A former American beauty queen, Lindsay Shiver, and her boyfriend, Terrance Bethel, are scheduled to appear in court on Monday to appeal a recent High Court ruling that revoked their bail. Justice Cheryl Grant-Thompson made the decision last weekend, citing significant breaches of bail conditions and Shiver’s involvement in pre-trial publicity related to the charges of conspiring to kill her estranged husband.
Shiver, Bethel and Faron Newbold, Jr, 29, were charged last year with conspiracy to commit murder. They allegedly plotted to kill Shiver’s husband, Robert Shiver, on July 16, 2023. Authorities discovered the plot after seizing a phone while investigating another crime.
Justice Grant-Thompson had initially granted Shiver US$100,000 bail, requiring her to wear an electronic monitoring device, follow an 8 pm to 6 am (local time) curfew, stay at least 100 feet away from the complainant and witnesses, and refrain from travelling abroad without court permission.
Last December, the court varied her bail conditions, allowing her to travel to the United States, but forcing her not to enter Georgia, where her husband lives, unless to engage in custody and divorce proceedings.
But the court heard that on October 3, this year, Shiver and Bethel were interviewed on Good Morning America, allegedly giving in-depth information about their trial, which had not started.
The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions submitted several affidavits in support of an application to revoke Shiver and Bethel’s bail.
The judge said that her interview on Good Morning America was a “blatant disregard for the court’s leniency and indulgence”.
“This cannot and will not be tolerated. What the respondents have done can be seen by the applicant as a spit in the face of justice. The applicant has submitted this could influence the views of the potential jurors intending to sit in this trial.
“Thus, potentially affecting the administration of justice. If it were the other way around had counsel for the Crown proceeded on a frolic of their own, making unnecessary comments to the international media, the respondents would likely be ‘up in arms.’”
The judge also rejected arguments from the defendant’s lawyers about whether she breached her bail conditions.
“It was clearly laid out that if Mrs Shiver wished to travel or move outside of the designated area, she was first to contact and request the permission of the court,” she wrote in her ruling, adding that in revoking Shiver’s bail, she was also “taking her out of harm’s way”, noting the report that her boyfriend tried to “choke and suffocate her with a pillow in Alabama”.
“This is a serious concern for the court because this potential situation may inhibit Mrs Shiver’s ability to attend the trial for this matter,” the judge said.
In the case of Bethel, who had his bail conditions varied in June, the prosecutors said he did not follow rules for signing in at a police station. Migrafill Electronic Security Company said he violated his sign-in conditions 12 times between April 29 and October 4, 2024.
“The court does not distribute written and printed bail rulings to the parties because it has nothing better to do nor because it is enamored by the feel of printed paper,” Justice Grant-Thompson wrote, adding “written orders and rulings are handed out to the parties to ensure that there is no confusion as to what conditions the accused person must adhere to”.
