The Murder of Skylar Neese

Skylar Annette Neese – February 10, 1996-July 6, 2012 – was an American girl that disappeared from her Star City, West Virginia home about midnight on July 6, 2012.  Later, Neese’s remains were discovered on January 16, 2013 in Wayne Township, Greene County, Pennsylvania. 

Neese was murdered by tow high school friends, Rachel Shoaf and Sheila Eddy in December 2012.  Shoaf told authorities she and Eddy planned and carried out Neese’s murder.  Shoaf pleaded guilty to second-degree murder on May 1, 2013.  Neese’s disappearance led to new West Virginia legislation to the AMBER Alert missing child alert system.

Background Information

Victim

Skylar Annette Neese was the only child of Dave and Mary Neese.  Skylar’s mother, Mary, worked as an administrative assistant for a cardiac lab and her father, Dave, was a product assembler at Walmart.  Skylar, an honors student at University High School, wanted to become a criminal lawyer.  She worked at Wendy’s with two of her close friends.

Perpetrators

Sheila Rae Eddy was born September 28, 1995, the only child of Tara Clendenen and Greg Eddy.  She was born in Blacksville, West Virginia.  Her parents divorced in 2000 when her father got into a car accident that left her father with a traumatic brain injury and permanent disability.  Tara struggled as a single mother, working as an accountant for a car dealership.  Tata and Sheila moved in with Tara’s new husband, Jim Clendenen, in October 2010. 

Rachel Shoaf, born June 10, 1996, grew up in Morgantown, the only daughter of Rusty and Patricia Shoaf. 

Both perpetrators also attended University High School.

Disappearance

Neese arrived home on July 5, 2012 to her family’s Star City, West Virginia apartment after working her shift at Wendy’s.  The family’s apartment surveillance video shows Neese left the apartment via her bedroom window at 12:30 a.m. on July 6 and got into a sedan.  Neese’s father says she did not take her cell phone charger, her bedroom window was left open, showing that she planned on coming home.

The night of the murder, Sheila Eddy and Rachel Shoaf invited Neese to sneak out with them.  Neese, who had a falling out with the two, was hesitant, but after texts and calls from the girls, Neese changed her mind.

Around 12:30 a.m., Neese climbed out her bedroom window, crossed the street and got into the back of four-door sedan.  Law enforcement officers later determined that the sedan was in possession of Sheila Eddy that evening.  The three girls headed northwest from Star City toward Blacksville via U.S. Route 19.  The perpetrators planned to travel along W.V. Routh 7, but turned around after spotting a state police car parked in front of a gambling lounge.

Finally arriving at their destination across the Pennsylvania border where the three girls would often smoke marijuana.  Shoaf and Eddy planned Neese’s murder for months.  They left Eddy’s house prepared to carry out the assault on Neese, bringing with them kitchen knives, paper towels, bleach, cleaning cloths, clean clothes, and a shovel.  They concealed the knives on their persons, hiding the remaining items in the trunk of Eddy’s vehicle.

Once the girls were out of the vehicle, the perpetrators told Neese they had forgotten to bring a lighter.  Neese volunteered to go back to the vehicle to get her own lighter.  Once Neese’s back was turned, Shoaf and Eddy counted to three—the agreed-upon signal.  Upon giving the signal, Shoaf and Eddy began stabbing Neese.  Neese attempted to run, but was only to run a few feet before Shoaf tackled Neese to the ground and continuing the assault.  During the attack, Neese wrestled Shoaf’s knife from her and, attempting to defend herself, cut Shoaf’s knee.  Eddy continued stabbing Neese until there was complete silence, and according to Shoaf, “Neese’s neck stopped making gurgling sounds.”  Post-mortem on Neese revealed more than to stab wounds.

After the murder, Shoaf and Eddy attempted to bury the body, dragging Neese to the side of the road.  This didn’t work out because the road ran along a creek and the soil was too hard and rocky to dig a hole—their original plan.  Instead, they covered Neese’s body with rocks, fallen branches, and dirt.  Shoaf and Eddy returned to the car to clean themselves and the murder scene.  After cleaning the murder scene and disposing their blood-soaked clothing, Shoaf and Eddy returned to their homes.

Investigation

Initially considered a runaway by law enforcement, an AMBER Alert was not immediately issued in connection with Neese’s disappearance.  An early tip came in reporting Neese to be seen in North Carolina, but 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 that Skylar Neese was last seen  belonged to Eddy and questioned her.  Eddy admitted to picking up Neese but stated she dropped her off an hour later.  FBI and the West Virginia State Police joined the search for Skylar Neese on September 10, 2012, interviewing Neese’s school friends.

A break in the case came when Rachel Shoaf admitted to plotting with Sheila Eddy to kill Neese.  Motivation for Shoaf gave for the murder was they “didn’t like her” and “didn’t want to be friends with her anymore.”  Dave Neese stated that these two girls were among his daughter’s best friends, and that Sheila Eddy even helped the family look for her by distributing missing person fliers.  After her confession, Rachel Shoaf led investigators to Neese’s body.  On March 13, 2013, U.S. Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld, II issued a press release stating a body was found in Wayne Township, Greene County, Pennsylvania on January 16, 2013, identified as the remains of Neese.  Neese’s remains were found less than 30 miles (48 km) from her home.

Neese maintained a close relationship with Eddy from when they were children, but the friendship started fizzling out when they met Shoaf while attending high school.  Neese reportedly became upset when she saw that Eddy became close with Shoaf and allegedly witnessed the par have sex at a sleepover.  The girls may have been scared their secret tryst would become public knowledge.

Criminal Charges

Rachel Shoaf pleaded guilty to second-degree murder on May 1, 2013, according to a court transcript, confessing 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 on a count of three.  The teens attempted to bury Neese’s body, but were unable to do so and covered the boy with branches.  The court transcript indicated that students overheard many conversations between Shoaf and Eddy plotting to kill Neese, but failed to report it, thinking it was just a joke.  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.”  The plea agreement states that the State of West Virginia recommend a sentence of 40 year incarceration.  Shoaf’s family issued public apology for Rachel’s actions through her lawyer.

West Virginia prosecutors publicly identified Sheila Eddy as the second alleged perpetrator of the murder of Skylar Neese on September  4, 2013.  Indicted by a grand jury on September 6, 2013, Eddy would be tried as an adult on one count of kidnapping, one count of first-degree murder, and one count of conspiracy to commit murder.  Sheila Eddy pleaded not guilty to these charges.

The date of the trial originally set for January 28, 2014, Eddy pleaded guilty to first-degree murder due to the prospect of facing charges from both federal and Pennsylvania authorities as well as West Virginia charges.  Eddy was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 15 years.

Following her guilty plea on May 1, 2013, Rachel Shoaf received a 30-year prison sentence and will be eligible for parole after 10 years.  Both Shoaf and Eddy are incarcerated at the Lakin Correctional Center in Mason County.

Skylar's Law

An AMBER Alert was not issued in Neese’s disappearance because circumstances didn’t meet four criteria for an alert to be issued:  (1) a child is believed to be abducted; (2) the child is under 18; (3) the child may be in danger of death or serious injury; (4) there is sufficient information to indicate the AMBER Alert would be helpful.  A waiting period of 48 hours had to elapse befor a “teenager” could be  considered missing.   A West Virginia state legislator from the Neese family home district introduced a bill as Skylar’s Law modified West Virginia’s AMBER Alert plan to issue immediate public announcements when any child is reported missing and in danger, regardless of whether the child is believed to have been kidnapped. 

Opinion columns in West Virginia and national media supported Skylar’s Law acknowledging criticism and drawbacks of legislation.  On March 27, 2013, West Virginia House of Delegates approved Skylar’s Law with a 98-0 vote, and on April 12, 2013, West Virginia Senate unanimously passed the law, making minor technical changes to the bill which the House of Delegates voted to accept on the same day.  West Virginia Governor Earl Ray Tomblin signed the legislation into law in May 2013.

National Media Attention

Anderson Cooper covered Skylar Neese’s murder on May 31, 2013.

In the March 7, 2014, Dateline NBC aired the episode, “Something Wicked” chronicling Skylar Neese’s murder.

The Dr. Phil Show covered Skylar’s story, “Best Friends Betrayal on March 10, 2014.  Skylar’s parents, Dave and Mary were both present as well as two women who viewed themselves as “second mothers” to Rachel Shoaf.

Lifetime aired “Death Clique” on April 12,2014, the fictional account inspired by Skylar Neese’s murder.  it is also available on Netflix.

ABC’s 20/20 covered Skylar’s murder in the episode “Unfriended” on July 18, 2014.

LMN’s show I Killed My BFF covered Skylar’s murder using parent and friend commentaries in the episode “Real Life Heathers” on October 22, 2014.

Investigation Discovery’s show “See No Evil” covered Skylar’s murder in the episode “Skylar Neese.”  It used real-life surveillance video of Skylar to piece together the last few hours of Skylar’s life.  it also used first-person interviews with family and friends, along with limited dramatic recreation.

ReelzChannel show “Copycat Killers” covered Skylar’s murder in the episode “Heathers” on March 26, 2016.

The Oxygen Channel aired Skylar’s murder on Snapped on August 7, 2016.

Investigation Discovery aired Skylar’s murder in the episode “Suspicion” titled, “A Daughter Disappears” on October 28, 2016.

Skylar’s murder was aired on Dateline NBC in season 26 episode 58 titled “Something Wicked” on July 20, 2018.

The Generation Why Podcast reviewed Skylar’s murder in episode 327 titled “Skylar Neese” on May 12, 2019.  Creators of the podcast Aaron and Justin, discuss the story of Skylar’s disappearance and death.