Shubert Murder Trial Wrapping Up In Franklin Co.

By MJ Kneiser, WLHR Radio, Lavonia

Closing arguments are expected today in the Brent Shubert murder trial in Franklin County Superior Court.

Shubert is charged with malice murder, felony murder and concealing the death of another in the 2013 strangulation death of his live-in girlfriend, Bonnie Ann Cooner.

After four days of testimony, Northern Judicial Circuit District Attorney Parks White rested his case Thursday afternoon after calling his last witness, Shubert’s ex-wife, Shawn Lee Shubert.

Mrs. Shubert testified she had been married to Brent Shubert from 1991 to 1996, divorced, then remarried him in 1998.

During her testimony, Mrs. Shubert told the court they had had a violent marriage and Brent tried at least seven times to kill her by smothering her or holding his hand over her face so she couldn’t breathe.

Mrs. Shubert testified Brent Shubert drank heavily while working in his auto body shop and that’s when he would become violent.

She described Brent Shubert’s “fits of rage” after he had been drinking and said after beating her he would dare her to call authorities, threatening to kill her, his children and her family if she did.

Mrs. Shubert also testified Brent would often talk about how he would kill someone and how he would make it so the body would never be found by throwing it down a well.

After the prosecution rested, the defense only called two witnesses.

The first was a neighbor of Shubert’s who testified she saw nothing unusual the night Bonnie Cooner went missing.

The second witness, Mary Kormanik, testified she knew both Shubert and J.D. Canady, who helped Shubert dispose of Cooner’s body.

She said Canady often did odd jobs for her at her house and would often talk about his hatred of Bonnie Cooner, saying Brent Shubert would be better off without her.

Kormanik admitted to visiting Shubert in jail nine times, but said she didn’t remember telling Shubert about Canady’s threats against Cooner.

When asked by the prosecution, Kormanik admitted she never reported Canady’s alleged threats against Cooner to law enforcement.

Shubert agreed to a bench trial, meaning a jury is not hearing the case, but his guilt or innocence will be decided by Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Malcom, who is presiding over the trial.