NASSAU, Bahamas — The ex-boyfriend and alleged accomplice of a Georgia woman in a murder-for-hire plot is speaking for the first time in an ABC News exclusive.
Lindsay Shiver is accused of planning with her then-boyfriend, Terrence Bethel, to kill her estranged husband, Robert Shiver, in the Bahamas. Investigators say Bethel enlisted the help of his friend, Faron Newbold.
But Bethel told ABC News that they never planned to kill anyone and wants to tell the world they are innocent.
“No, nobody ever wanted him dead,” Bethel said. “I’m definitely not guilty of conspiracy to commit murder and Faylo is not guilty of being a hired hitman either.”
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ABC News obtained Bahamian court documents laying out the case against the three, including WhatsApp messages between the group.
Lindsay Shiver told investigators she sent “frustrated” texts to Newbold after fighting with her ex-husband. One of the texts was a picture of Robert Shiver with another woman and the words “Kill him.”
Bethel said Shiver sent that picture and text message to find out if her husband had left their kids unsupervised.
“She sends the picture that was just sent to her. When she found out that he was there and the kids were home, that’s when she was like kill him.”
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Lindsay and Robert Shiver met at Auburn University, where Robert played football. After college, he had a brief stint with the Atlanta Falcons.
The couple lived in Thomasville and also had a home in the Bahamas before filing for divorce.
ABC News obtained police body camera footage that shows an argument at the couple’s home days before Lindsay’s arrest.
Lindsay Shiver: “Woke up this morning, we have travel plans to leave and he’s insisting I don’t go.”
Officers: “Are you wanting to leave or is he supposed to be going with you?”
Lindsay Shiver: “Yeah, we’re supposed to be going with our kids.”
Robert Shiver: “She’s going to the Bahamas to see her boyfriend.”
Bethel said he and Lindsay Shiver would vent to each other through text messages, but said he did not plan a murder.
“Whenever she gets into an argument with him and she tells me about it, of course I’m livid about it. But planning to murder him? No,” he told ABC News.
Lindsay Shiver and Bethel, who are no longer together, and Newbold all pleaded not guilty to the charges with a trial scheduled for March.
“Us loving each other was not a secret at all. She’s my best friend still. We continue to care about each other no matter what. Which also, it kind of makes it hard going through this case,” he said.
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