An attorney for Georgia beauty queen Lindsay Shiver is asserting that Bahamian prosecutors lack the legal standing to pursue murder-for-hire charges against her, citing jurisdictional issues related to her whereabouts at the time of the alleged conspiracy.
"Lindsay Shiver is not guilty of the crimes alleged against her by the Bahamian Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP). Period," attorney Craig Shirley told Fox News Digital in a statement. Shirley contends that Bahamian prosecutors do not have jurisdiction to prosecute Shiver for alleged conduct that occurred while she was in the United States.
Shirley stated that while the indictment claims Shiver was in the Bahamas on July 16, 2023, when the purported conspiracy took place, his defense team has presented evidence from multiple independent sources indicating she was in the U.S. on that date. "The DPP must prove it. Meaning that, as a threshold requirement, the DPP is required to prove that Lindsay was in the Bahamas on July 16, 2023," Shirley said. "It cannot."
He characterized the dispute as not merely a factual disagreement but a "legally fatal defect" in the evidence, charges, and prosecution. "Lindsay cannot be prosecuted under the Bahamian Penal Code for an alleged act committed at a time when the undisputed evidence establishes that she was not in The Bahamas," Shirley argued. He expressed shock and disappointment that Bahamian authorities continue to pursue the case, stating they have an obligation to drop all charges.
Shiver, her lover Adrien Bethel, and an alleged hitman, Faron Newbold Jr., were arrested in the Bahamas in July 2023. They are charged with conspiracy to commit murder under Bahamian law and have pleaded not guilty to all charges. The alleged plot reportedly came to light during an unrelated investigation into a break-in at a local bar in Abaco, Bahamas. While searching a suspect's phone, authorities discovered WhatsApp messages containing photos of Robert Shiver, Shiver's husband, alongside text instructions allegedly sent by Lindsay Shiver. Defense attorneys have maintained these messages were taken out of context.
Shiver and her husband were reportedly in the midst of a divorce and custody battle at the time of the alleged incident.