Lauren Kanarek’s Attempted Murder: Who Tried to Kill Her?

After getting a call that a gun had been shot one afternoon in August 2019, the authorities hurried to a farm in Washington Township, New Jersey, in response to the report of the shooting. There, they found Lauren Kanarek in a severe condition, as well as the one who was responsible for what had happened to her. The episode of “48 Hours” on CBS News titled “The Shooting of Lauren Kanarek” details the legal repercussions of the incident as well as the causes that led to the shooting. Then, shall we investigate this further, shall we?

Lauren Kanarek

What Happened to Lauren Kanarek?

Lauren Kanarek is a skilled equestrian who has been recognized for her accomplishments by both the United States Equestrian Federation and the United States Dressage Federation with medals. She enjoyed ice skating and music when she was younger, and at one point she even entertained the idea of becoming a lawyer. But in the end, Lauren decided that becoming a dressage instructor was the path that most interested her. She was preparing for the event at a horse farm in Washington Township, where she also lived with her fiance, Robert Goodwin, in the days preceding up to the tragedy.

Lauren called 911 at approximately 2:15 p.m. on August 7, 2019, and reported that she had been shot twice in the chest. The authorities responded to her report. The perpetrator was armed with a revolver with a 9mm caliber, and when the police arrived at the scene, they found Robert grappling with the offender. After being taken to the hospital, Lauren required immediate surgical intervention in order to be stabilized and begin the healing process. After that, the authorities began their investigation into the circumstances surrounding Lauren’s shooting death.

Who Tried to Kill Lauren Kanarek?

The investigation uncovered the fact that Lauren Kanarek had started training at the horse farm in March 2018 under the tutelage of Michael Barisone, a renowned dressage coach 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 her horses, train them, and allow her to live on the farm with him. Nonetheless, by the summer of 2019, things had taken a decidedly unfavorable turn.

According to the testimony, Lauren was dissatisfied with the training; she desired to have Michael tutor her, rather than one of his assistants. As a direct consequence of this, Lauren, who is very engaged on social media, started publishing a number of complaints online. One of them had the following message written on it: “It’s nearly time to perhaps go to war. Anyone who continually kicks a sleeping beast will, at some point, cause the beast to wake up! She went as far as accusing Michael of being “racist, homophobic, and antisemitic,” all of which he fiercely rejected. She even went as far as accusing him of being “antisemitic.”

Michael asserted that a verbal agreement between the three parties to vacate the premises after the training was over had been broken by the couple. On the other hand, according to Lauren, Michael made an attempt to evict them after he and his fiancée were forced to relocate to a barn on the property because of the flood. She claimed that Michael had shown an interest in relocating to the same home that Lauren and Robert were occupying. In the days preceding up to the shooting, the authorities were summoned to the location multiple times due to Lauren’s constant posts on social media, and they eventually responded to the scene of the shooting.

Michael had earlier reported to the authorities that Lauren and Robert were squatting on his property, labeling them as harassers who refused to leave. He also claimed that they had refused to leave. Then, Lauren alleged on social media that she was the victim of bullying and that she was terrified of the situation. In addition, she and Robert are said to have phoned child protective services, who then showed up at the farm to investigate allegations that Michael had abused the children that he shares with his partner. After further investigation, however, he was exonerated of any misconduct by a social worker.

Michael drove all the way down to where Lauren and Robert were staying on the 7th of August, 2019, and he brought a gun with him. After determining that Michael was the gunman, Lauren later stated that Michael also attempted to shoot Robert but failed to hit him. After then, Robert managed to get Michael under control until the cops arrived. At the trial of Michael, which took place in the beginning of 2022, Lauren’s online posts were a contentious issue. Mary Haskins Gray, who was his partner at the time, stated in court that Lauren made threats online.

Lauren did acknowledge that some of her posts could be interpreted as threats, but she claimed that she was unaware of this possibility at the time she wrote them. Michael later said that he reported his concerns about his safety to the authorities, but that they did not take his statements seriously. In the end, his attorneys attempted to construct a defense based on insanity by having specialists testify that Lauren’s insults on social media drove him beyond the point of no return. Michael was found not guilty of attempting to murder Lauren and Robert in April 2022, and he was subsequently mandated to attend mental health therapy after being found not guilty. He stated that he had no recollection of the shooting.