Robert Shiver and Bobby Shriver: Murder-for-Hire and (RED) Co-Founder

Robert Shriver is a name that points to two unrelated public figures. The one drawing the most recent attention is Robert Shiver (spelled without the second “r”), a former Auburn University football player whose estranged wife Lindsay was charged in the Bahamas with plotting to have him killed. The other is Robert Sargent Shriver III, better known as Bobby Shriver, a member of the Kennedy family who co-founded (PRODUCT)RED with Bono and served on the Santa Monica City Council. Both are covered below.

Robert Shiver, the Auburn Alum at the Center of a Bahamas Murder Plot

Robert Shiver played deep snapper at Auburn from 2006 to 2008.¹ He is originally from Thomasville, Georgia, married Lindsay Shiver in March 2010, and has three children with her. The family home in Georgia is valued at roughly $2.5 million. On April 5, 2023, Robert filed for divorce, citing Lindsay’s “adulterous conduct.”²

The Alleged Plot

In July 2023, Bahamian authorities arrested Lindsay Shiver along with two co-defendants: Terrance Bethel, described as her lover, and Faron Newbold Jr., the alleged hitman. All three were charged with conspiracy to commit murder.³ Prosecutors allege that on July 16, 2023, Lindsay sent Newbold a WhatsApp message reading “Kill him,” along with photographs of Robert.⁴ Detectives say they found the messages on Bethel’s phone after seizing it during an unrelated burglary investigation, and they alerted Robert Shiver to the alleged plot.

All three defendants pleaded not guilty.⁵

Where the Case Stands

Lindsay Shiver was granted $100,000 bail in December 2023 and allowed to return to the United States. That bail was later revoked after the court found she had violated release conditions by appearing on “Good Morning America.”⁴ She and Bethel were re-arrested in late October 2024 over further pre-trial publicity, including an “Inside Edition” appearance.⁶ Bail was eventually reinstated. By late 2025, Lindsay had petitioned to have her GPS ankle monitor removed, citing plans to work as a social media influencer.⁵

The trial has been delayed four times. As of mid-2025, it is set for March 2, 2026, in Nassau. All three defendants remain out on bond. Lindsay is staying with family in the Wiregrass region of Alabama and is permitted to travel to Georgia to see the children.⁶

The Parallel Divorce

The criminal case has moved alongside a bitter civil divorce. Robert Shiver sought primary physical custody of the three children, possession of the marital home, and a restraining order against Lindsay.² Lindsay Shiver has countered that she was the children’s stay-at-home primary caregiver and has alleged that Robert physically, mentally, and emotionally abused her.⁷ She has also said that any extramarital relationships on her part happened during separation and were condoned by her husband. In January 2024, her lawyers alleged that Robert was withholding access to the children and had cut off her financial support.

Relationship With Savannah Chrisley

Robert Shiver began dating reality television personality Savannah Chrisley on August 17, 2023, shortly after Lindsay’s arrest. Chrisley later acknowledged the relationship faced “challenging legal roadblocks” tied to Robert’s unresolved case. The couple split on March 6, 2025.⁸

Bobby Shriver, the Kennedy-Family Activist and (RED) Co-Founder

Robert Sargent Shriver III was born on April 28, 1954, to R. Sargent Shriver, founder of the Peace Corps and a leader of President Lyndon Johnson’s War on Poverty, and Eunice Kennedy Shriver, founder of the Special Olympics.⁹ His sister is Maria Shriver, the journalist and former First Lady of California. He graduated from Yale College cum laude with a B.A. in American studies and from Yale Law School in 1981.¹⁰ Before law school he worked as a journalist at outlets including the Chicago Daily News and the Los Angeles Herald Examiner.¹¹

Special Olympics and A Very Special Christmas

In 1987, Shriver produced the first primetime television program on the Special Olympics World Games for ABC.¹² That same year, he worked with Jimmy Iovine and Vicki Iovine to launch A Very Special Christmas, an album featuring donated performances by Whitney Houston, Bruce Springsteen, U2, Bon Jovi, and Run-D.M.C., with cover art by Keith Haring.¹³ The series grew to more than ten volumes over three decades and has collectively raised more than $100 million for Special Olympics programs worldwide. A Christmas Records Trust was set up in 1997 to manage and distribute the proceeds.¹⁴

Shriver also produced films, including the 1994 James Cameron action feature True Lies and the NBC television movie Mary, Mother of Jesus, which he executive produced alongside his mother.¹⁵

DATA, ONE, and (RED)

Shriver’s global-health work began in 1999, when Bono recruited him to help with the Jubilee 2000 debt-relief campaign. Shriver pushed to shift the strategy from petition-gathering to direct congressional lobbying. Their work, with support from Republican Congressman John Kasich, helped increase U.S. funding for African debt relief from $60 million to $435 million in 2000.¹⁵

He and Bono co-founded DATA (Debt, AIDS, Trade, Africa) in 2002, launched the ONE Campaign in 2004 to build grassroots support for its lobbying, and merged DATA into ONE in 2008.¹¹¹⁵ In 2006 the two co-founded (PRODUCT)RED, a 501(c)(3) that partners with consumer brands to raise money for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. Partner companies pay either a set annual donation or a percentage of profit on (RED)-branded products, and past partners have included Bank of America, Beats by Dre, Fiat, and Vespa.¹⁶¹⁷

Santa Monica City Council

Shriver was elected to the Santa Monica City Council in 2004, reportedly with the highest percentage of votes in the city’s 120-year history at that time.⁹ He was re-elected in 2008 and served until 2012, holding the titles of mayor pro tem in 2006 and mayor during part of 2010.¹⁰

Homelessness was his signature issue. He championed “Housing First” strategies and the Chronic Homeless Program, arguing that housing homeless individuals at roughly $35,000 a year was cheaper than the estimated $100,000 annual cost of leaving them on the street. He spent years lobbying for veteran housing on the 387-acre Veterans Affairs campus in Westwood, criticizing the use of the property by private businesses while buildings sat vacant.¹⁸ He also pressed for regional coordination across Los Angeles County’s 88 cities, arguing that if every city matched Santa Monica’s per-capita commitment, the region could house nearly all of its roughly 90,000 homeless residents.¹⁹

After leaving the council, Shriver ran in 2014 for the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors’ Third District seat being vacated by Zev Yaroslavsky. He lost to former state legislator Sheila Kuehl, who took 53 percent of the vote in the November general election.²⁰

Personal Life and Current Roles

Shriver married Malissa Feruzzi, an artist and attorney, on May 7, 2005, at a Roman Catholic church in Los Angeles.²¹ Malissa Feruzzi Shriver is a former chair of the California Arts Council and serves as architect Frank Gehry’s political advocacy adviser.²² Bobby Shriver sits on the Board of Directors of Special Olympics and chairs the California Parks and Recreation Commission.¹²

1
Auburn Tigers. Robert Shiver Football Roster
2
Times-Enterprise. The Unraveling: Shivers Were in the Midst of Tumultuous Divorce
3
ABC 7 Chicago. Bahamas Murder-for-Hire: Lindsay Shiver, Robert, Auburn Football
4
Fox 5 Atlanta. Lindsay Shiver Murder Plot Release Bahamas Prison Robert Bail
5
Court TV. Lindsay Shiver
6
WDHN. Dothan Beauty Queen Charged in Overseas Murder-for-Hire Plot Won’t Go to Trial Until 2026
7
NewsNation. Lindsay Shiver Timeline
8
People. Savannah Chrisley and Robert Shiver Split After Nearly 2 Years
9
ONE. Bobby Shriver
10
The Conference Board. Bobby Shriver
11
ONE Africa. Bobby Shriver
12
Special Olympics. Bobby Shriver Board of Directors
13
A Very Special Christmas. About
14
Special Olympics. A Very Special Christmas
15
Sargent Shriver Peace Institute. Bobby Shriver
16
(RED). How Red Works
17
The Global Fund. RED Profile
18
Santa Monica Lookout. Bobby Shriver Says Goodbye to Santa Monica City Council
19
Surf Santa Monica. Bobby Shriver Speaks Out
20
NBC Los Angeles. Sheila Kuehl Bobby Shriver Los Angeles County Supervisor Election
21
New York Post. U.S. Royal Wedding: Kennedys in L.A. for Shriver Nups
22
Artnet News. Why Is the Art World Enamored With LA Politician Bobby Shriver