The sister of one of Ahmaud Arbery's killers Travis McMichael has admitted that she posted a disturbing image of the 25-year-old black man's dead body on Snapchat. Lindsay McMichael, the sister of Travis and daughter of Gregory McMichael said that she regrets doing that and should have thought twice before taking such an insensitive decision on that fateful day.
Travis, 35, his father Gregory McMichael, 65, and their friend William "Roddie" Bryan were convicted of Arbery's murder on Wednesday. It was Travis who fired off the shot that killed Arbery. The three now await sentencing as the high-profile case draws a close after almost two years.
Disturbing Images
Lindsay admitted to posting an unedited image of Arbery's boady soaked in a pool of blood to Snapchat account moments after he was gunned down by her brother Travis, according to a report in the Sun. However, she said that she didn't do it with any malicious intent.
Lindsay now regrets her actions as her brother and father now await sentencing after being proven guilty in Arbery's killing. "I had no nefarious or malicious intent when I posted that picture. The thing is I'm a huge fan of true crime – I listen to four or five podcasts a week – I'm constantly watching that sort of thing," she said.
"It was more of a 'Holy s***, I can't believe this has happened. It was absolutely poor judgment," Lindsay added, according to the outlet.
Although Lindsay tried to justify her actions, her version was the Arbery family lawyer Lee Merritt tore into her calling the images "very disturbing."
The chilling version shared by Lindsay has not only left everyone shocked but sent Arbery's mother crying. However, she now is relieved after court found all the three guilty of Arbery's murder.
Justice Finally
Once the three men were convicted of Arbery's murder, his mom, Wanda Cooper-Jones, broke down in tears in the courtroom and shouted "justice". Wanda Cooper-Jones said the family had waited a long time for justice.
Throughout the high-profile 10-day trial, the defense team tried desperately to project Arbery as a criminal. However, they failed. Travis was found guilty on all charges, including malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault and false imprisonment.
Gregory was found guilty of felony murder, aggravated assault, false imprisonment and criminal attempt to commit a felony. And Roddie was found guilty of felony murder, aggravated assault, false imprisonment and criminal attempt to commit a felony.
On the fateful day of February 23, Arbery was mid-jog when the three white men chased after him in their cars, cornered him and gunned him down. Arbery was first confronted by the Travis and Gregory who claimed he was a suspect in a series of alleged local break-ins.
The McMichaels then reportedly went to make a "citizen's arrest" by following him in their white pickup truck while armed with a pistol and shotgun. After exiting the truck, Travis fatally shot Arbery three times and later claimed self-defense.
However, Travis later tried to defend himself claiming that Arbery had tried to snatch his gun and refused his order to get on the ground, according to authorities.
Later, investigations revealed that the first shot was fired at Arbery's chest, the second to his hand, and the third was to his chest again before he collapsed and died.
The entire shooting was captured on video by Bryan but the three men escaped arrest. Months later, the video of his death emerged online which led to the arrests of the trio, after the Georgia Bureau of Investigation took over the case from local police.
