Stabbed in the Back: The Murder of Skylar Neese

Summary

Podcast Summary: Stabbed in the Back: The Murder of Skylar Neese

Podcast: Amy Robach & T.J. Holmes Present (iHeartPodcasts)
Hosts: Emily Simpson (Legally Brunette) & Co-host
Date: March 17, 2026
Episode Theme:
A deep dive into the true crime story and Hulu docuseries Friends Like These: the 2012 murder of 16-year-old Skylar Neese in Star City, West Virginia, by her two best friends, Sheila Eddy and Rachel Shoaf. The conversation explores the case timeline, social media’s role, psychological insights, the investigation, sentencing, and the aftermath, with personal reflections and comparisons to other infamous teen murder cases.

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Main Theme

This episode examines the premeditated murder of Skylar Neese by her childhood best friend, Sheila Eddy, and a newer friend, Rachel Shoaf. Drawing on the Hulu docuseries Friends Like These, Emily Simpson and her co-host discuss friendship dynamics, failures in early investigation, the impact of social media, and the disturbing motives behind the crime.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Setting the Stage: Teen Tragedy in Rural America

• Timeline:
  • July 5, 2012: Skylar Neese sneaks out to meet friends, disappears ([03:00])
  • January 2013: Rachel Shoaf confesses to the murder ([16:44])
• Overview:
  Skylar, an only child described as “intelligent, outgoing and well liked,” disappears after a night out with best friends Sheila and Rachel. The hosts note chilling similarities and contrasts with another teen murder case (the "Scream Murders"), emphasizing the peculiarity of two girls conspiring to kill a friend.
• Quote:

  "We're talking about someone that she had grown up with, that she'd known her entire life. ...treated her like family." — Emily ([05:54])

2. Social Media’s Disturbing Role

• Era Context:
  • Social media as teenage diaries—Twitter (now “X”) was used for airing feelings ([03:16])
  • Investigators and parents struggled to keep pace
  • Skylar’s final tweets hinted at rifts:

    “‘Sick of being at home. Thanks friends. Love hanging out with you all too.’ ... ‘you doing like that is why I can never completely trust you.’” ([13:37])

• Analysis:
  The hosts reflect on the lack of parental oversight and how public teen angst and disputes played out online, complicating investigations.

3. Family & Emotional Toll

• Focus on Parents:
  • The hosts repeatedly note the devastation to Skylar’s parents, Dave and Mary, who were deeply involved in documentary interviews.
  • Noted physical and emotional declines, especially in fathers of teen murder victims.

    "You could just see the emotional toll on them." — Emily ([04:30])

4. The Friend Group Dynamic & Motive

• Trio Trouble:
  • Long-time friends: Sheila and Skylar, joined by Rachel as a teen ([10:48])
  • “Trios don’t work ... someone always feels left out.” ([11:19])
• Premeditation and Motive:
  • The crime was planned, with the girls bringing knives and a shovel ([19:11], [21:17])
  • Possible motives floated: “She was annoying,” fear of being outed as lesbians ([22:51],[23:12])
• Quote:

  "They picked her up to go kill her. ...They just skipped all of those [nonviolent] steps and went straight to, 'We should just murder her.'" — Emily ([19:15]–[20:28])

• Victim’s Last Words:

  "She said that Skylar just kept saying 'Why? Why?'" — Emily ([34:58])

  • Both hosts emphasize the utter senselessness and emotional brutality.

5. Investigation Hurdles

• Initial Missteps:
  • Police initially treated Skylar as a runaway—delaying the investigation, lack of Amber Alert ([08:09], [47:55])
  • Focus on “dangerous” male acquaintances, delayed suspicion of Sheila and Rachel ([15:02])
• Technological Gaps:
  • 2012 forensics and social media unfamiliarity slowed the case ([12:28], [13:15])
  • Cell phones, triangulation, and Twitter required steep learning curves for investigators

6. Confessions & Arrests

• Rachel Shoaf’s Breakdown:
  • Suffered a nervous breakdown on the way to a polygraph, was hospitalized ([17:20]–[18:02])
  • Confessed to police: “attacked Skylar with knives, stabbing her more than 50 times.” ([18:43])
• Aftermath:
  • Rachel led authorities to Skylar’s body in a remote Pennsylvania area ([32:30])
  • Attempts at evidence collection: wire-tapping attempts failed to get explicit confessions, took months to build a case ([27:25]–[31:15])
• Blood Evidence:
  • Blood in Sheila’s car allowed arrest and charges ([31:56])

7. Trials, Sentencing, and Prison Life

• Legal Outcomes:
  • Rachel: pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, sentenced to 30 years ([39:31])
  • Sheila: pleaded guilty to first-degree murder, received life with parole possible in 15 years ([39:31])
  • Both tried as adults due to the severity of the crime
• Juvenile Sentencing Law:
  • West Virginia banned life-without-parole for minors in 2014; the law is retroactive, both eligible for parole ([45:22], [46:07])
• Parole Details:
  • Rachel denied parole twice, waived a hearing, eligible again June 2026 ([42:05])
  • Sheila eligible May 2028 ([42:45])
• Prison environment:
  • Facility nicknamed “cupcake something”—not particularly harsh, access to iPads and self-care ([43:43], [44:09])
• Quote:

  "She was arrested and I believe it was prom. ...She just keeps asking about her hair appointment. ...You're arrested for first-degree murder and ...she's going to prom." — Emily ([36:26])

8. Legacy & Reform

• Skylar’s Law:
  • West Virginia law expanded Amber Alerts to include children in danger, not just abductions ([47:55])
• Memorial Scholarship:
  • Established to support future law students at West Virginia University ([48:10])
• Parental Advocacy:
  • Dave and Mary Neese’s resilience and activism praised ([41:14])

9. Psychological Reflections

• On Evil and Nature/Nurture:

  • Hosts express the belief that Sheila, in particular, was “born evil,” and discuss the broader implications of such violence among normal-appearing teens ([50:11])

• Personal Impact:

  • Emily describes this documentary as the first to make her cry, evoking feelings for her own daughter ([48:22]–[49:03])

    "I have watched so many crime documentaries ... but I would say this is the first one ... I actually cried."

• Comparison to “Scream Murders”:

  • Parallel drawn between the Neese case and the Idaho “Scream” murders, noting differences in parole eligibility and legal processes ([37:39], [46:07])

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Parental Grief:

  "You could just see the emotional toll on them." — Emily ([04:30])

• On Premeditation:

  "They brought a shovel and knives. Very premeditated conversation." — Emily ([21:17])

• On Motive:

  "Initially, during her confession, she says they just didn't like Skylar. That's why they killed her. And then later...claims that she's a lesbian ...they were afraid Skylar would out her." — Emily ([23:20])

• On Skylar’s Last Words:

  "She said that Skylar just kept saying why? Why?" — Emily ([34:58])

• On Senselessness:

  "There’s a lot of things you can do without murdering someone to cut them out of your life." — Co-host ([20:23])

• On Sentencing Parity:

  "...doesn't seem like a lot of time and a lot of punishment for what those two girls have done." — Emily ([43:13])

• On Teen Offender Psychology:

  "Sheila Eddy to me seemed like a psychopath, like just innate. We talk about nurture versus nature. I think she was just born evil." — Emily ([50:11])

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Important Timestamps

• 03:00 – Case summary & girls’ relationships
• 05:54 – Sheila’s close relationship with the Neese family
• 13:37 – Skylar's revealing social media posts
• 16:44 – Rachel’s confession and breakdown
• 18:43 – The murder confessed: details of the premeditation
• 27:25 – Rachel’s failed wire attempt on Sheila
• 31:56 – Blood evidence in Sheila’s car leads to arrest
• 36:26 – Sheila arrested before prom, apparent lack of remorse
• 39:31 – Sentencing: trial outcomes and parole details
• 41:14 – Family resilience and coping
• 42:05 – Parole attempts and prison life
• 47:55 – The passing of Skylar’s Law and Amber Alert reforms
• 48:22 – Documentary’s emotional impact on the hosts
• 50:11 – Reflections on evil and the legacy of the case

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Episode Tone & Takeaways

• Tone:
  Candid, empathetic, and analytical—with moments of levity, personal reflection, and deep sadness over the tragedy and aftermath.
• For new listeners:
  This episode offers a thorough narrative of the Skylar Neese case, including relationship dynamics, law enforcement missteps, and broader implications for juvenile sentencing and parental awareness amidst social media’s rise. The hosts connect the story to bigger discussions of crime, punishment, rehabilitation, and the nature of evil.

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For those interested, the Hulu docuseries “Friends Like These” provides a visual complement, and Skylar's Law continues to impact missing children cases in West Virginia today.

Transcript

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[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

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[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

Hi guys. Welcome to Legally Brunette. I will be your host today, Emily Simpson with my, my sidekick Shane. Shane. So we are going to discuss it is a new series on Hulu called Friends like these. And actually I was thinking when I, when I watched it, I kind of love that we're doing it now as far as the timeline is concerned because if you didn't listen to our last episode, we did it on what was called the Scream Murders which really focused on these teenagers in Idaho. And now this, this new Hulu series is called Friends like these and it's the murder of Skyler niece. And again we're dealing with teenagers and a, a heinous teenage murder. But we're moving over to West Virginia. So I think it's interesting that we're doing these podcasts back to back because really there's a lot when I was watching it and researching it and thinking about it, there's a lot of contrast. So let's get into it. So Skyler nice was a 16 year old from Star City, West Virginia and she disappeared on July 5, 2012 after sneaking out of her bedroom to meet some friends. For months, investigators believed that she may have run away. But the case took a shocking turn in January of 2013 when one of her best friends, her name was Rachel Shof King, confessed that she and Skyler's best friend from childhood, Sheila Eddy, had murdered her. The two teens had lured Skyler to a remote wooded area in Pennsylvania and stabbed her to death. All right, so that's the brief synopsis of what we're dealing with here. We're talking about 16 year old girls and a lot of this documentary and a lot of their. In the documentary, their relationship. You could see it play out on social media. Because I've never been a big fan of Twitter. Like I've never really. I've tweeted a couple things. Now it's not Twitter, it's X. But during this time period, I guess these teens really communicate. They used it like a diary. Like they would just.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

What years are we again?

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

We're in 2012.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

Okay.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

Yeah. And then in 2013, when is when it solved?

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

I think that's when Twitter was, you know.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

Is that when it first came out?

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

No, but it was picking up a lot of traffic.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

Traffic.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

So maybe it was, you know, they just caught onto it and they were kind of.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

Yeah, so these girls were all using it. To me it was almost like a, like a diary because it would just be lots of entries during the day. You know what I mean? Like feeling sad. She's a be. I can't stand her lives on Twitter. Live there. And they would always post their emotions. So anyway, let's get to, let's get to a timeline. Let's talk about Skyler. So Skyler was born on February 10th in 1996. And she was born to Dave and Mary, niece. Now both parents are interviewed in this documentary, which I, I give them so much credit for being able to not only live through what they lived through.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

Right.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

Not knowing for so many months what happened to their daughter, living through a trial and then now having to resurface it all in a documentary.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

Therapeutic for them. Or maybe they feel that they're keeping their daughter's name, you know, kind of out there. Yeah. Kind of what she went through.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

You know, I will tell you, Dave, the father, Skylar's dad, Dave, he reminded me very much of when we talked about the Screen Murders, when we talked about Brian, remember the child that was adopted?

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

Yeah.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

And then we talked about how you could see the physical and mental decline of his dad. And then when they interviewed him, you

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

could tell he really took a toll on him.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

It took a toll on him. Dave reminded me that was a very. That was similar to me too, because Dave, when they showed earlier photos of him, he just looked vibrant and healthy,

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

which is only like 12 years ago. Right?

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

Yeah. And it's just, you could tell that it's just taken such a toll on this man, you know, and it's just so horrific. But anyway, I could see the grief in these two fathers and their mothers. The mothers, the mother said too. But I don't know, maybe it's because I, maybe because just personally I didn't have a dad growing up. So maybe I just connect more with these fathers that are so, I don't know, grieving so much for their daughters. And you can see the emotion, I mean, for their daughter and then Brian, in Brian Draper's case, a son. But you could just see the emotional toll on them. I don't know. I think also the, the fathers were more, were more communicative in these documentaries. They spoke more, they were, they were interviewed more. They were just seemed to be more like central to the conversation. So Skyler was an only child and she grew up in Star City, West Virginia. Dave worked at a local Walmart. This is the dad. While Mary, the mother was employed as a receptionist at a medical office. Skyler attended University High School in Morgantown and was known for earning very strong grades. She also worked part time at a Wendy's restaurant. Friends and family describe her as intelligent, outgoing and well liked. And Skyler also, she had hopes of eventually becoming a lawyer. On July 5th of 2012, this is the night of her disappearance, Skylar snuck out of her bedroom and got into Sheila Eddy's car. Sheila and Skyler had been best friends since they were eight years old. I think that's really important to remember that Sheila, yeah. And Skyler had been best friends since they were very little, since they were children. And Sheila had spent a lot of time at Skyler's house. She knew the parents well. They treated her like family. So when we're talking about this crime, we're not talking about like a 16 year old that's removed, that just didn't like her. You're talking about someone that she had grown up with, that she'd known her entire life. Surveillance cameras captured footage of her entering the car. You know, with the surveillance footage, at first they didn't know that it was Sheila Eddie's car, though it was very grainy. They did find the surveillance video of the night that she got out. She left the apartment and got into a car. But they could not tell initially where was the footage from.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

Just the, the apartment complex or something.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

Yeah, she lived in an apartment with her mom and dad and it showed a car pull up and it showed her getting into a car. But I believe the surveillance video was,

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

I remember that it was black and white.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

It was a little grainy. They couldn't tell exactly like today's video

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

would be much clearer. But this is, you know, 10, 15 years or 12 years ago.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

Right. So 2012. It was actually 14 years ago. So July 6, 2012, Dave Nice. Discovered Skyler missing when he noticed that her bed had not been slept in. At first, Mary niece, who's the mother, believed their daughter might be staying with friends or out shopping. Concern increased later that day when Skyler failed to appear for her scheduled shift at Wendy's and her parents contacted police and reported her missing. All right, so Skylar snuck out. She got into a car. They don't know. They haven't pulled the footage yet. They think that she's staying with her friend. What would. If you're. If you woke up tomorrow morning and Annabelle wasn't in her bed, was the first thing you would do?

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

Go back to bed.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

Okay. Besides going back to bed. She's 13.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

I would be worried. I'd come to you and ask you and start to look around and figure out what's going on. That would be very worrisome. So I'd start calling, talk to you. I don't know. Look, see if she had her car. Well, our daughter doesn't have a car, but, you know she did, right? She was 16.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

She was. She didn't have a car.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

So you start searching because it would

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

be worrisome so early in the investigation. This is around. So she disappeared in July of 2012. So July to January is the time frame we're talking about. Police initially considered the possibility that Skyler had run away or that drugs could have been involved.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

So for him to think drugs might have been involved. Meaning, did she have a history?

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

Well, you know what? When I was talking about the social media, how they documented everything on social media, this is the other concern I had that they also posted lots of photos of them partying. This is West Virginia. I feel like they're kind of out. Like, there's not a lot to do. I grew up in rural Ohio, so I feel like when I was growing up, it was like all the teens. Like, what did you have to do other than have bonfires and drink and drive around? Well, I didn't do that, but I'm saying a lot of the people. No, a lot of the people I went to high school with in a very remote country area in Ohio. It was like, you drove around. This is in the 90s. You drove around and you drank and you had bonfires. So this reminds me.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

Played Offspring.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

Yes. You played. I love. What else?

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

Green Day.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

I don't know.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

What else.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

A little Green Day. Yeah.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

Did you guys get that out there?

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

Green Day. I know. Yes.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

Offspring.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

A lot of country. A lot of country music. So anyway, I'm just picturing, like, rural West Virginia. It's. These teenagers are driving around, they're partying all the time. They're drinking. They're doing maybe.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

Maybe she was close to kind of that scene enough where they kind of got concerned that she was on.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

Well, I think she did do drugs. She smoked pot with her friends and Drink problem.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

Then you shouldn't be. Oh, I. I don't want to dictate,

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

but I'm saying what I'm talking about. When they. When they would document things, they would also post photos of them partying. And here's the thing. As a parent, are you not monitoring? I guess I. I believe they just didn't know that this Twitter existed and that they were posting like parents. Maybe they just weren't.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

Maybe that's why they were on Twitter. It was kind of a. Yeah. Not considered social media that they were able to get on it because there

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

were a lot of photos that they were showing in the documentary that showed them drinking, showed them smoking pot, showed them partying and being at, like, random guys houses. Like, they talk about these Conway brothers that were, you know, allegedly drug dealers and maybe involved in some bank robbery and they're hanging out with them. So even though it's like, there, to me, it was like a juxtaposition with this girl with Skyler, because on one hand they're saying she's, like, very intelligent and makes good grades and works at Wendy's and is, you know, very well liked and, you know, a good girl.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

Works hard.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

Right.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

Studies hard and plays hard.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

Right. So Skyler's two best friends, Sheila, Eddie, and Rachel. Sho. Rachel is the redhead in this documentary, and she ends up. So we talk. So we know Skyler and Sheila had been friends since they were very little.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

They.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

Then they end up meeting Rachel later. I think it's teenagers.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

Okay.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

And then she comes in, and now you have a group of three, which

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

you always tell me.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

I always told you? What have I told you? It's never good.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

Yeah. I have even numbers.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

Yes, you have to have even numbers. I even told you that with children. That's why when we had Annabelle, Luke, and Keller, I pushed for a fourth child for a long time.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

How'd that work out for you?

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

It didn't. We still have three, and now I'm 50, so that is just not in the cards ever. But I did. I did tell you that. I said we need to have four.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

Yeah, I didn't.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

Because I think Trios don't work.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

Oh, yeah.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

Once someone.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

I got my hands full.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

I know, but I'm just telling you, in a trio, someone always feels left out. Two people are always closer and that third person feels left out. All right, so. So here we are back with Sheila. We've got Skyler, Sheila and Rachel. Sheila and Rachel told investigators that they had picked Skyler up that night for a late night drive, but that they had returned her home before midn. Investigators noted that their statements were too similar, leading them to believe the girls had rehearsed what they were saying. That's interesting.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

Like, like if they both say, and then we picked her up at 10:03.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

Yes.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

And then we went here.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

We drove 16.2 miles. Authorities spent months reviewing evidence, including this took months. I don't understand why this takes months in an investigation. Also, we are talking about 14 years ago. Maybe it's speedier now, but they did.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

You just said it was rural, so maybe it's a slower moving, you know, law enforcement agents. There's a lot of murders out there.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

There's cell phone records. This is what I don't understand. They. They're going to pull their cell phone records. Right? You're going to get that forensics. But it must have taken a long

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

time because the triangulation, I think is what they called it, they did back then. So it wasn't like a pinpoint of where the phone was. It was circles, circumferences, areas, because they had to use three different cell towers to kind of try to get narrowed down where it was. So I think. And maybe it also wasn't so readily available, whereas maybe now it's readily available. So there's a procedure in place to get the info. They have a warrant, they get the info. The cell companies automatically produce it and spit it out. So maybe it did take a while. Maybe the cops are trying to figure out how to use Twitter.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

No, they did. I saw that in the documentary. Yeah. They talk about how they had. They weren't familiar with social media.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

Oh, social media in general. That's right. Yeah.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

And Twitter. And that they had to learn it, that they, they didn't know really how it worked and they weren't familiar with

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

the timeline of the post. Someone comments on someone else's. They probably had to kind of decipher it all.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

Yeah. So they're going through cell phone records and social media activity. So in the days before her disappearance, SK Skyler made multiple social media posts hinting at a rift among the trio. This is a quote Sick of being at home. Thanks. Friends Love hanging out with you all too. She wrote on Twitter, then adding a day later, quote, you doing like that is why I can never completely trust you.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

Wait, who posted this?

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

This is Skyler, the girl that disappeared.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

And this is. She posted this the night of the disappearance, or it's just.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

It says days before her disappearance.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

Days before.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

Yeah. So they're going through the Twitter and they're showing in the documentary. You can tell there's a rift with some friends. She doesn't name any names, but you can tell by her Twitter post that there's some animosity, there's a beef, there's something going on, she's upset, and she's posting that. So I was telling you earlier, it's like a journal. They're using Twitter like a. Like an emotional journal.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

Yeah.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

Over time, investigators began to suspect that the two friends were withholding information. You know, they did initially believe, because I was telling you earlier, there were these two brothers named, like the Conway brothers, where these girls would party with them, and they were allegedly drug dealers. And they were also possibly tied to, like, an armed bank robbery. So I think in the beginning they might have been thrown off a little bit because I don't think they were suspecting the girls initially and they were trying to focus on these boys.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

Well, if you had a profile, you would think these male drug dealers, troublemakers, rob, you know, would they rob a bank?

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

Well, they. They never proved it, but they. There was an armed robbery at a bank and they were, they were of interest. They were persons of interest. They were trying to allegedly tie them to this. They were also, I guess, well known drug dealers. And I guess these girls also were like, sexually active with these boys. So the thought in the beginning was maybe they were all partying and she had a drug overdose. And then, you know, all these people conspired to like, hide the body or something. I think that was like their initial thought as to what possibly could have happened to her. Then we get to this is when they finally discover what actually happened to her. This is in January of 2013. Remember, she disappeared in July of 2012. So it's about nine months later. So there's about nine months that goes by that they don't know what happened. Right. So Rachel Shoaff, remember, she's the redhead. She's one of the girls in the trio, and she's the one.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

She's the new one.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

She was like a new friend. So what happened is she comes into this trio and then she and Sheila are very, very close. And think Skyler always felt on the outs, like the two of them were very close. They were always together. They were hanging out. And I think they were not including her in a lot of things. And then she was upset, and then she was posting on Twitter how she was upset. So you could see that why this trio is not working out. So then on December 28th of 2012, they reach out to. I know that they had given Sheila Eddie a lie detector test, which she failed.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

Okay.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

But I don't think they could do much with that at the time because they don't have any forensics back. They just know she failed it. Right.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

Yeah. But it didn't give them any insight as to what happened either.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

Then I believe the DA Reaches out to Rachel Shoaf from Rachel Shoaf's attorney. This is the other friend, the newer one to the group, and they want her to take a lie detector test. So I think, via her attorney, she agrees to take a lie detector test. Then as she's on the way to the lie detector test in a car, I think she's being driven. You know, probably her parents and her attorney, whatever, they're traveling to go take this lie detector test.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

Yeah.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

She literally jumps out of the car, like, at a light. Like, she has a nervous breakdown. Jumps out of the car.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

She was. You know, she was worried.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

Yeah. Jumps out of the car and runs. And, like, they don't know where she went. So her defense attorney has to call. I don't know who he called. I mean, who was ever conducting it. I don't know if it's, you know, who's there. The district attorney or whatever, calls and says, like, I. Like, I lost my client.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

My client ran away.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

Yeah, my client ran away. So they eventually end up finding her, and she's admitted to a psychiatric hospital because she had, like, she had a legitimate. Yeah, I mean, they. I think I heard some audio.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

She was up against all odds. She was probably worried that it was gonna.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

She was having a. She was screaming. Her mom called the police. They. They play the 911 call, and her mom's like, I. I can't.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

Yeah. Well, it turns out murdering people is not good for your ment.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

We didn't talk about this earlier, but Rachel Shoaf, this girl that's having the mental breakdown, was very, very religious and spent, like, a week at, like, a Bible camp after.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

So she's probably very conflicted.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

Like, and she was, like, always reading the Bible and, like.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

Right.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

And, like.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

Like, journaling and, like, learning how how you're not supposed to murder your neighbor.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

Right.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

And here she is.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

Right.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

Murdering her friend.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

So on January 3rd of 2013, Rachel Shoaf finally confessed to police. She admitted that she and Sheila Eddy had taken Skyler to a wooded area in Brave, Pennsylvania and attacked Skyler with knives, stabbing her more than 50 times.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

How did they get her to the wooden area?

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

Okay, so. So here's what happened. So they called her and asked her if she wanted to go for. This is all premeditated. Like they had had a conversation. This wasn't, this wasn't like they were.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

It didn't escalate while they were out partying.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

Right. I'm saying they weren't just like out driving around.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

They picked her up to go kill her.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

Yes.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

But we think that there was a falling out prior to. And then they call her and say, let's go hang out. So she probably felt like, okay, like let's.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

I believe there were conversations of the two of them talking about how she was annoying them. And she was always complaint, like she was always posting on Twitter. She was very upset with them and she didn't feel like she was a part of the group. I think obviously there was animosity among them. So I believe there were conversations between Sheila and Rachel just basically saying, I don't like her. We need to get rid of her. So this was like a. Who.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

Who said that?

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

This is Sheila and Rachel?

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

No, but who's saying it? Sheila or Rachel?

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

Well, I would say that Sheila, based upon what I know of these two girls, that Sheila was the instigator. She seems like the stronger force between the two of them.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

And she was the long time friend

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

and she was the longtime friend. And I guess there was a conversation of like, we just, we. She's annoying. Like, she's annoying me. We need to get rid of her. And I don't know.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

She didn't think to block her number?

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

No, I don't know her on social media. I feel like she missed a lot of steps up and to the point

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

of there's a lot of things you can do without murdering someone to cut them out of your life.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

Exactly. But I guess they just skipped all of those and went straight to we should just, just, we should just murder her.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

Okay.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

And the other girl agrees. And so the night that they pick her up.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

Friend.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

Right. The night they pick her up, I, I believe that they called her or whatever, texted, I don't know, and said, do you want to, you know, go ride around and smoke pot like a joyride? And I'm sure she was ecstatic that they were asking her to do something. That's what makes me sad is she was probably happy that they were reaching out.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

And like, yeah, they had a falling out, right. So then they reach out to her. She's probably thinking like, okay, they want to hang out, work things out or move on.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

Right.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

And then there were long time friends of her. At least one was. So it wasn't just like nascar. It. I'm gonna hang out with so and so, right.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

So she gets in the car in the middle of the night. She sneaks.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

They might even buttered her up maybe.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

They're probably like, let's go hang out. We're gonna have fun, you know. And so she gets in the car. They brought a shovel and knives. Very premeditated conversation. Brought the shovel, brought the knives. So they drive around with her for a long time. They take her to another state.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

How do we know they drive for a long time?

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

Because they did end up getting the forensics back and she ends up being, they end up murdering her in Pennsylvania.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

So after they gather all the evidence, now we know the story, right?

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

So they end up and Rachel finally admits. Yeah, like she confesses to what happened. So they end up driving her to like some rural area of Pennsylvania and they off to the side of the road and I think they, you know, they get out with a pretense of like, let's just go, I don't know, hang out and smoke pot or something. And she jumps area. I know a wooded area over here. Right. So, you know, she gets out of the car and then both of them just, they attack her.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

I, I, I remember when this took place.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

You do?

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

Yeah, I remember the news because I remember the, her disappearing at night. I remember the grainy video.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

Yeah, yeah.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

And you can't forget it when you hear about two girls killing their friend

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

and they're, they're all 16 and it's

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

not like it escalates. Not like we got in a fight.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

No.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

And then, you know, and it got out of control.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

But it would, it's not a he.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

Then you would understand it like, okay, I can picture that happening and people lose control and then, you know, something horrific happens.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

But this is like, no, this is, she's annoying. Let's kill her.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

This is mean girl stuff. This is beyond your mean girl stuff all the time.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

Rachel initially stated that the motive was simply that they no longer liked it. Skyler. She does claim later that she and Sheila were having a romantic relationship, that they were lesbians. And that Skyler knew about it. And because she was so religious, they were afraid that she would out them, and then, you know, her family. So this is what always kills me.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

The murdering wouldn't out them?

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

No, the murdering's fine. This is when people are just like,

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

is this all speculation or this is legit? They had a relationship?

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

No, they did. There's some. There's some evidence. I don't know. There was. In the documentary, it talks about how they did fool around.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

Okay.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

They. They were sexually involved with each other. You know, I don't know. I mean, it's hard to tell when. When girls are 16. Is it. Are you just experimenting and just, you know, you did some drugs and drink

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

too much alcohol, Being wild, and now

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

you're just being wild and crazy as

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

opposed to really your feelings.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

To. Are you, you know, legitimately in a relationship and committed to one another? I don't know. But initially, during her confession, she says they just didn't like Skyler. That's why they killed her. And then later in court, when she was testifying, she claims that she's a lesbian and that they were in a relationship and Skyler knew about the relationship, and they were afraid Skyler would out her because she's religious and her family would disapprove. And. But that always kills me when you go to the like. But murder. But murder's better. Like, murder's the better.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

Like, that's a way to cover it up.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

Right. Like when you're saying, I'm deeply religious and I.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

No, I'm guessing her family was, and she didn't want them to find out. I don't think it was her own personal. Like, I'm guilty. I'm doing something wrong, so I'm gonna hide it with, you know, another wrong act. You know, my parents are gonna get mad at me, so I'm gonna hide it. That's what I'm guessing it was.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

No, I agree with that, but I'm saying what I'm saying. When someone is so concerned because her family's very religious and.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

Oh, yeah. But it's like, then saying they might find out. They might get wind that you kissed a girl, but they won't get wind that you might have murdered.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

Right. That's what I'm saying. Like, so you skip. You're. You're.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

Well, they did drive far away.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

They went to Pennsylvania. Right.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

And they brought a shovel.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

After things became known with the relationship, there was tension between us. Rachel said in her 2023 testimony.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

Wait, they crossed state lines?

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

Yeah.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

They went to Pennsylvania, made it a federal offense.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

Yeah. It was hostile and violent. In our teenage minds, we didn't know how to handle the conflict and we just wanted it to stop. So I guess in our teenage minds, the only way that they can deal with the conflict between Skyler and the two of them is just, is. Is to get rid of her. The revelation that Rachel and Sheila had committed this act shocked investigators and the niece family who had trusted both girls, especially Sheila. I think that was what was so sad. You know, I watched the dad, you know, Skyler's dad, Dave, and in his interview and he's saying even after Skyler disappeared, Sheila would continue to reach out to the family and you know, and

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

be supportive and like, as if she didn't murder Skyler.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

Right. And you know, like, I miss her so I love her, you know. And even on Twitter it would show Sheila posting things like, come back, baby girl and I miss you and can't wait to see you again.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

Remember like Chris Watts when he was talking to the camera, he needed acting classes.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

Oh, yeah.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

He was just like, come, come home.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

Well, I would say it was used against him. The, the two girls, these two 16 year olds.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

Yeah.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

Were, I think were very convincing. I don't think any, I don't think people. Maybe the investigators were on to them a little bit, but they. Not in the beginning.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

Your first instinct is not to look

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

at a 16 year old girl.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

Yeah.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

Who's been a friend of the family.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

Right.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

Since they were 8 years old.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

Yeah. And just female. Alone. Men are going to be more of the aggressor. So you're going to look at these drug addicts or drug dealers or whatever they were, whoever they're partying with. I mean, you're going to look at that.

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[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

So Rachel agreed to wear a wire and try to get Sheila to confess, but they didn't get enough.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

Why didn't she just give up her phone and show all the texts that probably say don't forget the shovel?

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

You know, I was wondering. They didn't really go into the forensics of the phone. But I. And I kept waiting for that part in the documentary because I thought once they get all this information back, there has to be text between.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

Texting was big enough back then that they probably used it.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

But they never said said in the documentary, and I couldn't find it. When I did further research, if there was any. Any incriminating evidence in text, they did. They did find blood in Sheila's car, and that's what allowed them to arrest her, because first they try the wire. So Rachel agrees to wear a wire. So she has a wire on, and they're video recording. It's at her house. So she calls Sheila and says, hey, I'm like, I'm feeling nervous. I don't feel like people believe us. I don't. You know, we need to get our story straight. She's like, can you come over? So then Sheila drives over to Rachel's house, and you see her walk in, and Rachel's sitting on the couch, and Sheila walks in, and they're talking to each other, and they're recording it. There's a hidden camera.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

Yeah.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

And she's wired. But the problem is she's 16. She's not savvy enough to know, like, the questions to ask or the conversation to go into to get her

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

nervous and.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

Yeah.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

Which one is the one that ran out? Ran away?

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

Rachel.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

Yeah. Of course, she's not in her right mind, probably emotionally, to kind of carry. I mean, out.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

She tries. So she does wear a wire. She calls Sheila, Sheila comes over to her house. And really the converse. I mean, to me watching it, the conversation is incriminating because she's like, I don't think they believe us. And she's. And Sheila's like, just stick to the story. Just say what we.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

Oh, you know, there was some incrimination.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

Yeah. To me it was. But I think they wanted. They.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

They wanted to be like, I'm the one that stabbed her.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

They wanted her to be like, you

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

know, well, they want to get as much as they can. They got one shot, right.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

So they. They got very little. They basically got her saying, like, don't worry. Don't stress out. Just stick to the story. You know, they'll believe us kind of thing.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

You're right. That isn't admitting. Or, you know, she still has an out. Because if they say, well, then that means you murdered. She'd be like, no, sticking. The story was right. We did some drugs and then she disappeared. We didn't want our family to know we did drugs. So we stuck to the story of whatever.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

Yeah. They wanted her to say, we got knives and we stabbed her the back, and we killed her, and then we hid the body. And I know.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

I wonder, do we know what Rachel said then? Because I would think things like, like, well, it's wrong that we murdered her. We shouldn't have done that. And then. Then they might start talking about the murder, or like, it's fine. We'll never get caught, and things like that.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

I don't know. You know what I was wondering? Because they didn't really go into detail to this part. They just basically were like, rachel confessed, and then Rachel agreed to wear a wire. But I was wondering how much they prepped her before she wore a wire so that she was better. But they also kept telling. They also kept telling her to act natural, you know, because I get it, that you can't be like, sit there and let me.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

Let's talk about cue cards.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

Yes. She's like, wait, let.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

Right on the back of it says, police department. Official police department.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

Exactly. So it's like on one hand, they're coaching her, and they're telling her, just be organic. Be natural. Just like, what would you normally do? Because they don't want her. You know, they don't want Sheila to. To catch on. But then with the whole act natural part, like, they didn't really get much. Right.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

That's when they should have bugged the phones or something. Right. Or tap the phones, because then you could have, like, in Scott Peterson and stuff. They. They were tapping Amber Frey's home phone. And so it was over a period of time, because you're not on one phone call gonna get the. You may not get the confession. So maybe it should be over a period of time. I don't know. But maybe they also didn't want her running around free.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

Well, the. The thing that's interesting is after Rachel confesses, it. It still takes another four months before they actually arrest either girl. And I. I felt like they're so immature that I feel as if Rachel thought just because she confessed and then it took four months before they arrested them, that she probably during those four months, thought that she was just free.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

Yeah, I would think so, because I

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

think she just went on with normal life and continued to go to school, was still posting on Twitter and, like, you know, getting dressed for prom and, like, doing all the things even though she just confessed to murder. But they were building a case, and they were getting more information.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

Yeah.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

And they were waiting for forensics to come back in. Sheila's car because they found some blood in her car. And so they sent it to be tested because they wanted it to come back as. As Skyler's. Right. Because then. Now you've got some DNA evidence. So they were waiting on all of that before they made any arrests. So it was really interesting to me in that documentary to watch Rachel confess to murder and then.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

And then.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

And then just have four months where, like, in her mind, nothing's happening.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

Maybe they told her, okay, we're going to do our investigation. You got to lay low.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

Also, Rachel did lead the police to the body. So even though they drove. I don't know, I'm thinking It was like 200 miles or something. They drove to Pennsylvania to commit this murder. And then they did try to dig a hole because, remember, I told you they brought the. They brought the shovel because they were going to bury her, but they could. They couldn't.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

They couldn't dig a hole.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

Well, it was cold, and we're talking, like, West Virginia.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

Ground's frozen.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

Yeah.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

She should have brought a pick.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

Well, it was July, so I guess it wouldn't have been.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

It doesn't matter. It's not that easy to dig a hole. It depends on the terrain and stuff.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

Remember when I bought a shovel because I was.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

No, I bought you a shovel because. Kept insisting that you were gonna, I don't know, dig a trench in the backyard or something. So I bought a shovel, and it was brand new for years in our garage.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

No, I tried. I couldn't. I couldn't dig. I couldn't dig like, a couple inches below. It was like, the dirt was so packed. I was like, I give up. I think I was gonna plant a rose bush. And I, like, I couldn't even do it. I couldn't dig a hole big enough to plant.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

Now you were gonna dig a trench to lower the terrain so our dog couldn't jump the wall.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

Oh, yeah. He was up to.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

That was your big plan.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

I was like, we just need to out and make it more level. Yeah, that didn't work. I couldn't even, like, get the shovel through the ground. So anyway, these girls, they brought a shovel. They were going to bury the body. They quickly learned that it is not

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

easy to do what they do with the body.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

So then.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

So they could hit it, cover it with some leaves.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

Yeah.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

Where.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

Like, where they stabbed her. They stabbed her in, like, a remote area, in, like, a wooded area. They just. They covered her with leaves and stuff. So anyway, Rachel does lead the investigators to where the body is, and they do recover the body. She. She remembered. I don't know how she remember because she wasn't the one driving. Sheila was driving, but she must have known the area well or something because she could lead them to exactly where they had.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

Probably something you don't really forget. But did. Do we know of anything like how they. Conversations they had? Like when they got her out of the car and in the woods they

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

got out of the car? I believe it was just the pretense of like they were just gonna like hang out and smoke pot or something. But she got out and they were behind her. And then they just both attacked her at the same time. They stabbed her over 50 times.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

So as far as we know, she didn't know until she was attacked.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

Yeah, but she knew it was them. I mean, she didn't die quickly because then Rachel said.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

No, I. I know. I wasn't trying to lessen it. I was just saying, like, she didn't become aware. Not until that plans until they started to attack.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

I don't think so, no. But Rachel Shoaff did say, because I believe they asked her what were her last words? And she said that Skyler just kept saying why? Why?

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

It's very true. We had the same question. Why? Like, just get out of our way. We're gonna be friends now. We don't want anything to do with it.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

Right. Why couldn't you just tweet, I don't like you anymore. Go away. I'm never talking to you.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

And also, if they wanted to be mean to her, that's pretty mean.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

That is mean.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

I know.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

At least she would be alive and she can move on and find a new group of friends.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

Better group of friends.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

So after Skyler's remains were located, remember I told you Rachel took the police to where the body was. They found it and they recovered it. And DNA evidence was found which connected the crime to both suspects. The teens were both arrested in May of 2013. This is four months after Rachel's initial confession. To me, Sheila is the driving force behind everything. She seems to be to me. Not that the two girls aren't both evil, but to me, Sheila Eddie is the more evil of the two. She was arrested and I believe it was prom. She was getting ready for prom. And like, they're literally taking her away in a police car. And she just keeps asking like about her hair appointment later because she's going to prom like that. I mean, you're arrested for first degree murder and you're put into a police car and you're Driven to a police station. And she just keeps asking about her hair appointment.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

Well, because she knew she get a mug shot.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

So the evidence included Skyler's blood, which was found inside Sheila Eddie's car. And both suspects were charged as adults in January of 2014. This was interesting. So Sheila Eddie goes in to court and no one knows what's going to happen. Right. This whole town, like all the students, like people are all there. They bring Sheila Eddie in.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

Yeah.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

You know, and she pleads guilty to first degree murder.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

Good.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

She received a life sentence, but with the possibility of parole.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

What year can she. Is she eligible for parole?

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

I think it's 15. Yeah, it's 15.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

I think California's typically 25, but yeah, 15.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

So this is what I was thinking about when I was. When I was learning about this case and that they're both eligible for parole. It was very interesting to me because we just did the scream murders.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

And let's just be clear, eligible for parole doesn't mean they will be released at year 15 if they didn't. If they were good in jail.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

Right.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

It means that they're eligible so they can be interviewed, it can be reviewed, it'll be considered by the parole board and they'll either release her or send her back in until the next year when they meet again with her or whatever it is.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

Right. But in this prior episode when we talked about the screen murders, it's basically. I mean, you have very similar set of facts. You've got two boys with premeditated murder. Ages. They were, I think high school age. I think they were 16.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

Ish.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

Right. High school. They were friends with the girl.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

A horrific crime with knives.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

And yes, Cassie, Joe Stoddard, they were friends with her. They snuck into her house and they both attacked her with knives and. And murdered her. And I think.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

And kind of boasted about it.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

Right, right. They made the videos about it.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

They weren't like, oh, my gosh, I can't believe we did this. We got to hide the body.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

Right.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

It escalated too far. No, it's premeditated. They did it. They wanted it done. They were almost proud of it.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

Yes. And they were all friends.

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[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

so In January of 2014, Sheila Eddie pleaded guilty to first degree murder. So she did not go to trial. She pled guilty. She received a life sentence with the possibility of parole. They were tried as adults, but she got the possibility of parole because we were talking about West Virginia and I read West Virginia abolished life sentences without parole for minors. Okay, so she has the possibility of parole. In February of 2014, Rachel Shoaff pleaded guilty to second degree murder. She had a lesser sentence because she was the one who confessed and took him to the body. And she was sentenced to 30 years in prison. But because both defendants pleaded guilty, a full trial was avoided for both of them. Skyler's parents delivered emotional statements during the sentencing hearings. That's hard for me to watch. I have a hard time with that. To just.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

Did you watch it?

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

Yeah, you know, especially the dad, Dave. I don't know, he's just, you know, and they only had one child. I always think about that too. Not that it. I don't know if it.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

No, but it makes it so like, if they had a few children and one was murdered in this fashion, then they can kind of pivot and find some comfort in your other children and your other children and kind of occupy yourself by caring for the other children.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

Right.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

And protecting them. But you're right. It doesn't make it any less of a loss.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

Right. But it just made me think, you know, when, when you only have one child and then someone takes that child from you, murders that child, then you cut off grandchildren. Like you've just, you've cut off the offspring. You know, these parents aren't going to be grandparents now. It's just.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

Well, yeah, there's nothing else to look forward to, like wedding or graduation or accomplishments or just, you know, Thanksgiving dinner. Yeah.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

You know, I also know I, I did, I did, did find some solace in the fact that Dave and Mary were still together. Because I do know that something like that causes divorces. There's so many times that something horrific happens in a family, a tragedy like that, and then the parents don't stay together. I think it's just too much.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

Yeah. Don't they say there's some rule when there's a death in your immediate family? They. There's some guidelines to, you don't move. You don't change jobs. Like, there's certain things you don't want to do for a year or two or something.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

Is that because it's too stressful? Yeah.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

So then it's going to be added strain on your relationships. The idea is to. To remain where you are and kind of rebuild yourself that way, and then you can make some type of change.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

So Rachel Shoaff has been denied pearl twice. So she's been up for pearl twice in May of 2023 and July of 2024. I also read. So she was denied parole twice. Then she came up for parole again and she took a waiver. Like she was, like.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

She didn't show up.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

No. And I, I don't know the reason why. I couldn't find any information on that. But she, she, she chose to not

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

participate.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

Participate or wherever you want to go. She waived her rights. Yeah. So I, I don't know what that was about. I don't. She's just thriving in prison. She's like, I. I don't know. I enjoy it here.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

So it's got a new cell. It's pretty sweet. I don't want to give it up.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

She will become eligible for parole again in June of 2026. So we must follow that because that's coming up. We'll see if she actually goes before the parole board or whether she waives her right to do that. And Sheila Eddy will not be eligible for parole until May of 2028. I. I can't imagine that she would be given parole even when she goes up for parole in, in May of 2028. Because I know Dave Nese is going to be there.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

I would be there.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

Right. And so I can't imagine that she would get parole. But just the fact that she's eligible, it just doesn't seem like a lot of time and a lot of punishment for what those two girls have done. Also, I read that the facility that they're. That they're at, I forget the name of it, but they call it like, it has, like a nickname. It's called like, cupcake something. Because it's not the, the facility.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

Like, I'm sorry, you said it's Called Cupcake. So it is. What?

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

Well, it's like. It's. It's like a term. It's like a cupcake something. Because it's easy.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

Yeah.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

It's not. It's not like a max maximum security prison with, like, lockdown and. No. I guess they have iPads.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

Now I know why she passed up the parole board review.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

I don't know. I just saw, like, a recent photo of both girls of Rachel.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

And are they in the same location?

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

Yes.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

Okay.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

And both of them were looking good. Like, it looked like they had makeup

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

on, so they were thriving.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

Rachel's hair was, like, bright red. Her eyebrows were red. Like, she just, like, dyed her hair and her eyebrows. And I was like, what do these girls do? It. They're just, like. They're just using iPads, and probably.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

Why would the Menendez brothers in separate prisons, but these two are in the same.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

I. I don't know why. I mean, the Menendez brothers are currently together, but they spent 20 years.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

Yeah, but that's just because of everything that surfaced. All of a sudden they got together.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

I don't know. Maybe because it's West Virginia and there aren't a lot of options. I don't know. But anyway, they're in some facility that apparently isn't all that bad. I guess that's why Rachel denied her right to go to before the parole board. She's like, I'm. I'm fine here. I got cable, iPad, get my hair dyed.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

Well, sometimes I want to feel like, you know, I want to be committed. Go to cupcake. You want to go Cupcake hospital or.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

What is it, Prison? Yeah. West Virginia eliminated life without parole sentences for June juveniles in 2014, which is the same year the girls were sentenced.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

Oh, they got lucky then. Had it been.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

It might have been retroactive, though. I don't know.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

No, I don't think they do that.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

No. Allowing individuals.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

They just. Right before the deadline, they.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

Yeah, they're like, if we're gonna do it, we got to do it now.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

Grab her today.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

Allowing individuals who committed offenses under age 18 to become eligible for parole after serving 15 years. The law applies retroactively.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

All right, all right, all right.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

The law applies retroactively, requiring parole boards to consider factors like youth.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

Oh, so it goes back, like, even to those in prison, not just who's on trial?

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

Yeah.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

Wow. Okay. That's rare.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

Yeah. It require. It requires parole boards to consider factors like youth, maturity, and rehabilitation. I don't know. Those seem like very broad terms. I mean, obviously youth. I mean, they're young. That's why it's. They're, you know, Minors.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

Yeah.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

Life without parole is effectively abolished for minors in West Virginia. So that's why these. These teens ended up with life, but with the eligibility for parole within 15 years at least. That's for Sheila Eddie. And again, Rachel Shoaff only got 30 because she plea bargained, because she confessed, and also showed them where the body was. So just a little distinction from the juvenile sentencing in Idaho when we were talking about the scream murder. Life without parole for minors is allowed, as is the case for Brian Draper and Tori Adamchick. Judges often consider mitigating factors during a separate sentencing hearing for the most serious crimes. The state doesn't have a standardized process for reviewing the sentences of current juvenile lifers, so it's typically up to each inmate to file for a resentencing. So I guess as far as those two and the screen murders, Brian and Tori, they have to take a completely different route. It would be like a resentencing route. So, anyway, that's the difference there. I just want to talk a little bit about. This is called Skyler's Law. So following their daughter's murder, Dave and Mary niece focused on keeping Skylar's memory alive and advocating for safety reforms. So Skyler's Law was passed. In 2013, West Virginia passed legislation requiring faster Amber Alert responses for missing children. Per Skyler's Law, children who are merely proven to be in danger, as opposed to only victims of an abduction, are eligible for an alert at the time of her death. Nice. Did not meet the criteria for an Amber Alert because she was considered a runaway, as she had snuck out of her house to meet her friends. So instead of just being abducted, it's. It's children that are missing or could be in danger.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

Yeah.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

So basically, they couldn't use an Amber Alert when Skyler was missing because she didn't fall within that criteria. So Skyler's Law has broadened it to be more than just being abducted. So a scholarship was also established in Skyler's name to help support West Virginia University law students, honoring her dream of becoming a lawyer. There we are. That is on Hulu. It's called Friends like these. You know what? Also, it made me think of as it, like one.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

One episode.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

No, there's three parts, I believe. Yeah, it's pretty in depth. I would. I. I'll tell you, I have watched so many crime documentaries because that's what we do. Right. And I have come become numb to them because you obviously know you're watching a crime documentary, you know the outcome. Right. But I would say this is the first one that I watched where I, I actually cried. I became very emotional. I don't know why. I think it was just, I think the parents and just Dave and like him giving his, his impact statement and just, just how, like Sheila Eddie showed. No.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

How is that different than the Scream series?

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

No, that, that was, I mean, that was very sad for me.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

I know it was. But you didn't cry.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

I didn't. I don't know what it was. I don't know if it was because it was girls. It made, maybe it made me think about Annabelle and her friends. And it's like, I don't, I don't know. It just, it made me realize that as parents, I, I don't know what the answer is. It just seemed very real. Because you're talking about three average teenagers, long time friends, longtime friends, going to high school in West Virginia, doing all the things that teenagers do.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

Working at Wendy's.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

Yeah, working at Wendy's. Making good grades and, you know, having tiffs with their girlfriends. But that happens. I mean, that's pretty normal, I would say, you know, and then to just go from that to escalate to the point of murder and a premeditated murder, it was just so, so diabolical and sick to me. And I, I, I don't know. I saw. I was able to distinguish between Rachel Shoaf and Sheila Eddy to me. Sheila Eddy to me seemed like a psychopath, like just innate. We talk about nurture versus nature. I think she was just born evil. She was just probably evil.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

Evil.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

Why can you not be born evil? I think Sheila Eddie was born evil.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

How are you born not evil?

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

I wouldn't say I was a perfect person, but I'm not doing what they're doing.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or partner in discussion)]

So we can agree on at least that.

[Emily Simpson (Host of Legally Brunette)]

Yes, we can agree on that. But anyway, it's called Friends like these. It's on Hulu if you're interested in watching it and also let me know your thoughts on it. Thank you for listening to Lily Brunette again. We also have episodes that go into two tables, but we also have our own feed where all of our episodes go. So make sure you follow us and also tell your friends and family. So thanks for listening.