Post Mortem | Coached To Kill

Summary

Episode Overview

Podcast: 48 Hours (Post Mortem series)
Episode: Post Mortem | Coached To Kill
Host: Natalie Morales (CBS News, guest host)
Guest: Anne-Marie Green (48 Hours correspondent)
Date: January 6, 2026

Main Theme:
This Post Mortem episode dives deep into the investigation and courtroom aftermath following the murder of 31-year-old Shay Breyer in Jay County, Indiana. Morales and Green analyze the murder, the unexpected involvement of three women, key evidence, interpersonal dynamics, and the chilling ripple effects on families and communities.

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Key Discussion Points

1. Case Background and The Suspects

• Victim: Shay Breyer, 31, found incoherent and shot on a remote bridge; later died of his injuries (01:52).
• Primary Suspects: Three women—EJ (ex-fiancée and mother of Shay’s child), Shelby (18, shooter), and Hannah (18, getaway driver).
  • EJ: “She is Shay's ex fiancé and the mother of his child...She's 10 years older than [Shelby and Hannah]. She's a softball coach. She's coached them.” (03:11, 04:17)

Notable Quote:
“It’s rare that we see a woman as a killer, but in this case, we have three women who are charged with killing Shay or being involved in his death.”
— Natalie Morales (02:44)

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2. Relationship Dynamics and Motive

• EJ’s influence over Shelby and Hannah explored; possible manipulative relationship, hints of unusual closeness.
• Motive: Shay was seeking parental rights; his move to be present in his daughter's life provoked EJ.
  “When Shay hired an attorney and then filed those court documents...EJ started talking about getting rid of him.” (05:29)

Notable Quote:
“Shay really wanted to be a dad. He did not have a great relationship with his own father, and he wanted to kind of like, correct that family story.”
— Anne-Marie Green (06:00)

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3. The Fatal Night

• EJ lured Shay out under the pretense of meeting, using her close relationship and his hope for reconciliation.
  • Why did he get in the van?
    “I think Shay got into the van thinking that they could possibly rekindle their relationship. He wanted to raise his daughter. He wanted parental rights. I think he would have probably done anything to do that, even get into that van.”
    — Green and detectives (07:27)
• The location—a remote, rural bridge—chosen for its isolation.
  • “Beautiful and eerie...there’s really no reason to go there and stop, really, other than maybe to take in the scenic view...the fact that anyone found Shay is a miracle in and of itself.”
    — Anne-Marie Green (08:04)

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4. Warning Signs and Missed Opportunities

• EJ previously vented her frustration to friend (and former police officer), Christi Sybre, hinting at wanting Shay “gone.”
• Discussed ‘experimenting’ by spiking Shay’s drink with chopped pills, showing a progression toward violence.

Notable Moment:
“She just believed. I mean, even after that experiment where they threw stuff in his drink. She just never believed that they would take it this far.”
— Anne-Marie Green (09:42)

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5. The Teen Accomplices: Shelby and Hannah

• Shelby (shooter): “She was studying to become an EMT before she was arrested. She wanted to become a nurse.”
• Hannah (driver): was “on a scholarship,” with aspirations of opening a nursing home.
• Tape from interrogation reveals disconnect:
  “[Shelby asks] Can I fail Facebook?” (13:59)

Notable Quote:
“No concept of the damage that has been done. The life. The lives that have been devastated. Including her own.”
— Anne-Marie Green (14:49)

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6. Legal Proceedings and Sentencing

• Trials Held Separately:
  • EJ goes first, attempts to shift blame to Shelby.
    “Her defense...is I just wanted to talk to Shay...If I had known Shelby was going to shoot him in the back, why would I be standing right next to Shay?” (15:20)
  • Both EJ and Shelby found guilty—each sentenced to 55 years.
  • At Shelby’s sentencing, supporters claim she was manipulated:
    • Quote: “She had the misfortune of finding comfort in a wannabe cult leader who literally destroyed several families for her own self interest.” (17:14)
• Hannah: Pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter via plea deal; seen as least culpable but still faced jail time.

Notable Discussion:
“There was. She really had a lot of support from the entire town, not just her family. And that may have had an impact on the deal that she got.”
— Anne-Marie Green (18:18)

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7. Aftermath & Family Tragedy

• Shay’s Family: Deeply affected by the trials; forced to repeatedly relive his last moments via police bodycam footage. “They wanted the defendants in this case to know that he was loved.” (16:17)
• Daughter’s Custody:
  • EJ’s family now has primary custody; court-arranged visitations allow Shay’s mother, aunt, and grandmother to see the girl once per month.
  • “They want to do nothing more than just sort of pour into that little girl and make sure that she feels love in the middle of this great loss.”
    — Anne-Marie Green (21:17)

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Memorable Quotes & Moments (With Timestamps)

• On the shocking suspect lineup:
  “It’s rare that we see a woman as a killer, but in this case, we have three women who are charged...”
  — Natalie Morales (02:44)

• On manipulation:
  “You have to wonder about the nature of her [EJ’s] influence over them.”
  — Anne-Marie Green (04:17)

• On missed intervention:
  “Each one of them had the opportunity at one point in time to do the right thing, and all three did not. And so, you know, the final act...just taking the phone away from him and throwing it into the river...they were basically leaving him to die.”
  — Natalie Morales (19:37)

• On the repercussions of violence:
  “Including her own [life].”
  — Anne-Marie Green (14:49)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• Case Introduction & Main Suspects: 01:52–04:17
• Motive Discussion: 05:29–06:44
• Fatal Night & Location: 07:11–08:04
• Christi Sybre & Warning Signs: 08:53–11:38
• Shelby & Hannah’s Background: 12:47–14:49
• Legal Proceedings: 15:00–18:18
• Aftermath & Custody: 21:01–21:55
• Conclusion: 21:55–22:28

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Tone & Style

• Investigative, analytical, and somber, with moments of empathy and urgency.
• Retains CBS reporting’s signature blend of careful detail, human interest, and procedural insight.
• Emphasis on the ripple effect of violent crime—loss, guilt, community reaction, and the irreparable shattering of family.

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Summary

This episode of “48 Hours: Post Mortem” delivers a thorough examination of the murder of Shay Breyer, the disturbing orchestration of the crime by his ex-fiancée and her two teenage proteges, and the legal and emotional fallout for everyone touched by the case. The episode humanizes both the victim and, in varying degrees, the perpetrators—exploring the nuances of motive, manipulation, and conscience. Green and Morales’ discussion stands out for its thoughtful approach to complex social, familial, and psychological themes, and brings the audience deep into not just what happened, but how such tragedies come to pass.

Transcript

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[Natalie Morales]

Foreign. Welcome back to postmortem. I'm CBS News correspondent Natalie Morales, stepping in today as your host to speak with 48 Hours correspondent Ann Marie Green about her report on the murder of 31 year old Shea Breyer. It was on January 12, 2020, when Shea Breyer was found incoherent on a remote bridge in Jay County, Indiana. Now it turned out he had been shot in the back with a bullet lodged in his and he later died from his injuries. Now when a homicide investigation was launched, detectives uncovered a shocking plot involving not one, not two, but three individuals. Ann Marie is joining me now to chat with me. Hey, Ann Marie.

[Ann Marie Green]

Hello. Hello, hello and thank you. I love it when we do it like this. I like to it's fun being on the other side.

[Natalie Morales]

And it's fun for me too being on this end of it. Now I just wanna remind our listeners if you have not listened to the 48 Hours episode yet you can find the full audio just below this episod in your podcast feed. So just go take a listen. They come right back for our conversation. So, Anne Marie, it's rare that we see a woman as a killer, but in this case, we have three women who are charged with killing Shay or being involved in his death.

[Ann Marie Green]

Yeah, we start things off with EJ. She's 29 years old. She's pretty much the first person that comes under suspicion for Detectives because she's the only person who's had a conflict with Shay. People love this guy. She is Shay's ex fiance and the mother of his child. But their relationship wasn't that kind of relationship. You know, they kind of didn't really date until after they had become parents, if you will, and then became, you know, engaged. But then later we learn about these two other young women who are involved. And I say young women because they're teenagers. Right. We have 18 year old Hannah, whose parents van was used. She was driving parents van that night. And then there's 18 year old Shelby, who is the one who shot Shay.

[Natalie Morales]

Let's talk about that age difference and who the mastermind of this was. I mean, who was the one who was sort of seen as the person who was pulling the strings on this operation?

[Ann Marie Green]

Yeah, I guess, you know, that's a bit of the question. You know, you have to understand that EJ has known these two other women for quite a long time. She's 10 years older than them. She's a softball coach. She's coached them. And they basically have known her since they were children. You have to wonder about the nature of her influence over them. And you see it in the Hour. A lot of people, you know, speculated as to whether or not there was more to the relationship between Shelby and EJ. No one saw EJ without Shelby being around. We also learned that EJ's name was in Shelby's phone as Bae. I know you've probably heard that nickname, Bae, and it's normally spelled B A, E. It was spelled B A Y. They could have just spelt it wrong, I don't know. But we all know what that means. My bae, that's my sweetheart. Right, of course. You know, both ladies say that there was nothing romantic between them. They were just very close friends. But the other thing is it really was Shelby who seemed to really dislike Shay and she's the one who shot the gun.

[Natalie Morales]

So, Annmarie, let's talk about the apparent motive in this case, which is just so sad because all it is it seems, is that. Is that Hsie just wanted to be involved in his daughter's life. Now, that was something that EJ did not want, according to prosecutors. So when Shay hired an attorney and then filed those court documents to establish paternity, a friend of EJ said that EJ started talking about getting rid of him. I'm curious, though, why didn't Shea already have certain rights in place? I mean, that's his daughter.

[Ann Marie Green]

Yeah. So his name was not on the birth certificate. And so then he sort of realized that he had to go a more formal legal route. And like I said, the nature of their relationship before they became engaged is kind of murky. You know, his family had never even heard of her really before. And so the impression that we get is, you know, there wasn't much of a relationship. She becomes pregnant, though, she has the child, and so they try to establish something. Shay really wanted to be a dad. He did not have a great relationship with his own father, and he wanted to kind of like, correct that family story, if you will. You know, he wanted to be a father and be a good one.

[Natalie Morales]

So what's interesting is, given that whole, you know, what was going on in their relationship, on the night that Che was killed, he had received a late night call from EJ to meet with him. And at this point, as you said, Emery, they had been broken up for a while. They didn't seem to have a relationship at all. So it seemed to be somewhat contentious, if anything. So why did he even agree to meeting up with EJ and getting in that van?

[Ann Marie Green]

That's like the million dollar question. It's late at night. The weather was terrible. They hadn't really been talking. But I asked the same question to detectives as well. And I want to play a little sound from the interview that actually didn't make it into the hour. Why do you think Shay got into that van?

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I think Shay got into the van thinking that they could possibly rekindle their relationship. He wanted to raise his daughter. He wanted parental rights. I think he would have probably done.

[Ann Marie Green]

Anything to do that, even get into that van.

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Even get into the van.

[Natalie Morales]

It's just so sad that, you know, he goes there with a sliver of hope, and then what happens to him happens. Now, I know you visited Jay county, and you walked along that bridge where he was found practically dead. He then succumbed to his injuries in the hospital. But what was it like to be out there?

[Ann Marie Green]

Beautiful and eerie. This is, you know, a rural town, but this area is even sort of out in the country for them, I would say. It was about a 20 minute drive outside of the center of town. There's nothing around. I think there's an abandoned barn way off in the distance, but other than that, it's just fields with this creek. There's really no reason to go there and stop, really, other than maybe to take in the scenic view. But it's a road to get to somewhere else. The fact that anyone found Shay is a miracle in and of itself. You know, it is heartbreaking that no one came by sooner, but I'm not surprised you just wouldn't go there by mistake, really.

[Natalie Morales]

And Anne Marie, as we saw, you interviewed Christi Sybre. She was the one, remember, who called the detectives the very minute she heard about Shay's murder. But she told detectives that E.J. had come to her and seemed to be venting about Shay, even talked about getting rid of him. And it's interesting because watching Christy's interview, she seems to really carry a lot of guilt about, you know, not realizing what EJ was saying and, you know, not understanding. Is she just venting like, a lot of people? I think a lot of us, like, if only I was, you know, rid of him. If only there was a way to get him out of my life. Right. I think we all do that. So it raises the question, how do you tell the difference between somebody who's just venting or somebody who is actually admitting to wanting to do something?

[Ann Marie Green]

Yeah. Yeah. Cause Christy, as you know, is a former police officer, right. So she really feels guilty. But to your point, Natalie, I mean, I have friends who are going through, like, some challenging divorces. And they say, like, I wish he would just get out of the house. I wish he would just disappear. Like, you get it? And I think for Christy, I got the feeling that she recognized that for whatever reason, these girls needed a place to go to or another adult where they could sit and unload. You know, like, everyone needs, like, that. That auntie or whatever. It's not your mom, so they're not gonna lecture you. It's that other adult that's still gonna kind of guide you. And so I think she, like, allowed them to feel comfortable, allowed them the space to just kind of be themselves, I think, in the hopes of nudging them in the right direction. And she would give EJ advice. She would say, like, you're never gonna get rid of him. Right. So, like, now just think about how are you gonna manage co parenting? Like, she would do that. And she just believed. I mean, even after that experiment where they threw stuff in his drink. She just never believed that they would take it this far.

[Natalie Morales]

Yeah. I mean, that right in itself right there. Chopping up pills and putting it into his drink. That's a big. You know, if you're saying you did something like that, that's one step away. And as it turns out, it was one step away.

[Ann Marie Green]

Yeah. And, I mean, when EJ asked if, you know, she could babysit, that was one thing. But then she shows up really late, and then she says, trust me, you're gonna read about it in the papers tomorrow. That's a problem.

[Natalie Morales]

But it was Kristi who was the first person, the minute she heard about Shay's murder, who went right to the police and told them everything that she knew and had heard. She did.

[Ann Marie Green]

She did.

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[Natalie Morales]

Welcome back. All right, Ann Marie, let's talk a little bit more about who Shelby was and who Hannah is. How did these women get wrapped up in this pot?

[Ann Marie Green]

I tell you so often, Natalie, I think about how in a. In a very small moment, if people make a different decision, their life is completely different. Right? Like, that's the thing about 48 hours, you're like, oh, if you had just delayed that one thing that you did 30 seconds, maybe none of this would have happened. These ladies had, you know, plans in place for their life. I'm just gonna, like, read a little bit. Shelby, she was studying to become an EMT before she was arrested. She wanted to become a nurse. Hannah was already in college because after this incident, she goes back to college. She's on a scholarship. She also thought in the future she would be perhaps opening a nursing home and Then during the interrogation, Shelby says something which gives you a sense of maybe her understanding or lack of understanding about how much trouble that they're all in. But. So this didn't make it into the show, but I want to play it. One thing. Absolutely. Can I fail Facebook?

[Natalie Morales]

Does that have to be productive?

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[Ann Marie Green]

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[Natalie Morales]

Oh, yeah.

[Ann Marie Green]

I mean, do you understand that the level of this. It's been on the news that his body was found. You know what I'm saying?

[Natalie Morales]

To stay off of Facebook, I mean. Oh, my goodness. That's crazy.

[Ann Marie Green]

Yeah. So that gives you a sense of the disconnect, like not realizing just how. Just the amount of trouble that they're.

[Natalie Morales]

In and also not feeling remorse or guilt in that moment, because she was the one who was practicing in the parking lot and was the one who admittedly who pulled the trigger. Right?

[Ann Marie Green]

Yeah, you're right. No concept of the damage that has been done. The life. The lives that have been devastated. Including her own. Including her own.

[Natalie Morales]

Yeah. And she's worried about if it's gonna end up on Facebook. Well, guess What? It's on 48 hours now. Shelby. So EJ, Shelby and Hannah, they're gonna be tried separately in court. EJ goes to trial first, and she's the one who then turns on Shelby when she takes the stand. And what did she say?

[Ann Marie Green]

Yeah, you know, she basically says, I was totally surprised. I had no idea Shelby was planning this sort of thing. Even though. Even though she was there when Shelby was sort of test firing the gun. Right. I had no idea. You know, even though they put the pill in the drink. Her defense, as we heard in the hour, is I just wanted to talk to Shay. We were talking about our relationship. If I had known Shelby was going to shoot him in the back, why would I be standing right next to Shay? I mean, that's a lot of confidence in Shelby. Firearms ability if she's a good shot or not. And so that was her defense. Obviously, it didn't work.

[Natalie Morales]

So E.J. is found guilty. She's sentenced to 55 years in prison. But then Shay's family has to go through it all over again. Another trial with Shelby, and to see and hear all that evidence again, which has to be so painful.

[Ann Marie Green]

Yeah. And, I mean, we're talking about that video, the police body cam of Shay. You know, he's on that bridge. You can hear him. And they have to watch that again. Shay was really surrounded by strong women his mom, his aunt, and his grandmother. I love these women. They have such an incredible tight bond. They adored him. They believed in his ability to do great things, and they really supported him, and they wanted the defendants in this case to know that he was loved.

[Natalie Morales]

Yeah. Shelby, as we heard, found guilty as well. Sentenced to the same as EJ, 55 years. And she apologized to the family. So in the end, I guess maybe she felt a little bit bad about her participation.

[Ann Marie Green]

I think so. And I think, you know, in terms of the people who spoke on her behalf, they really felt like she had been manipulated by ej. And this is actually what a family friend said at sentencing. I'm going to read it. She had the misfortune of finding comfort in a wannabe cult leader who literally destroyed several families for her own self interest. So those are some really strong words. A wannabe cult leader. That suggests even more than, you know, a strangely close relationship. Right. That is about manipulation and control.

[Natalie Morales]

Yeah. You know, and again, it goes back to that odd dynamic and the age difference. So Hannah was the only one who got a plea deal. She pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter. And in the episode, we learned that Shay's family. I mean, the reason she got the plea deal is they felt that another trial would just be too much for them to bear. But there were also other factors at play in Hannah's case, Right, Amari?

[Ann Marie Green]

Yeah. Certainly Shay's family felt like Hannah, out of all three of them, was the least culpable. Of course, they say, hey, you could have done something. You could have called 9 1. You could have done anything. Now, the thing about Hannah is she is actually from one town over Fort Recovery. And when we talk to some of the other people, they kind of characterize Fort Recovery as a little wealthier, a little nicer, like the right side of the tracks. But they also said that the entire community rallied around Hannah. They were raising money for her defense. Somebody described kind of like one of those containers that you see on, like, a counter in a store, you know, throw a couple bucks in for a cause or whatever. So there was. She really had a lot of support from the entire town, not just her family. And that may have had an impact on the deal that she got. Of course, you know, she's. She's also spending time behind bars as well. And she was basically right about to kind of launch. You know, she finally chanced a scholarship to college. She's gonna launch. And so her. Her life has certainly been derailed significantly.

[Natalie Morales]

Well, as you said in your reporting and you put it so well. Each one of them had the opportunity at one point in time to do the right thing, and all three did not. And so, you know, the final act, I think, is, you know, just taking the phone away from him and throwing it into the river. I mean, that tells you right there, they were basically leaving him to die, to bleed out on that cold pavement. So it doesn't get much colder than that.

[Ann Marie Green]

That is spot on. I mean, they had left and they turned back around. It is callous. And what sort of adds to the mystery is the nature of the gun. This is a small caliber gun. This is the kind of gun, Natalie, that maybe if you live in an area where people hunt, they might give this gun to a child, kind of like their first gun to learn how to hunt. This is the type of bullet that if it hits you, you're probably going to survive. Shay was hit directly in the heart, and it is because of that that he was not able to survive something that probably would have been survivable, but you just never know. You don't know if somebody had intervened a minute earlier, if that would have made a difference and they had the ability to make that difference, and they didn't.

[Natalie Morales]

That's right. And then at the end, we see that is EJ's family. They're the ones who end up with primary custody of his daughter. What kind of relationship, though, are his family able to have with the daughter?

[Ann Marie Green]

So it was really important for, obviously for Shay's family to maintain a connection with her. And so they have an arrangement. And I believe it's kind of through the courts that they get to see her once a month. You know, she's still very, very young, so I don't know how both families will tackle this as she gets older. But right now, those three women, his grandmother, his mother, and his aunt, they want to do nothing more than just sort of pour into that little girl and make sure that she feels love in the middle of this great loss.

[Natalie Morales]

Well, once again, Annemarie, a wonderful episode. Thank you so much for bringing it to us and for talking with me today.

[Ann Marie Green]

Thank you, Natalie.

[Natalie Morales]

And if you like this series postmortem, please rate and review 48 hours on our Apple Podcasts and follow 48 hours wherever you get your podcasts. And you can also listen ad free with a 48 hours plus subscription on Apple Podcasts. Thanks for listening.

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