Sister of Ahmaud Arbery ‘killer’ posted disturbing picture of his dead body on Snapchat ‘because she’s a true crime fan’
THE sister of Ahmaud Arbery murder suspect Travis McMichael has admitted posted a disturbing image of the 25-year-old’s dead body lying on the ground on Snapchat because she is a “true crime fan”.
A horrifying picture showing a blood-soaked Ahmaud, surrounded by crime scene tape and law enforcement officers has been obtained by The Sun after being circulated in the local community of Brunswick, Georgia.
Even though leaked video of the killing has been viewed around the world, we have chosen to completely obscure the tragic victim’s body out of respect for his family.
Their lawyer has branded the image, “deeply disturbing”, but has given The Sun the family’s blessing to run it and put it in the public domain.
Lindsay McMichael, the sister and daughter of suspects Travis and Gregory McMichael, has admitted posting the unedited image on her Snapchat account – but claimed she didn’t mean it maliciously.
Lindsay, 30, said: “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.
“It was more of a, ‘Holy s***, I can’t believe this has happened’.
“It was absolutely poor judgement.”
But lawyer for the family of Ahmaud, Lee Merritt, has slammed Lindsay’s actions.
He said: “The picture Lindsay McMichael posted was very disturbing and very disturbing to the family.
“It also highlights that there are probably more video and more images of before, during and after Ahmaud’s murder – these images aren’t meant for public consumption in this way.
“It actually fits in with the pattern of the McMichael family engaging in a weird, violent form of voyeurism.
“First you have [Gregory] McMichael sharing with a news station a video of the murder then you have his daughter sharing an image of Ahmaud’s bullet-ridden body on Snapchat. It’s deeply disturbing behavior.”
The killing of Ahmaud has been condemned around the world with Ahmaud’s family describing it as a “modern day lynching“and President Donald Trump calling it “disturbing”.
Horrifying video footage of the attack prompted nationwide outrage and local protests because Ahmaud – who was out jogging – was unarmed and black while the white gunmen pursuing him had firearms.
The footage appears to show Ahmaud being pursued by two white men carrying guns, before shots are fired the tragic victim collapses on the ground.
No arrests were made in the weeks after the February 23 shooting. It was only when video of the sickening incident was leaked, sparking outrage around the globe, that the police investigation picked up pace.
Gregory McMichael, 64, and son Travis, 34, were finally arrested and charged with murder and aggravated assault on May 7. They are currently being held in Glynn County Jail.
Shockingly, Lindsay has leapt to the defence of her brother and father claiming they never “meant to kill anybody” and are not racist because they always “loved” her non-white boyfriends.
In an interview with The Sun last week, she told how she and her mother, 61, who were watching “a movie in their pajamas” when the shooting occurred and had no idea what was going on.
After hearing a commotion she said she sprinted out and saw her brother in blood stained clothes and tragic Ahmaud lying dead on the floor.
“All I saw was the look on his [Travis’s] face and he was looking very desperate… I don’t think we even exchanged a word,” Lindsay said.
“I’ve seen my brother in his happiest moments – I was there when his child was born and I’ve seen him in distress and I know that look… it wasn’t like some glory thing, like ‘I stalked and then got the kill that I was hoping for’.
“It was absolute f***king panic…I really do believe that things just escalated so fast.”
She insists: “I will until the day that I die believe that he had no intention of malice like that.”
Lindsay declined to comment further on details of their legal case, saying she has not spoken to her brother or father.
But she said she is full of sorrow for Ahmaud’s mom Wanda, who she says she “thinks about every day” and all his family and loved ones.
“His poor mama, I’m not a mother but I couldn’t imagine losing my child. I think about her every day and the grief and despair she must be feeling,” she said.
“The words that I would love to say to his family would not even touch the amount of sorrow that I feel. I can’t say I’m sorry enough.”
She says she and her own mom have been inundated with violent and threatening messages since the video of the horrifying attack was made public – and do not feel safe in their own home.
Lindsay shared a number of extremely violent and graphic messages with The Sun from people threatening to rape and kill them – as the case inflames tension across the US and high profile figures publicly express their condemnation.
Most read in news
She added: “We’re not not the ones on trial here – my dad and my brother are and yes I don’t think that they were beating the hood of the truck and saying, ‘Let’s go get this person’. I think that things just really escalated.”
She added: “I just want people to realize we’re not monsters.”