How was the body of Mickey Shunick found? The public is still speculating on whether or not the suspect in her murder led police to the rural grave, but detectives are remaining tight-lipped. They will not confirm or deny that Brandon Scott Lavergne may have taken a plea deal in exchange for the location of the missing woman's remains. This indicates that the suspicions of the public may just be correct, which is absolutely heartbreaking. The speculation isn't stopping there, however, as it's now aiming toward whether or not the man is fit to stand trial.
A Lafayette attorney who specializes in murder cases offered his insight on this speculation. Kevin Stockstill says that if he was given a plea deal (which earlier reports do indicate that he was), then he'd be expected to soon appear before the 15th Judicial District. The judge would be Herman Clause in that case.
"Before a guilty plea can be accepted, the court has to be convinced he's competent," he said.
So therein lies the question. Is Brandon Scott Lavergne mentally competent to stand trial over the murders of Mickey Shunick and Lisa Pate? If he understands all of the charges against him and can discern right from wrong, then he's most likely competent.
Nonetheless, this is just another hump in the road for people who want to see justice for what happened to Mickey. It's certain that the death penalty is well deserved by this piece of work, if he is in fact responsible for the deaths of these women. Detectives do feel that they have enough evidence against him, and felt that way even before they discovered the young woman's remains. That's a good sign, as long as he's sane enough to be tried.
Crime analyst and profiler Chelsea Hoffman can be found on The Huffington Post, Chelsea Hoffman: Case to Case and many other outlets. Follow @TheRealChelseaH on Twitter or click here to contact Chelsea directly.
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