Sister of Ahmaud Arbery's alleged killer posts picture of his blood-soaked body lying on the ground on Snapchat
A family member of Ahmaud Arbery's killers said that she had posted pictures of his body on Snapchat because she is a "true-crime" fan. 30-year-old Lindsay McMichael revealed that she had shared an unedited image of a bloodied Arbery lying on the road in Brunswick, Georgia, on Snapchat. The picture also shows Arbery's body surrounded by crime scene tape and law enforcement officers.
She shared that she meant no harm when she uploaded the photo, The Sun reveals. Lindsay shared, "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 revealed, "It was more of a 'holy s**t, I can't believe this has happened' moment. It was absolutely poor judgment."
Meanwhile, the Arbery family's lawyer, Lee Merritt, slammed Lindsay for posting the gruesome image online. Merritt 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." He continued, "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."
While a leaked video of the killing showed the world the horrific manner in which Arbery was shot dead in cold blood, the image being shared on social media was not at all right. The family's lawyer called the image "deeply disturbing". Ahmaud Arbery was shot dead by father-son duo 64-year-old Gregory McMichael and 34-year-old Travis McMichael on February 23 on a street in Brunswick, Georgia in broad daylight while he was jogging.
Arbery was shot thrice and was reported dead on the scene. Lindsay has defended her father and brother and has said that they never "meant to kill anybody". "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," she shared.
"It wasn't like some glory thing, like, 'I stalked and then got the kill that I was hoping for'," she added. Ever since the Ahmaud Arbery shooting, she said that the family has been receiving death threats and threats of rape. "We’re 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. I just want people to realize we're not monsters," she continued.
The McMichaels were not arrested even after two months of the assault, the arrest was made only after the video triggered an investigation by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI). Merritt shared that the amount of time local authorities just deliberated on evidence was staggering as it highlights the prejudices in the Georgian town, Fox News reports.