Murder of Skylar Neese

Also known as: Rachel Shoaf, Shelia Eddy

Active: 2012–2012
Region: Star City, West Virginia, USA
States: PA, WV
Kind: Single
Status: Pleaded guilty
Victims: 1

Skylar Neese, a 16-year-old honors student at University High School, slipped out of her family's Star City, West Virginia, home on the night of July 5-6, 2012, and was killed by two classmates, Rachel Shoaf and Shelia Eddy, at a wooded spot across the Pennsylvania line. She was first treated as a runaway. In January 2013 Shoaf led investigators to her body. Shoaf pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to 30 years; Eddy pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and was sentenced to life with mercy. The case led to "Skylar's Law", which widened West Virginia's Amber Alert rules.

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Victims

We remember the people whose lives were taken.

Skylar Annette Neese, 16 · July 6, 2012
An honors student at University High School in Morgantown.

Timeline of locations

July 6, 2012
Neese family home, Star City (Abduction, approximate area)
Skylar left through her ground-floor bedroom window shortly after midnight and got into a car with the two girls.
July 6, 2012
Wooded area, Wayne Township, Greene County, Pennsylvania (Crime scene, approximate area)
She was killed at a secluded spot about 30 miles from home, just over the state line. Her body lay hidden under branches until it was found on January 16, 2013, after Shoaf told police where it was.
2014
Lakin Correctional Center (Prison)
Both women have been held here since 2014. Shoaf was denied parole for the third time in June 2026.
January 24, 2014
Monongalia County Circuit Court, Morgantown (Court / trial, approximate area)
Shoaf pleaded guilty here in May 2013 and Eddy in January 2014, days before her trial was to begin. Eddy was sentenced to life with mercy.

Murder of Skylar Neese

Victims

Timeline of locations

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