It is entirely up to the DA’s office. They MAY take victims’ opinions into account but are not required to. And even if they have a slam dunk case may go for a plea anyway.
She also would be in charge of if there’s a civil suit or not, as she’d be the one bringing it.
In my own experience, when my sister in law and her friend were killed and another woman injured in a hit and run by an impaired driver; the prosecution wanted a plea deal to avoid going to trial. (For no reason that we could see other than he preferred a plea deal to a trial.) No one asked the families what they thought, there was no contact with the surviving victim or the victim’s families. The victim’s families held a vigil outside the courthouse in response that most of the community attended
As a result of the news coverage of the vigil and pressure from the community, the terms of the plea deal were made tougher, but the case still did not go to trial. The driver accepted a plea deal that involved pleading guilty two counts of felony hit-and-run involving death, felony hit-and-run involving injury and misdemeanor reckless driving and was sentenced to 12 years.
Again, the victim’s and the victim’s families were not consulted. It was all handled between the prosecuting attorney and the driver’s attorney.
So LK doesn’t have a hound in this hunt. Her opportunity will come if she files a civil suit.
Take a look at the video on LK public Facebook post where the police are recognized for their actions the day of the shooting. It appears like the police feel very confident in what happen that day. It is nice for them to be recognized for the difficult work they do everyday. Emergency people too.
Did you also notice that LK claims that she wrote a portion of that “declaration”?
Everyone keeps making this argument, like over and over and over and over again, that obvs Michael Barison was physically assaulted and just defending himself. there is literally no evidence of this and it was not at all suggested in his initial hearing.
Yes, I did. Seemed she just wanted to thank them and was happy they recognized her appreciation by using some of her words in the ceremony. I am not sure what you mean. Are you saying the police are her puppets?
The only thing I read into that was LK’s incessant need to make everything 100% about her. The audio was so bad on the video that I couldn’t really hear what they were saying anyway.
I’m assuming that Morris County, NJ does not have a whole lot of active shooter incidents and I was happy to see the emergency personnel get recognition for a difficult, dangerous, and usually thankless job.
No I am not saying the police are her puppets by any stretch. But you said it sounds like the police are confident in what happened that day, but if they are her words, then it does not mean that necessarily.
The police unfortunately dropped the ball many times leading up to the shooting, and if MB had been a woman, the complaints would have been taken seriously and more guidance would have been given.
LK wants everyone to be her puppets!!! I will follow up soon on the rest of the story after the reveal about the tiara and the house
Well, we have no idea what actual, admissible evidence either side has.
Very few of us here are criminal trial attorneys, licensed in the state of NJ - those are the only people that I’d actually believe when it comes to the nuts and bolts of this trial. Just because it seems cut and dry to a lay person, doesn’t mean there isn’t many, many moves for both sides to make under NJ criminal code.
When the pre-trial confinement hearing was discussed here, those who know more about NJ legal proceedings stated that due to the “no bail” aspect of NJ law, it was unlikely that he would be allowed out of jail pre-trial. So, perhaps his lawyer did not see the value in giving up much of his evidence pre-trial with the dim hope of getting MB out of jail.
All we have to go on now is the brief statements from the police, the 911 tapes, unsubstantiated stories from other LK “victims”, and LK’s endless SM posts. Her claims start to lose credibility when RG had a “broken arm that needed surgery” but three weeks later he shows no cast or signs of injury whatsoever. She’s been shot twice, or three times, or four, depending on the day. A month later there is still blood on the ground, outside, in the summer in NJ (not possible). According to her, all of this went down because she was unwilling to leave the property without the horses. Yet since the shooting she appears to be able to get her hair done, go get tea, but has not visited her horses. It is just… weird.
MB was in a cast & sling during his hearing, with 2 black eyes, That shows evidence of some level of physical assault.
We can continue to ask why it happened without condoning the actual act.
Wasn’t there a picture of him posted just a week or so after the incident with no sign of any cast or bandage on his arms?
I think a smart lawyer will work with the prosecutor on a plea bargain, and advise MB to plead guilty to a lesser charge and avoid a trial altogether
The first stories making the gossip rounds that day were that LK had attacked him with a knife and that he shot her in self defense. But the judge’s comments at the bond hearing seem to refute that pretty conclusively.
Re impending civil suit that is no doubt going to happen after the criminal trial and result.
I suspect she won’t win a civil suit IF it becomes clear to the jury that her intent was to take possession of his farm and the lengths to which she did that by “trying to destroy him”. Yes, she got shot in the process.
Civil trials are not a slam dunk win post criminal trial for the plaintiff as one might think. The jury may see things in quite a different light as to her “intent”, background and such. Just my take. Of course, who the heck knows ?
It will play out and there may surprises for all of those following this when all the facts are finally out and the conjecture here can be put to bed.
First of all, this IS a new account. I am not LK, RG, MB, SW, or MH. I have been a COTH member for too many years to think about and have been following this thread since August 8. I established a new account rather than use my normal account because I’ve seen too many judgmental people assuming and making accusations. So, yeah, I’m hiding. :eek:
The ONLY people who know what happened the afternoon of August 7 are MB, LK and RG. It is truly ludicrous to believe much of anything LK has to say at any given point in the day. The facts we know from other sources are: she was shot at least twice on MB’s property which is part of an LLC, CPS was called by someone, a pink/black gun was used, the police were called multiple times to the property for threats, harassment, yelling and being shot, the house was condemned by the fire department (?), MB was denied bail and is still in jail, LK has posted recent photos of how she looks, and she continues to post on social media about moving back into the house. Beyond these facts, we don’t know anything.
Yet, we have amused ourselves with stories, fables, poems, speculation and several personal accounts of all LK did to those posters in the past. We have not heard one person express personal negative accounts of MB other than LK. We’ve read how some have shredded MH and all the speculation of her relationship with MB. Fact….none of their relationship is anyone’s business.
We’ve had lawyers from other states, armchair attorneys and Columbo wannabes discuss whether a plea will be offered, whether MB will/should accept it, what his current charges are, when the case will go to trial, yet, still none of us are privy to any real inside information.
LK has been investigated by people on this forum to the point some believe SHE should be behind bars. For sure, she’s a piece of work who has been enabled and spoiled her entire life. Apparently she has learned nothing from this experience other than increasing her fan base with people who admit they’ve never met her.
But we have lingering questions that are driving us to distraction, primarily what exactly happened. I agree RG shows no evidence of any injury whatsoever although he supposedly was injured and underwent surgery. Where are her horses now and why hasn’t she posted photos of her visiting them? Is she moving back to the farm to continue what MB’s original attorney called, “squatting”? Is she going to FL for the Winter circuit although it is quite likely she won’t be welcomed with open arms with so many big trainers mourning the loss of MB on the rail? Is there a place she can go in the dressage world and be welcomed?
Can we simply be kind to one another as we watch this play out and understand some people other than MB and MH have apparently been seriously emotionally effected by LK over the years? Such a shame her behavior wasn’t addressed long ago. Too many lives ruined, including hers.
If Child Services paid me a visit, I would not be in the mood for running errands. I would be very angry. I’m not sure if the shooting was right after the Child Services visit, though.
I think it would be wrong to assume that just because no one has posted negative accounts of MB that he is free of negative actions. Some people may not want to get on his bad side or any of his supporter’s bad sides. Not to mention being a target on this thread.
LK is not in jail, he is. His supporters need LK to be unsympathetic. No one wants to believe that someone they admire may also be the bad guy.
Lastly, one should not believe everything they read on this forum from someone hiding behind a screen name. Their motivation is unknown.
By errands, I meant going to see his lawyer, not going to buy berries and cream!
That is correct! calling child services was one of the ways LK tried to distract MB based on what I saw from my vantage point in the tackroom or the barn or the ring.
She wants to be in the media and more particularly on TV and this is one way to do it, to rile people up so that she can claim to be a victim and then have people pay even more attention to her. Then in the civil suit she can go for the tiara.
By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. You may also receive promotional emails from The Chronicle of the Horse. You can opt out at any time.
For Customers
Company
Terms of Use
