When the body of teenage Skylar Nesse - cut and stabbed - was found in the woods, it never occurred to anyone that her friends might be responsible for the murder. Initially, the policemen focused on checking other, seemingly more likely, leads. The shocking truth has finally surfaced. Sixteen-year-old murderers confessed they had killed Skylar because they simply didn't like her in the world.
Skylar was the only child of the Nesse couple. The father called her the apple of his eye, while the mother considered her daughter her faithful copy. Cheerful, though a bit shy, Skylar enjoyed the sympathy of her immediate and extended family.
She had been friends with Sheila Eddy since forever. So much so that the Nesses treated Sheila as their second daughter. The girls met during the summer camps when they were 8 years old. It was "love at first sight" - Sheila and Skylar quickly became inseparable.
Sheila, however, was not as lucky in life as her friend. She lost her father in early childhood. She was brought up by a single mother who made every effort to ensure that her daughter did not lack anything. The girl liked to focus on herself and often forced her to behave badly.
Skylar and Sheila had nurtured their relationship over the years, but it wasn't until high school that they became virtually inseparable. They attended primary schools separately, and it was only the tertiary education that brought an opportunity for change. Both girls were very happy about it.
In October 2002, they started the school year together at University High School (Morgantown, USA). Skylar and Sheila tried to do everything together, even signing up for the same classes. Skylar, however, found herself better in the new environment - she was a well-known and popular student.
Sheila - quite the opposite. Few knew her, and those who had the opportunity to meet Sheila quickly found her rude, conceited, overbearing. It made Skylar feel torn between the person closest to her and the rest of her company. The girls were arguing more and more about who Skylar would spend her free time with.
Soon, a third girl, Rachel Shoaf, joined the Skylar-Sheila duo. Deeply religious, helpful and generally sympathetic - she quickly became an inseparable part of the package. The trio showed up everywhere together, emphasizing their ties. The photos available on the Internet to this day show three smiling faces of her friends, each of them standing out with something else.
Rachel was the gifted one - she sang beautifully, was interested in the arts, and went to church regularly. Skylar held the palm of the best student - she won the best grades, won badges for academic achievement. She was the first in the family to plan to finish her studies. She was interested in nothing but broadening her horizons.
Sheila - an extremely charismatic girl - naturally took the position of a leader among friends. Her main interests were boys and women's and men's affairs. She was the most developed of the three. She liked to spend her free time driving aimlessly around the city with the other girls in a car and smoking marijuana.
The Skylar - Sheila - Rachel triangle quickly began to suffer from emotional ups and downs. There were quarrels between the girls, which were caused by jealousy. Skylar held more and more grudges against the other girls for being alienated by them, pushed to the sidelines.
Skylar was clearly jealous of Sheila, with whom they had been inseparable so far. She didn't understand why her friend abandoned her for the "third one" she had barely met. The conflicts between Skylar and Sheila quickly spilled over to social media, namely the very popular Twitter at the time.
The other day, the girls had a "girl's" night at Rachel's house. They locked themselves in her bedroom and started drinking alcohol. It is unknown where they got it, in the United States it is illegal to drink alcohol until the age of 21. Rachel's mom was sleeping in the next room, so her friends tried not to go out to wake her up.
The party was kicking off. Drunken, Rachel and Sheila started kissing at one point. Skylar was surprised by this situation. She didn't know what to do with herself. Sheila and Rachel ignored her. Soon their innocent antics turned into full-fledged sexual intercourse.
Skylar sat still frozen. She couldn't leave the room, she didn't want to wake Rachel's mom. She did not feel well in this situation. She took out her phone and filmed the entire scene. Or at least - so it was later speculated, as no recording was ultimately found.
A brawl broke out between the girls. The screams finally woke Rachel's mom. From then on, the relationship between Skylar and Sheila and Rachel gradually deteriorated. The bone of contention was supposed to be the recording of sex - games. Sheila and Rachel feared Skylar would eventually make them public, ridiculing them in front of the entire school.
Skylar, after all, tried to straighten things out with Rachel and Sheila. She did not give up their friendship, the girls continued to spend time together. Sheila was the only one of the three to have a car. Without it, overnight marijuana smoking tours would not be possible. Skylar didn't want to give up on it, although it was getting harder and harder to get along with the rest of the group. Quarrels broke out for just any reason.
Once in a biology class, Sheila asked how to get rid of a human corpse. The question was addressed to a friend, but luck would have it that the teacher heard it. Surprised, he asked why Sheila had such knowledge. The girl said she wanted to kill Skylar. She was sent back to the headmaster's office, but the matter spread to the bones.
On July 6, 2012, a tired Skylar returned home after a day away from home. During her vacation, she was making some extra money from school at Wendy's snack bar. The next day, she was also supposed to go to work, so she planned to go to bed quickly. She told her mother that she loved her and disappeared into her room.
The next morning, Skylar's parents knocked on their daughter's door, but there was no answer. However, they did not find it surprising and went to work as usual. Dave, the girl's father, however, had a strange, bad feeling. He came home early. He knocked on Skylar's bedroom door again. Silence answered him, so the man stepped inside.
His horror was caused by the smoothly made bed. It was obvious the girl hadn't slept in it the night before. Moreover, it was not known where he was now. It quickly turned out that she had not made it to work at Wendy's restaurant. Such irresponsibility was completely unlike her.
While inspecting Skylar's room, Dave noticed an open window. The girl had sneaked this way several times, so the man hoped that this time she had gone on a trip without permission. He went around the house looking for any traces of his daughter.
A concerned father informed Skylar's mother about the situation. The woman came home as quickly as possible and called Sheila. After all, who would know where Skylar was if not her best friend. Sheila was surprised. She found she had no idea where Skylar might be going.
Nervous searches began, though in fact, Skylar's parents had no idea where to start. Their daughter was an honest, study-focused girl. They were convinced that she did not live a double life. Sheila came to their aid.
A teenager called Skylar's mom to say that the girls actually saw each other last night. At about 11 PM the three of us went for a drive in Sheila's car. After 40 minutes the escapade was over. Skylar got out of the car a few blocks from the house because she didn't want to wake her parents by accident. Maybe something bad happened to her at that moment?
The police were alerted about the case. The officers took the matter seriously but did not agree to launch the so-called Amber Alert. This procedure consists in sending a text message with information about a missing child to all mobile network users. Skylar was 16, so she was no longer a child. She could run away, hide somewhere for a while, and come back after a few days. Teens eventually do these things, and it all ends well.
Skylar's parents were out of their minds, but no one hated Skylar's disappearance as badly as her best friend Sheila. She bore tears, despaired, did what she could to help with the search, and even handed out leaflets. Skylar's mom felt compelled to console her.
Meanwhile, investigators managed to secure a recording from local surveillance cameras. One of them shows Skylar getting into a bright sedan on July 6, around midnight. Nobody thought to whom the machine could belong. The search has begun.
Sheila, despite publicly manifesting her despair over the loss of a loved one, maintained her composure and common sense. It was worse with Rachel - she was almost out of her mind. She constantly texted Sheila. Certainly, her conscience was troubling her. She was very religious after all.
Both Rachel and Sheila were summoned for questioning. They were subjected to a lie detector test. Sheila did not pass the test, thus the police were sure that the girl knew something she was not talking about. Rachel tried to avoid the examination at all costs.
Despite the evasions, it was Rachel who eventually helped investigators figure out what happened to Skylar. The girl was unable to bear the burden of her own actions. On January 3, 2013, she told officers about the events of the night of July 6. Nobody expected the story to be so ghastly.
Night of 6-7 July 2012
Rachel and Sheila made an appointment with Skylar for a night ride and smoking weed. The girl slipped out the window before midnight. She got into the car that belonged to her best friend. She suspected nothing. On the contrary - she hoped that this trip would help the girls mend their relations.
The girls went to a secluded place near the Pennsylvania state border. In the past, there were many turns burning there. All three walked away a few steps from the car. At one point, one of the girls said they had no fire. Skylar offered to go back to the car to get the cigarette lighter.
When she turned her back on her companions, they counted to three, then lunged at Skylar with the knives they had previously hidden in the hoods of their sweatshirts. They inflicted dozens of wounds on her. (They didn't know exactly how many, apparently they stopped counting after 50). Skylar managed to free herself from the hunt for a moment and took a few steps away. The girl, however, did not have a chance to survive. Sheila knocked her to the ground and stabbed her until the victim stopped making any sounds.
Rachel and Sheila had been planning the murder for months. They were well prepared and operated according to the plan. They had a shovel, bleach, and a change of clothes in the trunk of the car. They tried to bury Skylar's body, but the ground was too hard and rocky over there. So they covered the body with leaves and branches. They went back to the car, changed and cleaned up, then went home.
Investigators wanted to know why two sixteen-year-old girls decided to kill a friend from school in cold blood. Sheila replied with disarming frankness that they just didn't like her. Those who knew the girl, however, did not believe it. They were convinced that Sheila did it because she just could. She was convinced that she could get away with murder.
Skylar's mother was shocked. She couldn't believe Sheila had feigned despair over her friend's disappearance all the time, even though she knew the truth. She shed crocodile tears, helped distribute leaflets with a picture of Skylar, and tried to comfort her mourning family. Mrs. Nesse later said that if Sheila had known then that Sheila was a murderer, she would have killed herself.
On May 1, 2013, Rachel pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. As part of the settlement concluded with the accusation, she was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment. The girl's family issued a public apology to Skylar's parents and society at large.
Sheila was tried in second place as an adult. She was charged with abduction, first-degree murder, and conspiracy to commit murder. At first, the girl did not plead guilty.
It only relented during the trial. She admitted to committing first-degree murder but expressed no remorse. Nevertheless, the court treated her leniently and sentenced her to life imprisonment after 15 years in prison. On February 25, 2014, Rachel's sentence was changed to 30 years in prison, with the option to apply for 10 years of parole. Both are serving their sentences at Lakin Correctional Center in Mason County.
No comments:
Post a Comment