The Tribune

By PAVEL BAILEY

Tribune Staff Reporter

pbailey@tribunemedia.net

FORMER Georgia beauty queen Lindsay Shiver, who is accused of conspiring with two men in Abaco to kill her husband in 2023, had her bail upheld by a Supreme Court justice yesterday after prosecutors alleged her monitoring device had been malfunctioning for 126 days.

The prosecution had applied to have Shiver’s bail revoked for allegedly failing to comply with the conditions of her electronic monitoring.

The application was dismissed by Senior Justice Cheryl Grant-Thompson.

Justice Grant-Thompson found that Shiver had called in while the device was malfunctioning, as requested by monitoring company Migrafil.

The court found that Shiver did not pose a flight risk and had complied with her bail conditions.

However, Justice Grant-Thompson told Shiver that she must adhere to the terms of her bail and contact Migrafil when requested.

Addressing Shiver’s complaints about the monitoring device, Justice Grant-Thompson said it would be replaced that day with a slimmer, more comfortable device. She said she hoped the replacement would resolve Shiver’s concerns as well as the “tortured history of malfunctioning”.

Justice Grant-Thompson said the device was not a fashion statement but was designed to track the accused.

She said telephone calls to the monitoring company alone would not suffice and that electronic monitoring would remain in place.

Shiver’s trial is scheduled for later this year.

Before the court’s decision, defence attorney Terrel Butler said her client contracted norovirus in May. Despite being placed in medical isolation, the defence said Shiver had attempted to attend a device servicing appointment in Florida on May 22 as requested.

The defence submitted that Shiver had reported that the device was malfunctioning and photographed it.

Ms Butler maintained that Shiver had complied with the terms of her bail and willingly provided tracking information. She also said electronic data and a medical certificate showed that Shiver was in compliance.

Ms Butler argued that it would be contrary to justice to revoke her client’s bail because of technical problems with the device and asked the court to dismiss the application.

Prosecutor Karine MacVean, however, said Shiver’s device had been malfunctioning since last December and continued to do so for 126 days before it was serviced in May.

Ms MacVean argued that Shiver had failed to comply with her bail conditions.

The prosecution said Shiver was contacted again in April to have the device serviced but did not comply with the request.

Ms MacVean said Shiver attributed her inability to do so to childcare responsibilities and the distance between her and the service site.

The prosecution asked the court to revoke Shiver’s bail and remand her to the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services until trial.

In response, the defence said Shiver had not attempted to abscond and had appeared in court that day.

Shiver, Terrance Bethel and Faron Newbold Jr, 29, were charged with conspiracy to commit murder. They allegedly plotted to kill Shiver’s husband, Robert Shiver, on July 16, 2023. Authorities discovered the alleged plot after seizing a phone while investigating another crime in Guana Cay.

Last year, Shiver was granted bail and allowed to return to the United States under strict monitoring conditions.

In 2024, Shiver briefly lost her bail after prosecutors alleged that she had left Alabama on multiple occasions in breach of a court order.

A representative of Migrafil previously testified that multiple monitoring devices used by Shiver had malfunctioned.