16-Year-Old Skylar Neese Was Stabbed To Death By Her Two Best

16-Year-Old Skylar Neese Was Stabbed To Death By Her Two Best

Skylar Neese was a 16-year-old honor student with a bright future. She loved to read, had an active social life and, like most teens, was all about posting her thoughts on social media. She also never missed a day of work at her part-time job at a local Wendy’s. But on July 6, 2012, Skylar Neese snuck out of her bedroom window to meet up with her two best friends, Shelia Eddy and Rachel Shoaf. The teen never returned. Fortunately, social media offered some clues as all three girls were very active on Twitter and Facebook. The afternoon before Skylar Neese disappeared, she tweeted, “sick of being at fucking home. thanks ‘friends’, love hanging out with you all too.” It would later be discovered that the 16-year-old was stabbed to death by her friends because “they didn’t like her anymore.” Now The Story In Details Skylar Annette Neese (February 10, 1996 – July 6, 2012) was an American teenage girl who disappeared from her home in Star City, West Virginia, around midnight on July 6, 2012. Neese's body was found on January 16, 2013, in Wayne Township, Greene County, Pennsylvania. Neese was murdered by two of her high school best friends, Shelia Eddy and Rachel Shoaf. On January 3, 2013, Shoaf confessed to authorities that she and Eddy planned and carried out Neese's murder. Shoaf pleaded guilty to second-degree murder on May 1, 2013, and was sentenced to 30 years in prison with eligibility for parole after 10 years. Eddy pleaded guilty to first-degree murder on January 24, 2014, and was sentenced to life in prison with eligibility for parole after 15 years. Neese's disappearance led to new West Virginia legislation that made changes to the AMBER Alert missing child alert system. On July 5, 2012, Neese returned to her family's Star City, West Virginia apartment after working a shift at Wendy's. Her apartment complex's surveillance video shows Neese left the apartment via her bedroom window at 12:30 a.m. on July 6 and got into a sedan with Rachel Shoaf and Sheila Eddy. Neese's father said she did not take her cell phone charger, her window was left open, and that she planned on coming home. Neese was initially considered by law enforcement authorities to be a runaway and an Amber Alert was not immediately issued in connection with her disappearance. An early tip indicated that Neese had been seen in North Carolina, but the Star City Police Department determined that the person spotted was not Neese. Neese's parents posted flyers about their missing daughter in the Monongalia County region. Police determined that the unknown sedan in which Neese was last seen belonged to Eddy and interviewed her. Eddy admitted to picking up Neese but stated that she had dropped her off an hour later. The FBI and the West Virginia State Police joined the search for Neese on September 10, 2012, and began interviewing Neese's school friends. The break in the case came when Shoaf admitted plotting with Eddy to kill Neese. The motivation Shoaf gave for the murder was they "didn't like her" and "didn't want to be friends with her anymore". David Neese stated that these two girls were among his daughter's best friends and that Eddy had even helped the family by distributing missing person flyers. After her confession, Shoaf led investigators to Neese's body. On March 13, 2013, U.S. Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld, II issued a press release stating that a body found in Wayne Township, Greene County, Pennsylvania on January 16, 2013 had been identified as the body of Neese. Neese's body was found less than 30 miles (48 km) away from her home. On May 1, 2013, Shoaf pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. According to the court transcript, Shoaf said that she and Eddy picked up Neese in Eddy's car. The girls drove to Pennsylvania, got out of the car and began socializing. At a pre-arranged time, Shoaf and Eddy stabbed Skylar to death. The teens attempted to bury Neese's body, but were unable to do so and instead covered the body with branches. The court transcript indicates that other students overheard conversations between Shoaf and Eddy about the murder plot, but failed to report it, mistakenly believing that the girls were joking. According to Shoaf's plea agreement she pleaded guilty to murder in the second degree by "unlawfully, feloniously, willfully, maliciously and intentionally causing the death of Skylar Neese by stabbing her and causing fatal injuries". In the plea agreement, the State of West Virginia recommended a sentence of 20 years incarceration. Rachel Shoaf expressed remorse and apologized to the Neeses, her own family, and God during her sentencing. Shoaf's family also issued a public apology for her actions through their lawyer. On September 4, 2013, West Virginia prosecutors publicly identified Eddy as the second alleged perpetrator of the murder of Neese and announced that she would be tried as an adult. Eddy was indicted by a grand jury on September 6, 2013 on one count of kidnapping, one count of first-degree murder and one count of conspiracy to commit murder. She pleaded not guilty. The date of the trial was originally set for January 28, 2014.[30] Facing the prospect of additional charges from Pennsylvania authorities, Eddy pleaded guilty to first-degree murder. She expressed no remorse, but was sentenced to life in prison "with mercy"; under West Virginia law, she is eligible for parole after 15 years. Pennsylvania authorities did not file charges as per the plea deal. Following her guilty plea on May 1, 2013, on February 25, 2014 Shoaf received a sentence of 30 years in prison and will be eligible for parole after 10 years. Eddy originally was held in a facility for juveniles after her arrest. Both women, now in their 20s, are currently incarcerated at the Lakin Correctional Center in Mason County.