Hart City Councilor Tim Shannon Makes a Resolution...

[XLFD]

... To Use City Water to Cut Back on Expenditures and Liabilities

You may have already heard this story, it was reported by WOOD just before 1 PM on Wednesday and picked up by WZZM and the Muskegon Chronicle later that day.  A Hart City Councilor is alleged to have drowned his wife in the bathtub of their home, pending a divorce and a mistress in waiting.

The City of Ludington Daily News (COLDNews) finally posted the story the next day, that in itself being odd since their media holdings include the Oceana Herald Journal based right in the center of Hart.  They did get an interview with the Mayor:  Hart Mayor Ron LaPorte said he was shocked by the arrest, as is everyone he’s talked to.

“To all of us, it’s not the Tim Shannon we know,” LaPorte said. “It’s totally out of character for him. Nobody would expect that.”

LaPorte said he saw Tim at a committee meeting Monday night and the normally quiet man was a little more vocal than he had been at other meetings.

“This guy was straight-laced, down-to-earth, a by-the-book type of person,” LaPorte said. “That’s why it’s so shocking to us all.” COLDNews article

Mayor LaPorte forgot to mention that Councilor Shannon would never think of doing anything as significant as murder without a quorum of councilors present.

Here is the WOOD story and WZZM video:

 

Councilman charged with drowning wife

By Ryan Takeo

HART, Mich. (WOOD) - A city councilman in Hart has been charged with drowning his wife in the bathtub of their Oceana County residence.

Now, police say a councilman Tim Shannon's extramarital romantic relationship with another woman may have been one precursor to what they are calling a homicide.

Tim Shannon called police to his home at 214 Courtland Street in Hart around 11:30 a.m. on Dec. 29, 2012. Authorities found Lee-Ann Shannon dead in the bathtub.

"The story that they were given was that this was an accidental drowning in the bathtub of the residence," Lt. Craig Mast of the Oceana County Sheriff's Department told 24 Hour News 8.

Police were skeptical.

"Thirty-four-year-olds in pretty good physical condition don't usually drown in their own bathtub," said Lt. Mast. "That's a pretty extraordinary story."

Both the public and those close to the Shannons began giving investigators tips, the county prosecutor told 24 Hour News 8. That is when the investigation took a turn toward murder. Soon, a suspect was developed: Tim Shannon.

"We took over the investigation because there's a city council member involved in it. Hart police wasn't interested in having a conflict of interest," said Mast.

Oceana County sheriff's detectives interviewed Shannon Tuesday night. At that point, they said, his story changed. Police and the prosecutor stopped short of confirming he confessed.

"After that statement he was placed under arrest," Lt. Mast said.

Tim Shannon, 34, was arraigned Wednesday on an open murder charge. Bond was denied.

Lt. Mast told 24 Hour News 8 Thursday they are hearing that Shannon has since hired an attorney.

The Shannons had been married for six years and had two children. But Tim Shannon had hired an attorney to handle a divorce, Mast confirmed 24 Hour News 8 Thursday.

And, Mast said, Shannon had been having an affair with a woman in her 30s who had been renting a room in the Shannons' home. Mast said that woman appeared to have "had a critical role in their pending divorce."

The woman has since moved away, but had previously been interviewed regarding the death. Authorities are not currently working to find her.

"Things may change because this goofy story has been unraveling quickly," Mast told 24 Hour News 8 Thursday over the phone.

Tim Shannon never denied having a relationship with the woman, Mast confirmed to 24 Hour News 8, and thought the accidental drowning story could cover up a "perfect murder."

"This was a crime of passion. You know, it certainly appears to be a crime of passion," Mast said Wednesday. "It seems like the marriage may have been deteriorating. And tempers got the best of them and made some decisions that one party is going to live to regret and the other didn't."

MY TAKE:  I seriously have to come to this City Councilor's defense because in the Muskegon paper and in some of the press releases by the OCSD Lt. Craig Mast, other police and the prosecutor have come close to tainting the jury pool with innuendo, without actually bringing out the details of what they have actually uncovered, or what Shannon may have said.  When Mast says:  "This was a crime of passion... tempers got the best of them and made some decisions that one party is going to live to regret and the other didn't", and when Sheriff's Det. Shane Hasty says police became certain the case was a homicide because:  “Adults don’t drown in bathtubs,” -- they are showing a bias which I would find distasteful as a juror if there were no admission or airtight evidence..

Prosecutor Bizon also would not comment on specifics of the investigation, yet praised police for their work on the case:  “I’m really grateful for the work of the Hart city police force and the Oceana County sheriff’s department for not letting this sift through the cracks.  They did a wonderful job of investigating this. I just give them a lot of credit for doing a very professional job.”   The praise should be delayed until they present their case to the public and win or lose a prosecution.

[XLFD]

If Tim Shannon's story mentioned that, I can see why the police had a hard time with it.  If you feel strongly regarding that angle, maybe you should go forward and give your story to the Oceana Sheriff.  Without any more information, the public might as well think bogeymen, witches or poltergeists were the culprit, because without further disclosure of information, it looks less and less to me like he is guilty. 

Post a thread about it, Renee; I like a good ghost story.   

[Renee Brown]

I really do not think he did it it is not like Tim

[XLFD]

If you are Mr. Shannon's defense attorney, Renee, you're doing a good job so far.  But the mayor and others of repute I have talked with also have said the same thing.  But, such things are often said about people of stature that, on occasion, do the unthinkable and kill someone else. 

Most would probably think he was beyond having an extramarital relationship too, but it happens to the best of them. 

[XLFD]

Here are some recent updates to this story from the Oceana Herald Journal's January 16th paper.  The COLDNews apparently doesn't think Ludington area people are interested in the turns of this case:

Both Oceana County Prosecutor Joe Bizon and Tim Shannon’s defense attorney Doug Springstead agree that they don’t have a conflict of interest as the murder charge against Shannon moves forward.

Bizon’s wife, Sara, serves as city council member, and Springstead is the city attorney.

“I don’t see any conflict. If I did, I would get out,” Springstead said.

Bizon said if there was a conflict of interest, he not only would be required to recuse himself, but his entire office would have to recuse and a special prosecutor brought in to prosecute the case. Springstead said as the city attorney, he represents the city as a whole, the city manager and possibly the mayor, but not the individual council members. His office was appointed by the 78th District Court to represent Shannon in the murder case

http://oceanaheraldjournal.com/news/47720-attorneys-with-council-ti...

HART — Infidelity and marital strife are the latest allegations to come out against Hart City Councilman Tim Shannon, who is accused of drowning his wife, Lee-Ann, Dec. 29 in the bathtub of the couple’s home on Courtland Street in the City of Hart.

Timothy Shannon, 34, was arrested by the Oceana County Sheriff’s Department following an interview with detectives Jan. 8. He was arraigned on one count of open murder Jan. 9 and is being held in the Oceana County Jail without bond. An autopsy showed Lee-Ann Shannon died from drowning, Hart City Police Chief Dan Leimback said.

The incident was initially reported as an accidental drowning, but following interviews with Lee-Ann Shannon’s family members things didn’t add up, said Leimback, who asked the sheriff’s department to assist in the investigation. Leimback and sheriff’s department Lt. Craig Mast both said there was no known history of domestic issues between the Shannons, but Lee-Ann Shannon’s family members indicated there had been marital problems.

http://oceanaheraldjournal.com/news/47722-hart-councilman-charged-w...

 

Doug is a good attorney, but I think there will be some conflict of interest issues between representing the interests of the City of Hart and those of Tim Shannon.  The City of Hart should consider this, as should Mr. Springstead.  Not sure of what conflicts may arise, read section 1.7 of this .pdf file

[XLFD]

The prelim exam on this suspicious death was held Tuesday, and it does appear interesting.  Mr. Shannon is said to have told deputies that he held the Mrs. under the water of the bathtub until she drowned.  He changed his clothes, which got wet, and called 9-1-1 in a rather stoic  manner.  Then the mistress moved in.  Here's the story and here's a video of the examination courtesy of the Muskegon Chronicle:

 

[XLFD]

The murder trial for Tim Shannon is to occur June 19-21 in front of Oceana Circuit Court Judge Terence Thomas, after it was confirmed yesterday that his wife LeeAnn did officially drown, according to the coroner's report issued ironically enough on Valentines Day.  Story here:  http://www.mlive.com/news/muskegon/index.ssf/2013/02/hart_city_coun...

 

This article ends by saying:  "... the Hart Police Department turned (the murder investigation) over to the Oceana County Sheriff’s Office because Tim Shannon was a (Hart) city council member."   The Ludington Police and Mason County Sheriff's Office could learn a lot by looking to the south about what you do when a conflict of interest is present.