After receiving a call that a gun had been shot one afternoon in August 2019, authorities rushed to a farm in Washington Township, New Jersey in response to the report of the shooting. There they found Lauren Kanarek in serious condition, along with whoever was responsible for what happened to her. The CBS News episode of “48 Hours” titled “The Shooting of Lauren Kanarek” details the legal repercussions of the incident as well as the causes that led to the shooting. So, are we going to investigate this further, shall we?
Lauren Kanarek
What happened to Lauren Kanarek?
Lauren Kanarek is a skilled equestrian who has been recognized for her achievements by the United States Equestrian Federation and United States Dressage Federation with medals. She loved ice skating and music when she was younger, and at one point even had the idea of becoming a lawyer. But in the end, Lauren decided that becoming a trainer was the path she was most interested in. She was preparing for the event at a horse farm in Washington Township, where she was also living with her fiancé, Robert Goodwin, in the days before the tragedy.
Lauren called 911 around 2:15 p.m. on August 7, 2019 and reported that she had been shot twice in the chest. The authorities responded to his report. The assailant was armed with a 9mm caliber revolver, and when police arrived on the scene, they found Robert struggling with the assailant. After being taken to hospital, Lauren required immediate surgery in order to be stabilized and begin the healing process. After that, authorities began their investigation into the circumstances surrounding Lauren’s shooting death.
Who tried to kill Lauren Kanarek?
The inquest revealed the fact that Lauren Kanarek started training at the horse farm in March 2018 under the tutelage of Michael Barisone, a renowned dressage trainer who was also an Olympic equestrian in the past. In the past, he had also coached a number of athletes who competed in the Olympics. At the time, Lauren was paying Robert a monthly rent of $5,000 to board his horses, train them, and allow him to live on the farm with him. Nevertheless, by the summer of 2019, things had taken a decidedly unfavorable turn.
According to the testimony, Lauren was unhappy with the training; she wanted Michael to tutor her, rather than one of his assistants. As a direct result of this, Lauren, who is very engaged on social media, began posting a number of complaints online. One of them carried the following message: “Perhaps it is time to go to war. Anyone who continually kicks a sleeping beast will, at some point, cause the beast to wake up! She went so far as to accuse Michael of being “racist, homophobic and anti-Semitic”, which he strenuously denied. She even went so far as to accuse him of being “anti-Semitic”.
Michael claimed that a verbal agreement between the three parties to vacate the premises after the training ended was broken by the couple. On the other hand, according to Lauren, Michael tried to evict them after he and his fiancée were forced to move into a barn on the property due to flooding. She claimed that Michael had shown an interest in moving into the same house that Lauren and Robert occupied. In the days leading up to the shooting, authorities were repeatedly summoned to the scene due to Lauren’s constant social media posts, and they eventually responded to the scene of the shooting.
Michael previously reported to authorities that Lauren and Robert were squatting on his property, calling them stalkers who refused to leave. He also claimed that they refused to leave. Then Lauren alleged on social media that she had been bullied and was terrified of the situation. Additionally, she and Robert reportedly phoned Child Protective Services, who then showed up at the farm to investigate allegations that Michael abused the children he shares with his partner. After further investigation, however, he was cleared of any misconduct by a social worker.
Michael drove to where Lauren and Robert were staying on August 7, 2019, and he brought a gun with him. After determining that Michael was the shooter, Lauren later said that Michael also tried to shoot Robert but failed to hit him. After that, Robert managed to subdue Michael until the cops arrived. During Michael’s trial, which took place in early 2022, Lauren’s online posts were a contentious issue. Mary Haskins Gray, who was her partner at the time, testified in court that Lauren made threats online.
Lauren acknowledged that some of her posts could be construed as threats, but she claimed she was unaware of this possibility at the time she wrote them. Michael later said he raised concerns about his safety with authorities, but they did not take his statements seriously. In the end, her attorneys attempted to construct an insanity-based defense by having scholars testify that Lauren’s social media insults pushed her beyond the point of no return. Michael was found not guilty of the attempted murders of Lauren and Robert in April 2022, and he was subsequently ordered to undergo mental health therapy after being found not guilty. He said he had no memory of the shooting.
