Disclaimer: This article contains mentions of murder. Reader discretion is advised.
Dateline NBC‘s episode “Something Wicked” covers the investigation into Skylar Neese‘s killers — Shelia Eddy and Rachel Shoaf. The three high school best friends reportedly left for a late-night drive on July 6, 2012, but Neese never returned home. As months went by and authorities continued their search for the missing teenager, Shoaf made a shocking confession. This confession eventually resulted in Shoaf and Eddy’s arrests and subsequent convictions.
The upcoming episode will air on NBC this Sunday, April 7, 2024, at 10 p.m. ET. An official synopsis says, “When Skylar Neese vanished without a trace, police initially thought the teen ran away, but hints on social media pointed to a more sinister reason for her disappearance. Andrea Canning reports.”
According to ABC News, Rachel Shoaf’s confession about Skylar Neese’s murder came on January 3, 2013, months after the murder. Shoaf claimed that after Neese snuck out of her home after midnight, the three drove to a remote wooded area in Pennsylvania. There, she and Shelia Eddy stabbed the teen to death. Shoaf then led authorities to the area where they left the victim’s body.
Both Shoaf and Eddy pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and first-degree murder, respectively. The former received a 30-year prison sentence, while Eddy got life in prison with parole. According to the West Virginia Department of Corrections, Skylar Neese’s killers, Rachel Shoaf and Shelia Eddy, are serving time in Lakin Correctional Center. Shoaf’s parole hearing took place in 2023, which the parole board denied, per West Virginia Metro News.
Skylar Neese’s killers: When did Shelia Eddy and Rachel Shoaf plan the murder?
Per the ABC News report, in her January 2013 confession, Rachel Shoaf, one of Skylar Neese’s killers, claimed she and Shelia Eddy plotted the murder during science class. According to their plan, Shoaf and Eddy lured Neese to sneak out of her house after midnight on July 6, 2012. Surveillance from the victim’s apartment building captured her getting into a car around 12:30 a.m.
The three best friends then drove to a remote wooded area to smoke marijuana. There, Shoaf and Eddy stabbed Neese multiple times and left the body. Per Shoaf’s confession, the girls had planned to stab Neese on the count of three. Ronnie Gaskin from the State Police, who spoke to ABC’s 20/20, said Shoaf told them they murdered Neese because “We just didn’t like her.”
After confessing to the crime, Rachel Shoaf led authorities to the wood where they found Skylar Neese’s body. Additionally, police used surveillance footage from the night of the murder to confirm that the vehicle she got into was Shelia Eddy’s car. They later found the teen’s blood in it. The revelations led to Eddy’s arrest on May 1, 2013.
Afterward, both of Neese’s killers faced murder charges as adults. Shoaf pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, while Eddy pleaded guilty to one count of first-degree murder. They received 30 years in prison and a life sentence with parole, respectively.
According to West Virginia Metro News, Skylar Neese’s father, Dave, spoke to WAJR’s Talk of the Town after Rachel Shoaf’s 2023 parole hearing. Recalling his daughter’s murder, Dave said, “Skylar was hit by this with total surprise, I know she was. She thought these two girls were her friends and they were making amends maybe and they pull out kitchen knives and stab her over 50 times and then they lose count.”
During the parole hearing, Rachel Shoaf also confirmed the real reason why she and Shelia Eddy committed the murder. People Magazine stated that as per WBOY, Shoaf testified she and her accomplice Eddy were in a relationship at the time. Skylar Neese’s killers feared that she “was going to tell people,” Dave told WAJR’s Talk of the Town. WBOY reported that Shoaf also claimed she committed the crime while under the influence of marijuana.
Both Shoaf and Eddy continue to serve their prison sentences.
Dateline NBC’s episode on Skylar Neese’s murder and her best friends-turned-killers airs on April 7, 2024.
