In the early hours of July 6, 2012, a 16-year-old high school honor student climbed out of her bedroom window for what she thought would be another late-night adventure with her best friends. But Skylar Neese would never return home. Her brutal murder—committed by the very friends she trusted most—sent shockwaves through her small town and the nation. 

Skylar Neese was a bright, ambitious teenager with dreams of becoming a lawyer. She was a model student at University High School, where she consistently earned top grades and worked part-time at Wendy’s. Skylar’s bubbly personality and sharp wit endeared her to many, but she was especially close to her two best friends, Shelia Eddy and Rachel Shoaf. The three were inseparable, often posting selfies and sharing inside jokes on social media.

On the night of July 5, 2012, Skylar returned home from her evening shift at Wendy’s and greeted her parents before retreating to her room. Around midnight, Shelia and Rachel texted her, inviting her to sneak out for a drive. With her parents asleep, Skylar slipped out through her bedroom window, leaving a small bench beneath it to make her return easier. Surveillance footage from her apartment complex captured Skylar getting into a silver Toyota Camry at 12:31 a.m.

What happened next was both chilling and senseless. The three girls drove to a remote wooded area just across the Pennsylvania border, a spot they had visited before to hang out and smoke marijuana. But this night would be different. Shelia and Rachel had secretly decided to kill Skylar. They had planned it all out weeks in advance; bringing with them the murder weapons, a change of clothes and cleaning supplies.  

As the three walked into the woods, Rachel and Shelia turned on Skylar, attacking her with kitchen knives they had hidden in their clothes. Skylar fought back with everything she had, managing to inflict defensive wounds on her attackers that were noted by investigators in the days after the attack. Rachel later told authorities that she and Sheila were surprised by how hard Skylar fought back. But she was ultimately overpowered. In her final moments, Skylar’s last words, according to Rachel’s later confession, were, “Why?”

The two girls buried Skylar’s body under some branches and rocks, abandoning her in the woods before driving home. Then they cleaned themselves up and resumed their lives as if nothing had happened. When they were initially questioned by police, they insisted that they had picked Skylar up, drove around the city for a while, and then dropped her off at 11:45pm. Over the next several months, Shelia and Rachel maintained a façade of innocence, even going so far as to console Skylar’s grieving parents.

Skylar’s parents, Dave and Mary Neese, reported their daughter missing later that day when she failed to return home or show up for her shift at Wendy’s. At first, authorities treated Skylar’s disappearance as a runaway case, pointing to the surveillance footage of her willingly getting into the car. 

Dave Neese took to social media, tirelessly campaigning for information about his daughter’s whereabouts. Meanwhile, Shelia and Rachel played their roles convincingly. Shelia frequently posted sentimental messages about Skylar on Twitter, expressing heartbreak over her disappearance. Rachel, though quieter, appeared shaken but cooperative.

As the investigation progressed, inconsistencies in Shelia and Rachel’s stories began to surface. Their accounts of the evening varied in critical details, arousing suspicion among law enforcement. By December 2012, Rachel’s guilt became too much to bear. During a heated argument with her parents, Rachel suffered an emotional breakdown and screamed, “We killed her!” Her confession shocked her parents, who immediately contacted the police.

In a detailed account, Rachel admitted that she and Shelia had plotted Skylar’s murder for weeks. Their motive? According to Rachel, they simply “didn’t like her anymore.” The confession was as baffling as it was horrifying. In January of 2013, Rachel led investigators to the wooded area where they had left Skylar’s body. By then, months had passed, and Skylar’s remains were skeletal. DNA testing later confirmed the identity of the remains, bringing a tragic end to the months-long search.

On May 1, 2013, Rachel Shoaf pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. Shelia Eddy, who had continued to feign innocence even after Rachel’s confession, was arrested later that month. As her trial approached and a guilty verdict looked more than likely, Shelia eventually pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in January 2014. Shelia received a life sentence with the possibility of parole after 15 years, while Rachel was sentenced to 30 years in prison, with eligibility for parole after 10 years.

Skylar’s murder prompted legislative changes in West Virginia. In her memory, “Skylar’s Law” was enacted, requiring law enforcement to issue immediate Amber Alerts for all missing children, regardless of whether they are believed to be runaways.