During the days after 16-year-old Skylar Neese’s death, her supposed best friend posted eerie tweets on social media that gave insight into what happened the night an honor roll student lost her life.
West Virginia teen Skylar Neese, an honors student with a 4.0 GPA, was never seen again after she snuck out of her parents’ home on July 6, 2012, to hang out with who she thought were her best friends, Shelia Eddy and Rachel Shoaf, both also 16 at the time.
When Skylar failed to return home, Eddy told Skylar’s mother that she dropped the teen off on a road near her home at around 12:30 a.m. Eddy added that Shoaf was with them that night.
“She proceeded to tell me that her, Skylar, and Rachel had snuck out the night before and that they had driven around Star City, were getting high, and that the two girls had dropped her back off at the house,” Skylar’s mother, Mary Neese, said.
On January 3, 2013, Shoaf admitted that she helped Eddy stab Skylar to death. As shocking as the crime was, the reason behind it was so nonsensical that it shocked the entire Star City community, where the trio was once inseparable.
“We just didn’t like her,” Shoaf replied after State Police Cpl. Ronnie Gaskin questioned her.
Shoaf was arrested and charged with murder shortly after.
Meanwhile, Eddy continued to maintain ignorance about her friend’s whereabouts, even tweeting “Happy Birthday” to Skylar on her birthday.
Shoaf ultimately led police to Skylar’s remains. Although authorities didn’t initially find Skylar, they continued their search and eventually spotted her almost unidentifiable body buried in a shallow grave, in a secluded wooded area near Macdale.
Eddy, however, continued the farce. She posted photos of Skylar and called the girl her “best friend” and told her to “rest easy” after learning the girl’s remains had been found.
rest easy skylar, you'll ALWAYS be my bestfriend. i miss you more than you could ever know. pic.twitter.com/g6UaDf9Vfb
— shelia eddy (@_sheliiaa) March 13, 2013
Two weeks later, Eddy took to Twitter and wrote, “we really did go on three.”
At the time, the post appeared to be a random tweet from a teen, but authorities later learned that the Eddy and Shoal made plans to “count to three” before plunging their knives into Skylar.
we really did go on three
— shelia eddy (@_sheliiaa) April 1, 2013
While Eddy continued to post random tweets without any other mention of her complicity in the crime, authorities were busy behind the scenes trying to get a DNA match from Skylar’s remains.
On May 1, 2013, authorities arrested Eddy at the parking lot of a Cracker Barrel restaurant, after officials matched blood found on her car to Skylar.
While confessing, Shoaf told investigators Eddy mapped out the murder with her while they were sitting in science class. After leading Skylar into the woods, the killers carried out their plan. Shoaf said Skylar nearly got away at one point, but they stabbed her in the knee so she couldn’t try to flee again.
As Skylar was dying, her last word to her so-called friends was, “Why?”
In turn for her cooperation, Shoaf, who was tried as an adult, was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to 30 years behind bars.
Eddy, who kept up appearances for close to a year after Skylar’s death, eventually pleaded guilty to a first-degree murder charge. She received a life sentence and was also charged as an adult.
Both killers remain behind bars at the Lakin Correctional Center in West Virginia.
Skylar’s father, David Neese, later added that neither suspect should have gotten leniency.
“They’re both sickos, and they’re both exactly where they need to be: away from civilization, locked up like animals. Because that’s what they are, they’re animals.”
Since their daughter’s murder, Skylar’s parents initiated “Skylar’s Law,” which modified West Virginia’s previous Amber Alert to include immediate public announcements when a child disappears, regardless of whether the child is a victim of a suspected kidnapping or not.
Watch Skylar’s full story on “20/20” TONIGHT at 10 p.m. ET on ABC.
For the latest true crime and justice news, subscribe to the ‘Crime Stories with Nancy Grace’ podcast. Here is a related episode.
[Feature Photo: Shelia Eddy and Rachel Shoaf/Police Handout]
