New Developments and General Discussion, 08/10/2012

[CajunStrong]

I have been thinking today about evidence and a potential plea.

For him to take a plea agreement and admit guilt at this point, they would have to have some very solid evidence. He is not going to plead guilty without a solid belief that the jury would convict him. Of course, there are different types of plea deals.

It seems like the truck will have no evidentiary value unless it shows damage from the bike hit. There could be DNA on the bike. Her clothes or other items in the gravesite could have DNA but that would not be back from the lab as of yet. There could be video evidence. Family/witness statements. Maybe tire tracks at Whiskey Bay that match the tire tracks at his home.

It seems like everything else would be circumstancial. The truck likely contained most of the evidence and it appears to be nothing but a metal frame. To me, it seems unlikely he took her back to his house or it would have been burned also.

Can't seem to think of anything else that won't raise doubt.

 

[Boudin]

Agree. As i posted prior. Location meant something to him and him only :moo:

It is quite a remote location but not far from Reddell where his first known assault victim lived. I wonder if her cousin he dated lived nearby also and they would go parking back in the cemetery. You have to be looking for it in the daytime to find it, it's not out in plain sight from the road.

Foxfire near the cemetary the road curves but there is a bit of a straightway.

 

[Boudin]

The discussion of errors in facts in the Advertiser reminded me Bessie that on the first page of the BSL victims
under facts it states that he pled guilty to battery and battery charges were dropped. I don't know if you can edit it or not but it should say "burglary" charges were dropped. Thanks for all your efforts!

 

[Foxfire]

If BSL has other victims and buried them deep like Mickey, they will almost never be found. With all rural forests, it'd be very easy to do so. Is it possible Bsl wanted to directly lead them to her grave because he didn't want to risk them stumbling onto any other victim graves?

Very plausible, OceanMetTheSky.

Something that caught my attention was that although LPD PIO Cpl Mouton, stated that the grave was deep, but then adds that the body was hidden by a layer of dirt indicating a shallow grave, imo.


* The Pine Clair cemetery was part of a church called "Our Little Flower of Jesus" in the 1940s. The name was later changed to Saint Theresa and was moved about 30 years ago.

http://www.katc.com/full-coverage/searching-for-mickey-shunick/

New Court Records Reveal What DA's Office Believes Happened in Shunick, Pate Murders

08/02/2012 10:11 PM by Maddie Garrett

Assistant District Attorney Keith Stutes filed a "Disclosure, Production, Notice to Defendant, and Request for State's Discovery". In it, he outlines what information is available to the defendant's attorneys, but the document also gives clues as to how the murder's of Mickey Shunick and Lisa Pate were investigated by police.

*Intent to seek death penalty:

The document clearly states prosecutors plan on seeking the death penalty for the murders of Pate and Shunick. Explaining why the death penalty is wanted, the filing claims that the murders were committed

"in an especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel manner" and that Lavergne has "knowingly killed two or more persons" in separate incidents.

_________________________


Dejavu?

http://edition.cnn.com/2003/LAW/11/05/green.river.killings/index.html

Green River Killer avoids death in plea deal.. Thursday, November 6, 2003
Flanked by his attorneys, Ridgway answers a prosecutor's questions Wednesday in a packed King County, WA courtroom.

Prosecutor Jeff Baird reads a statement in court by Gary Ridgway confessing to killing 48 women in Washington state.

PLAY VIDEO

RELATED
Gallery: The victims
Gallery: Tears in court

• Remains found in Green River killings
August 31, 2003
• Court TV.com: Why not the death penalty?

DOCUMENTS
• Prosecutor's summary of evidence (King County, Wash.)
• Plea agreement (PDF, King County)
• Ridgway's statement (PDF, King County)

Gary Ridgway - Green River Killer
Murders

SEATTLE, Washington (CNN) -- Hatred and arrogance fueled Gary Leon Ridgway's killing spree.

* Ridgway admitted placing the bodies in "clusters," usually near a landmark that helped him remember their locations.

* "I did this because I wanted to keep track of all of the women I killed," he said in his statement, which he affirmed as Baird read it aloud.

* "I liked to drive by the clusters around the county and think about the women I placed there."

 

[bessie]

The discussion of errors in facts in the Advertiser reminded me Bessie that on the first page of the BSL victims
under facts it states that he pled guilty to battery and battery charges were dropped. I don't know if you can edit it or not but it should say "burglary" charges were dropped. Thanks for all your efforts!

hoh: Oops!

Good catch. I corrected the error. Thank you for pointing it out. :thumb:

 

[brenda lee]

Thanks to everyone on WS for their hard work!!! My sweet friend is coming home so she can get the burial that she deserves. Then - Justice for Mickey!

 

[kgeaux]

'Seems, the only thing that the Advertiser has gotten accurate thus far is the footage from their security camera'...

Speaking of The Advertiser, I just found another error in reporting. On July 20, 2012 they published an article about BSL and a review of cold cases:

In October 1999, just after Pate's remains were discovered, the body of another young woman, 24-year-old Danielle Thibodeaux of Breaux Bridge, was found in rural St. Martin Parish. The case has never been solved.

Maj. Ginny Higgins, spokeswoman for the St. Martin Parish Sheriff's Office, said detectives there do not believe Lavergne is tied to Thibodeaux's death.
​

http://www.theadvertiser.com/article/20120720/NEWS01/207200336/Indictment-leads-review-cold-cases?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE&gcheck=1&nclick_check=1

The date is wrong. Thibodeaux's body was discovered in October, 1998, in Broussard, LA.

The Advocate (Baton Rouge, La.) October 31, 1998

ST. MARTINVILLE - Investigators have identified the body of a person found in the woods by a hunter Wednesday, Capt. Newman Braud of the St. Martin Parish Sheriff's Office said in a press release. The body of Danielle Thibodeaux, 24, was found in a wooded area off Aubrey Ozenne Road in St. Martin Parish, Braud said.
​

http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives

I'm not sure the link will work because it's a "for fee" article from the archives. This first paragraph can be found by searching "Danielle Thibodeaux" in google news archives.

This one might work:

http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we...page=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM

I'm not knocking The Advertiser, but thought it important to point out the discrepancy. It doesn't rule out BSL as the perp.

UGGGHHHHH! What would it take for our newspaper to be PROFESSIONAL enough to check facts, and to right a wrong when they make one?

Hubby told me this morning that I am being too "hard" on the Advertiser. He says the name tells it all.....it is there to Advertise and what news we get is just lagniappe.

 

[kgeaux]

Thanks to everyone on WS for their hard work!!! My sweet friend is coming home so she can get the burial that she deserves. Then - Justice for Mickey!

Brenda Lee, we all hoped her homecoming would be different, but are all thankful she has been found. Please accept my condolences on the loss of your sweet friend, and know that we will stand with you while Justice is pursued.

 

[MamaRoux]

Not sure but I think foxfire meant that BSL had an affinity for rural cemeteries. It is said that he liked to dig up graves and also that he took dates to cemeteries.

This may seem strange to some, maybe most people, but I enjoy old cemeteries...a lot. I love the peace and the history. I love looking at each grave. In fact, they don't even have to be all that old, I just like cemeteries. I do not find them taboo. Of course, to be sure, I have never dug up a grave, but I guess I too have an affinity for them. Also, there have been many times as a teenager, that my bf and I would go to cemeteries at night. I guess you could call it at least a "part" of a date. I mean, that wasn't the total date, just a place to walk and talk. I can assure you all though, that neither he nor I turned out to be serial killers. Brandon seemed to have kicked it up a notch.

 

[MamaRoux]

Perhaps, though that has absolutely nothing to do with being a 'purveyor', as you know.

As for the graverobbing stories -- have these ever been substantiated in MSM? If not, why have we continued to talk about them, and/or treat them as evidence of patterns of behavior? (This isn't a direct question to you, but to the forum, and to mods -- has this ever been substantiated?)

My son's boss grew up in CP and went to school with Brandon Lavergne and he told him that Brandon and one of his friends used to go to cemeteries and dig up bones.

 

[MamaRoux]

Yes, just like he did with lisas body except Mickey was much less noticeable. With that being said, if he has an hither victims, they're probably in locations he can remember so he can visit them

I don't think Lisa and Mickey compare at all. To me, he hid Lisa in plain sight.

 

[kgeaux]

Perhaps, though that has absolutely nothing to do with being a 'purveyor', as you know.

As for the graverobbing stories -- have these ever been substantiated in MSM? If not, why have we continued to talk about them, and/or treat them as evidence of patterns of behavior? (This isn't a direct question to you, but to the forum, and to mods -- has this ever been substantiated?)

Several people who grew up with Brandon have stated this as fact. I'm not sure if it has been substantiated here, but enough people who know him have verified it, at least to my satisfaction. (I know that means nothing, LOL!)

I think I need a couple more greats up in there!

This may seem strange to some, maybe most people, but I enjoy old cemeteries...a lot. I love the peace and the history. I love looking at each grave. In fact, they don't even have to be all that old, I just like cemeteries. I do not find them taboo. Of course, to be sure, I have never dug up a grave, but I guess I too have an affinity for them. Also, there have been many times as a teenager, that my bf and I would go to cemeteries at night. I guess you could call it at least a "part" of a date. I mean, that wasn't the total date, just a place to walk and talk. I can assure you all though, that neither he nor I turned out to be serial killers. Brandon seemed to have kicked it up a notch.

I love old cemeteries too. I'm going to go do a charcoal tracing of my great-great-great uncle's grave later on this week. His is one of the oldest tombstones at St. John's.

I find them places of great peace and holiness; a respite from the real world.

I don't think BSL thought of them anything like what you and I do, but I am somewhat comforted that Mickey was in such a beautiful and holy place.

 

[Ravynne]

This may seem strange to some, maybe most people, but I enjoy old cemeteries...a lot. I love the peace and the history. I love looking at each grave. In fact, they don't even have to be all that old, I just like cemeteries. I do not find them taboo. Of course, to be sure, I have never dug up a grave, but I guess I too have an affinity for them. Also, there have been many times as a teenager, that my bf and I would go to cemeteries at night. I guess you could call it at least a "part" of a date. I mean, that wasn't the total date, just a place to walk and talk. I can assure you all though, that neither he nor I turned out to be serial killers. Brandon seemed to have kicked it up a notch.

I like you love the peace and history contained within. Some of the monuments are amazing. I always ask permission to enter and give thanks apron leaving. I had a project in art school to take photos of the beauty found within. It was an amazing project. I do not find them fearful places but have great respect for them. Moo.

 

[De2385]

I wish I lived close enough to get a sticker!
I ♥ this design!

I want one if they are available.

 

[stillwatersc]

Several people who grew up with Brandon have stated this as fact. I'm not sure if it has been substantiated here, but enough people who know him have verified it, at least to my satisfaction. (I know that means nothing, LOL!)

The fact that these discussions were prior to MS being found does lend credibility to the personal accounts.

 

[J.white]

My mind keeps going back to a post about warrants for a place that handles excavators. Am I remembering this correctly? I don't know how to navigate these forums very well to look back. IMO it is possible that LE told BSL that the excavator had GPS and it was only a matter of time before they located Mickey. (This could be true, some of the newer machinery is equipped with GPS for run away renters these days) but regardless it may have been the pressure he needed to crack. This is all just theory of course.

 

[Donamena]

This post was created by Donamena, and while she wanted no attribution, I want our members to know she is its creator.

Thanks to Jujube for modifying the picture.

thank you both!

Oh, I just loooove it when I'm outed, ya just don be knowin
Oooohhh imon get you, chile

 

[chicken fried]

I see the discussion of whether Lavergne is smart or dumb.

I don't have enough info to definitively judge that.

What I do see is that he was stabbed in four different locations on his body. However smart his planning, either he was not smart enough to disarm his victim after the abduction, or keep her away from weapons, or he was not adequately prepared for an armed victim to fight him at the time of the abduction, and get at least four swipes at him from different angles. Either way, it sounds like he wasn't a genius.

 

[Donamena]

About schmidty's post..we based it on a post of Foxfire's that he was too modest to use on the condolences page. Ours was a riff on his:

..."Mickey Shunick courageously sacrificed her life, so that other innocent victims may live, in the early morning hours of May 19th, 2102, a Hero was born."

Thanks for the riff, Fox. I feel that Mickey, as an anthro major, would have been familiar w/ the Shawnee warrior ideology.

 

[GulfCoastKAT]

Erin Steuber from KATC posted on facebook to make sure we watch the 6pm news for new information about BSL.