Pretty Little Killers (55 page)

So when Shania gave Shelia the photo collage as a Christmas gift and later discovered Shelia had removed all images of Skylar, it's possible Shania witnessed Shelia's attempt to block out any memory of Skylar, so she wouldn't have negative feelings whenever she saw Skylar's face staring back at her.

forty-six

The Affair

It was a lesbian
love affair.

That's what people have been saying for more than a year now. As more and more months have passed, a growing list of evidence indicates they could be right.

At UHS, other teens called the trio lesbians long before Skylar's murder. The teens themselves joked about it through much of their freshman and sophomore years. Close friendships between teenage girls often inspire such rumors. Most of the time, that's all they are.

These days, girls stripping and kissing each other is quite common, especially at parties where alcohol and drugs are plentiful. When such behavior takes place in a semipublic context, it's often more about showing off than an authentic expression of sexuality. Any number of other factors could be at play, from a desire to be thought of as cool to exhibitionism. One teen called this kind of behavior “drunk girl games.”

Over the months, many people spoke of pictures or a video the entire school is said to have known about. There was no indication from interviews, online research, or photographs that Skylar had ever been sexual with boys or girls. However, that isn't to say she didn't wonder about her sexuality—or whether she might be a
lesbian—especially since there is no evidence that Skylar was interested in the opposite sex.

Skylar's own words seem to say she questioned her sexual orientation, which would be completely normal in today's world, or she thought she was a lesbian. In an essay titled “A Barren Heart,” Skylar penned this poignant, undated piece sometime late in her sophomore year:

The sun was scorching as I dragged continuously on. Sweat dripped down my face with each step I took toward what seemed a universe away. My muscles screamed with agony in response to even the smallest of movements and I begin to wonder if it's actually worth all I'm putting myself through. I'm stuck, forever trapped in endless nothingness. I've grown tired of nothing; nothing is all I've felt for months
.

My mind is my largest enemy. I detest my surroundings and refuse to face the fact that this desert is more desired than I am. “I want to see the world!” she would say. I was never invited, not that I had any desire to accompany her. I was content with my average life in an average city. Never had I yearned to explore the world or what it had to offer. She promised she'd return soon enough, a changed and happy woman. Soon enough has turned into never
.

Months passed and letters or photos went from rare to nonexistent. I kept telling myself to wait it out, for she's busy enjoying life and all will be normal soon. After four months with no communication I couldn't dull the pain with my own lies any longer. I knew she was gone. The desert had won, but I refused to be forgotten so quickly
.

Deep in the desert she resides with the area's natives. The thought of those people or the desert itself forces so much hatred through my body it hurts. This desert is nothing, has nothing, and offers nothing; a useless place. I'm getting closer and growing more and more excited to escape this wasteland with the woman I love. I arrive, ecstatic to see the beautiful face I've missed so much. Our
eyes meet, and I suddenly realize why she's still here. Her eyes went hallow [sic], her face black. I am her desert
.

Another undated poem from her sophomore Honors portfolio speaks of Skylar loving someone. Given its tone and when compared with Skylar's other writings, the poem seems to be give voice to her feelings for Shelia:

Like an empty meadow / Filled with nothing but dry grass / It smells of autumn air / I'm surrounded by beauty / I take it all in at last / Here I am waiting / Too stubborn to understand / Time passes slowly / Acceptance begins to come / That you will never return / Loyal to you always / The love has me to [sic] captured / In your eyes I look / To you love, my heart belongs / Our love cannot be broken

Lanning said the problems seen in Skylar's friendship with Shelia could be from a change in the girls' attitude, or because “one of them developed a little later than the other.”

However, the relationship could also evolve, he said, “if one of them found herself attracted to boys and the other found herself attracted to girls.”

No one believes Rachel Shoaf. Her now-famous statement, “We didn't want to be friends with Skylar anymore,” has never seemed accurate or adequate as a motive for murder. Everyone wants to know how, and why, two bright and pretty teenagers were able to perpetrate such a heinous crime against their professed best friend.

On February 26, 2014, everyone present in the Monongalia County Courthouse waited to see if the redheaded teen, considered by many to be the proverbial “lesser of two evils,” would supply new information, a substantial clue as to their reason to conspire, kidnap, and kill their fellow UHS student. Was it a thrill kill? Were
they lesbian lovers terrified of being discovered? Was a boy involved, drugs maybe?

The courtroom atmosphere for Rachel's hearing was markedly different from Shelia's. A month earlier, the nine bailiffs had been edgy, no doubt because of repeated rumors of threats made on Shelia's life. That day, the bailiffs had scanned the crowd searching for would-be attackers. At Rachel's hearing, however, they were more relaxed. There was banter among them, even smiles.

The center section of the courtroom was filled with supporters of Skylar and her family. The left side, Rachel's side, was not nearly as full. There were few young people as nearly all of Rachel's high school friends felt angry toward her, betrayed.

During the proceedings Judge Russell Clawges kept his tone conversational but authoritative. Eventually he gave Rachel the opportunity to speak. Unlike her accomplice, Shelia Eddy, Rachel did not stay silent.

After scanning the crowd, her eyes came to rest upon the Neeses. “I am so sorry,” Rachel began, her words soft, her voice quavering. “I don't know if there's a proper way to make this apology, because there are not even words to describe the guilt and remorse that I feel for what I've done.”

“The person that did that was not the real me,” she said, her delivery steady as she turned to Clawges, “not the person I am, not what I'm made of and not what I believe in.”

As she spoke, Dave and Mary studied Rachel. Dave's face was etched with a deep scowl and his neck was flushed. Mary's eyebrows rose in surprise, or skepticism.

“I don't think I ever thought that this would actually happen. I became scared and caught up in something I did not want to do. I didn't realize the gravity of my actions and how many people I've hurt.”

Mary Neese's expression, as she glanced at her husband, seemed to say, “Did you hear that?”

Rachel went on to admit that she “hurt the Neese family and those who love Skylar. I hurt my parents and shamed my family.”
Rachel listed those she'd hurt—from her family and community to her “Lord and savior, Jesus Christ.” Face in her hands, Rachel sank back into her chair. Her shoulders shuddered, as if she were crying.
³⁸
One of Rachel's attorneys, John Angotti, spoke up. “There's nothing I can say here today to take away the pain and heartache that the Neese family has and will endure.” He also said he believed the “case would not have been resolved without [Rachel's] confession and cooperation.”

Angotti referred to Dr. Patricia Bailey's report and the result of her psychological evaluation of Rachel. Dr. Bailey recommended that Rachel be sentenced as a juvenile and remain in juvenile detention until she turns twenty-one. She should remain in the Northern Regional Juvenile Detention Center, Dr. Bailey's report said, and continue with her treatment. Because Rachel provided testimony, it would be detrimental for her to be in the same institution as Shelia.

Angotti went on to ask the court to accept Dr. Bailey's recommendations. He closed with a statement saying Rachel “understands and accepts” that she should be punished. “But more importantly,” he said, “she hopes and prays for forgiveness, from the Neese family, her family, and the community at large.”

Next it was the prosecutor's turn. Prosecuting Attorney Marsha Ashdown chose to begin with the victims' impact statements.

Speaking first, Dave Neese began by saying that while it was true Rachel led police to the body, “Rachel Shoaf also murdered my daughter in cold blood. Skylar would not be where she was if it wasn't for Rachel Shoaf. She should take her apologies and sit on them because that's about what they're worth to me and my wife. . . . Your honor, I ask that you give her forty years and plus, if you can.”

Carol Michaud, Skylar's aunt, opened her statement by saying, “And still to this day we do not know why they did this, and that is
a question we would like an answer to.” Clearly filled with anger and anguish, she continued; as she spoke, sobs could be heard throughout the gallery. She ended by saying: “I hope you really and truly regret what you did, but it would never make us feel any better.”

Dave's brother, Michael, followed Carol. He spoke with heart-wrenching detail of his experience after Skylar's murder. His testimony also moved many to tears. Overcome by emotion, he lost his place several times as he spoke. He concluded by saying, “The admitted murderer sitting here today has nothing but blatant disregard for human life and she deserves the maximum sentence.”

Though Ashdown's account of the crime was not lengthy, it lasted just over five minutes, and was painful to hear, especially for Mary and Dave. “Rachel Shoaf estimated that Skylar was stabbed ten times before she died,” Ashdown said. Her voice faltered at times and signs of fatigue were visible on her face. “And she explained that during the attack, Skylar Neese's neck made weird sounds, and they both continued to stab her until those noises stopped.”

On top of that horror, Ashdown said Rachel and Shelia repeatedly coordinated their lies for police over a six-month period. They plotted before and covered up after. Rachel deserved an adult sentence, Ashdown said, for this “oh, so adult crime of cold-blooded, planned, premeditated murder.

“Murder by a stranger is a horror. . . . I imagine that Dave and Mary Neese wake up some mornings and there are an easy few minutes until the fact of Skylar's murder comes rushing back. And the unbearable must be borne again and again for the rest of their lives.

“Surely a sentence as a juvenile is unthinkable. If Rachel Shoaf has accepted full responsibility for her crime, she should not be asking to be sentenced as a juvenile. She should be willing to accept every day, every hour, and every minute of a proper adult sentence.”