New Developments and General Discussion, 08/10/2012

[jujube]

I bet he cops a plea with MS but DA will still prosecute for LP. Defense attorney probably explained that if he cops a plea to MS then maybe that evidence in her case will be stricken in the LP trial?

IMO, BSL's attorneys would never allow a plea like this one. It was for both or nothing. They wanted Mickey, he gave them Mickey but not for just one case.

 

[Foxfire]

"It is time for justice," said Shunick family spokesperson Margaret Bearb.

http://www.katc.com/news/mickey-shunick-changed-acadiana/

http://www.katc.com/news/mickey-shunick-changed-acadiana/#!prettyPhoto/0/

 

[OceanMetTheSky]

Bsl has had other white trucks in the past.

So when we found out about white vehicles seen around missing people but it wasn't the same one shown on the Mickey video, it makes you think twice...

 

[HouDat]

In all fairness, they need to give the biggest thanks to the poster on LSU tigerdroppings OT forum. I don't know if I can use his name, but if you look on the earlier threads there for April-May, he's there. He really cracked it open w/ a tip to LE. A sound, reliable first-person, insider tip.
Jmo absolutamente

It's pretty much public knowledge, his identity, so I'll post it. TD poster Adam4LSU -- whose sister-in-law was supposedly recently engaged to BSL -- blew the case wide open when, after he and other family members became uneasy about BSL and decided to do a little research, and ultimately discovered that he was a convicted felon/RSO. BSL was reported, and the dominoes began to tumble.

To be honest, Adam almost blew the case, period, with his jumping of the gun by posting on TD that police were going to arrest a suspect once he was available (in a place where he could be arrested...a/k/a back from working offshore). This was after he had already earlier linked to BSL's RSO info page on the web. A few of us here were aware a few days before the arrest that (according to Adam4LSU) LE was on to BSL, and had considered him the prime suspect. Still, seeing it all actually play out was shocking, given the sheer candor with which Adam4LSU recounted the entire scenario.

Fortunately (apparently), BSL wasn't tipped off to it all, and LE was able to make the apprehension and arrest.

 

[LaffySleuth]

For every engagement, a girl suffered.

Creepy, yet interesting.

 

[jujube]

It's pretty much public knowledge, his identity, so I'll post it. TD poster Adam4LSU -- whose sister-in-law was supposedly recently engaged to BSL -- blew the case wide open when, after he and other family members, became uneasy about BSL and decided to do a little research and ultimately discovered that he was a convicted felon/RSO. BSL was reported, and the dominoes began to tumble.

To be honest, Adam almost blew the case, period, with his jumping of the gun by posting on TD that police were going to arrest a suspect once he was available (in a place where he could be arrested...a/k/a back from working offshore). This was after he had already earlier linked to BSL's RSO info page on the web. A few of us here were aware a few days before the arrest that (according to Adam4LSU) LE was on to BSL, and had considered him the prime suspect. Still, seeing it all actually play out was shocking, given the sheer candor with which Adam4LSU recounted the entire scenario.

Fortunately (apparently), BSL wasn't tipped off to it all, and LE was able to make the apprehension and arrest.

To be fair though, AD thought BSL was offshore working when he posted that. Without AD's call to LE, BSL might still be walking around free and Mickey might still be missing.

 

[NewYork625]

Of course, everyone here has in someway but themselves into Mickey's or her families place. I've thought what if I was here, what if she was my sister who is her exact same age, what if I was her mother. As I said in my previous posts, no matter the location he put her body it absolutely does not change what he did and that he took her from her family and cut her life short. I am in no way defending him and his actions. Mickey touched us all. I just want to look further into the mind of BSL and want to know WHY this location. I want to know if he had a connection with Mickey. Why was this different than Lisa. Even if he has one shred of humanity and this was the reasoning, it changes nothing. I am just always trying to sleuth WHY when everything else has been found and we are just waiting for trial. I'm in the medical field so the mental aspect of this always interests me, forgive me.

I'm very sorry you misunderstood me. My rant wasn't against you, but against BSL. I too have had moments when I considered that he might have had some humanity in him after all to place Mickey in a lovely place, rather than a swamp and leave her for the alligators. This morning, however, I was thinking about Mickey's poor family, and how devastated they are, and was just so angry at him and at the atrocity of what he apparently did.

 

[danzn16]

I'm very sorry you misunderstood me. My rant wasn't against you, but against BSL. I too have had moments when I considered that he might have had some humanity in him after all to place Mickey in a lovely place, rather than a swamp and leave her for the alligators. This morning, however, I was thinking about Mickey's poor family, and how devastated they are, and was just so angry at him and at the atrocity of what he apparently did.

Oh I understand! :seeya: I think we are all very angry at him! I just wanted to be clear what I was meaning because I'm not always very good at explaining myself. I didn't want it seem like I was making any excuses for him. I understand where you are coming from completely.

 

[Bravo]

I am glad he chose to bury Mickey. Evidence may be preserved. I feared she was in a swamp somewhere never to be found. I do believe this location held more meaning to him and nothing more :moo:

 

[Foxfire]

Imo, there has been a plea agreement reached with prolific psychopathic sadistic serial killer Brandon S. Lavergne. Imo, this plea would at a minimum include LWOP and all unknown victim identities and remains locations.

Imo, the consideration of BSL's accident argument was negated a few pages back due to his obvious stab wounds.

Imo, BSL burying Mickey's body in a grave near the historic cemetery/safe haven, does not indicate remorse, but a very complicated progression & years/decades of escalation of acting out ritualistic fantasies by a manipulative demonic personality. Imo, BSL has no human emotions..his victims are only objects; expendable play toys for his deviant pleasure..



Imo, a lot of info can be mined from the following news articles as to the Schunick family's agreeing on a plea deal;

* "If you watch the video,
Tom Schunick was asked if BSL was convicted of his daughter's death. What sentence should the prosecutor ask for"?
http://www.wafb.com/story/18984354/mickey-shunicks-father-talks-about-lavergnes-arrest

* Tom Schunick replied, "I am not sure. "The death penalty is out there." Is that too good for him"? "Well how long would he be on death row"?
_____________________________________

Detectives said when fishermen found Mickey's bike at Whiskey Bay seven days later, the back tire was damaged. Mr. Shunick says he thought he had figured out what happened to his daughter.

"You can look at all the scenarios that could have happened. And this is one of them; a probable one. Somebody may have been out there, bumped her, grabbed her," said Tom Shunick.

That was just the beginning of the story. Tom later learned Lavergne was a convicted sex offender, a man who had been through the system as he put it. Just three days after the surveillance photos were released, authorities in San Jacinto County, Texas confirmed they found Lavergne's truck abandoned and burned. While investigators say they don't expect to make any more arrests in the case, Tom is convinced someone helped Lavergne.

"It was burned somewhere in Texas. Somehow he got there and got back. Did he ride with someone? Did he walk back? How did he get back?" said Tom.

Lafayette Police Chief Jim Craft would not comment on similar questions at Friday's news conference. Tom says he has told detectives to keep any new developments in the case to themselves. He says he just wants to know when his daughter is found.

Tom believes that authorities will find his daughter. "Maybe not alive, but they will find her."

As for what Tom has learned about his daughter's alleged kidnapper so far, he says he is not quite sure how, if convicted, Lavergne should be punished.


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

Mickey Shunick's Dad Comments On Arrest
07/09/2012 10:11 PM by Jim Hummel

For the first time since Brandon Lavergne was arrested in the disappearance of Mickey Shunick, her family is weighing in on his arrest.
"If he is the one, if he took my daughter and murdered her, I hope he gets what he deserves," said Mickey's Dad, Tom Shunick.
Before justice is served, Shunick and his family say they just want answers. It's been 51 days since anyone has seen Mickey.
"If she is still alive out there, I'd bargain with [Lavergne]," said Shunick. "As far as I'm concerned, he can go [free] if it'd bring my daughter back, but if he's buried the body out there, I don't want to bargain for that."
Despite the grim charges facing Lavergne, the Shunick family is still staying positive.
"Well there is still hope," said Shunick. "Until a body is found, there's a little ray of hope left."

Mickey's Family and Friends Relieved Nothing was Found in St. Landry Search
07/12/2012 06:20 PM by Jenise Fernandez

Emotions ran high when Mickey's family and friends found out authorities were digging up possible graves near Brandon Lavergne's home.
"I'd like to find out how he was involved in this, did he take my daughter is she still alive, if not where's the body?" wondered Tom Shunick, Mickey's father.
Tom Shunick and family and friends say they were relieved when the search turned up nothing, but tom still needs answers.
"Still got a little ray of hope out there. It helps the day go on better, but we certainly need to get some closure on this,' said Shunick.

Lavergne Indictments Bittersweet for Shunick Family
07/18/2012 10:19 PM by Maddie Garrett

"Definitely shocked. All of our faces dropped and we had a sigh like everyone else did around Lafayette. To know that it was a double-murder indictment kind of froze everybody," said volunteer organizer Margaret Bearb.
While most were shocked, Tom said he knew there could be more victims. Still, a murder indictment means he's almost positive they won't find Mickey alive.

"Not a hundred percent, but it sure doesn't look very good does it? I mean this guy has murdered and buried a body before," said Tom. "It certainly looks like this is his M.O."
However, closure for Tom and his family remains out of reach. They hope the latest charge will help Mickey's case.

"Well we've been waiting a little over two months to get closure on this and it still isn't closed, they haven't found the body," said Tom. "Hopefully now, if he's being charged with something else, hopefully he'll come clean and tell people where the body is."

 

[heidisams]

Oh I understand! :seeya: I think we are all very angry at him! I just wanted to be clear what I was meaning because I'm not always very good at explaining myself. I didn't want it seem like I was making any excuses for him. I understand where you are coming from completely.

Although most of us don't don't know Mickey, we became emotionally involved and attached... Cases involving a victim who is missing, kidnapped, murdered, etc, are highly sensitive anyway... And many are going to experience grief. Two months, day in and day out, of searching, hoping, and praying and then the final outcome is so tragic... Anger would be a perfectly normal reaction. Some might feel it now, some might later... Some might ping pong from anger to sadness... And our posts will probably reflect this. For me, it was upon learning her body was found that I felt strong anger... and my posts definitely reflected it. It's a strange situation we're in, having gotten to know her so well, yet it was in such a unique setting... one that only we can understand...
In a way I hope we never forget the anger and sadness, and use it to make a difference. There's no better fuel than a bit of anger to keep us from complacency. It seems like the further away we get from something the less we think about it, and the less likely we are to do anything about it...


All jmo.

 

[GrannyA.]

Although most of us don't don't know Mickey, we became emotionally involved and attached... Cases involving a victim who is missing, kidnapped, murdered, etc, are highly sensitive anyway... And many are going to experience grief. Two months, day in and day out, of searching, hoping, and praying and then the final outcome is so tragic... Anger would be a perfectly normal reaction. Some might feel it now, some might later... Some might ping pong from anger to sadness... And our posts will probably reflect this. For me, it was upon learning her body was found that I felt strong anger... and my posts definitely reflected it. It's a strange situation we're in, having gotten to know her so well, yet it was in such a unique setting... one that only we can understand...
In a way I hope we never forget the anger and sadness, and use it to make a difference. There's no better fuel than a bit of anger to keep us from complacency. It seems like the further away we get from something the less we think about it, and the less likely we are to do anything about it...


All jmo.

BBM Above:

You said perfectly what I am, and have been feeling.
I have been from sadness to anger and back, many times. The heartbreak I feel for the Shunick family is so deep. I pray everyday, they have the strength to make it through the coming weeks, months, and years, of emptiness and heartache. My thoughts and prayers are with them everyday. :rose:

 

[HouDat]

To be fair though, AD thought BSL was offshore working when he posted that. Without AD's call to LE, BSL might still be walking around free and Mickey might still be missing.

Not sure what his being offshore would have to do with anything. There is internet service out there on the rigs, and it's certainly plausible that BSL was following the case online.

But, as to your second point, AD's call certainly was largely responsible for breaking the case.

 

[KinseyWannabe]

Although most of us don't don't know Mickey, we became emotionally involved and attached... Cases involving a victim who is missing, kidnapped, murdered, etc, are highly sensitive anyway... And many are going to experience grief. Two months, day in and day out, of searching, hoping, and praying and then the final outcome is so tragic... Anger would be a perfectly normal reaction. Some might feel it now, some might later... Some might ping pong from anger to sadness... And our posts will probably reflect this. For me, it was upon learning her body was found that I felt strong anger... and my posts definitely reflected it. It's a strange situation we're in, having gotten to know her so well, yet it was in such a unique setting... one that only we can understand...
In a way I hope we never forget the anger and sadness, and use it to make a difference. There's no better fuel than a bit of anger to keep us from complacency. It seems like the further away we get from something the less we think about it, and the less likely we are to do anything about it...

All jmo.

To stand being able to think about BSL at all, I imagined him as a cat watching a bird. (I know the comparison is not original and that another poster mentioned something like this.) The predator cannot take its eyes away from the prey, and a simple kill is not the goal either. However, this behavior is the nature of the cat, and, in a human, it's an aberration or malignant development. I don't know how many times after his arrest I asked him (in my mind of course), "BSL--how could you?" At least for now, I'm unable to attribute human qualities to him. I find his behavior pretty much inconceivable and hate thinking about how it must feel if you're with someone like him when the pretense is dropped and the true self revealed. True horror, in my opinion.

I take some comfort about what happened to Mickey from Erkardt Tolle's discussion about grieving and loss, where he talks about what happens when a "form" is taken away from us. To paraphrase: What remains is formless, but the form's essence shines through the formlessness. I definitely feel that Mickey's essence is what moved many of us from the beginning, and I also feel that that her shining essence lingers with us all. It helps me to think that she's still there.

Don't know if this makes any sense.

KinseyWannabe

 

[CajunStrong]

I think he is going to claim it was an accident and he panicked because he already had priors and didnt want to go to jail....... I dont beleive this but I think he is going to claim that he hit her on the bike and panicked he injured himself while trying to bury her, and honestly after what happened in Casey Anthony's trial, it might just work. I mean who honestly thought Casey would be found not guilty?

Yes, I have thought this from day one. At the beginning before we knew about Lisa Pate I thought it was a possibility that it could have happened. Now I know better!!

But I do think this is exactly what will happen. I also think this is why all time stamp information on the white truck has been removed from the internet as well as all media timelines. Just an opinion but I think they are trying to remove all of this information prior to a release of his statement so that future jurors won't easily access it. (refer to DWT thread)

I also could be crazy but I can't see any other reason why it is no longer out there.

And, if so many of us thought it was possible, surely someone on the jury could as well. Especially if some of his prior convictions/arrests are not allowable.

 

[CajunStrong]

except Casey Anthony wasn't a registered sex offender and a suspect in another murder. I don't think it's going to work in his case.

I 120% agree with you but we have to remember that if this goes to trial, the defense is going to fight like crazy to make sure the jurors never hear about his prior conviction or Lisa pate. This is why the state wants to try Mickey and Lisa's cases together. If this is not granted, and they are tried seperately, the defense will claim prejudice and his priors will not be heard in court.

We need to hope and pray they are allowed to try both cases together and that the first assault is allowed to be heard by jurors.

 

[Donamena]

Of course, everyone here has in someway but themselves into Mickey's or her families place. I've thought what if I was here, what if she was my sister who is her exact same age, what if I was her mother. As I said in my previous posts, no matter the location he put her body it absolutely does not change what he did and that he took her from her family and cut her life short. I am in no way defending him and his actions. Mickey touched us all. I just want to look further into the mind of BSL and want to know WHY this location. I want to know if he had a connection with Mickey. Why was this different than Lisa. Even if he has one shred of humanity and this was the reasoning, it changes nothing. I am just always trying to sleuth WHY when everything else has been found and we are just waiting for trial. I'm in the medical field so the mental aspect of this always interests me, forgive me.

I really want to look at the I-49 murders to see if they correlate w/ his time in Leesville, in particular the disappearance from the Lena truckstop.

 

[Foxfire]

Quote:
Originally Posted by jennapuppy
Just want to give a shout-out to my fellow WS sleuthers. We just made the local news here in Houston. One of the local stations did a segment on possible connections between Mickey's and Ali Lowitzer's disappearances. (didn't realize there was a DWT in that case, also)

Anyway, they went on to say that a PI was following tips that had been generated on an internet website, and they showed a screenshot from WS. (it was the actual post from the PI with the Shrek avatar)

Just wanted to let all you dedicated sleuthers know that what you're all doing here really does matter. Woot!!
____________________________
Brought over from other victims thread-

Only Houston, TX news article video I could Locate: 'Websleuths screenshot '

http://www.click2houston.com/news/Ne...z/-/index.html

HOUSTON -
Local 2 Investigates has learned detectives are looking into a possible connection between the deaths of two Louisiana women and the case of a missing teenager from Spring.

Ali Lowitzer, 16, disappeared after getting off the school bus just feet from her home on April 26, 2010.
read more-

 

[Canaille]

Not sure if this has been addressed, but it came to my mind the other day.

In the report about BSL being stabbed in New Orleans, he claimed his wallet was stolen. What about a cell phone? If you were traveling to NOLA, wouldn't you make sure to have a cell phone with you? And if you were mugged and stabbed at a gas station, would you drive around there looking for a hospital or would you call 911?

 

[danzn16]

I 120% agree with you but we have to remember that if this goes to trial, the defense is going to fight like crazy to make sure the jurors never hear about his prior conviction or Lisa pate. This is why the state wants to try Mickey and Lisa's cases together. If this is not granted, and they are tried seperately, the defense will claim prejudice and his priors will not be heard in court.

We need to hope and pray they are allowed to try both cases together and that the first assault is allowed to be heard by jurors.

I know next to nothing about law but I can't see how the fact that he is a tier 3 RSO would be kept from the jurors? That's a big part of motive. I can see previous convictions but not that. Any in law know whether this is possible? I've never heard if this in any murder trial if a RSO before. ???

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