The Savage Murder of Skylar Neese: The Truth Behind the Headlines (15 page)

Patricia arranged Rachel’s good-bye tour for the last half of April, when she and Rusty took their daughter to Virginia Beach.

When people heard about it after Rachel pled guilty on May 1, the online discussion boards lit up. Busybodies who knew nothing beyond the pics and Rachel’s tweets characterized it as a last mother-daughter fling. Other people questioned the competence of the authorities charged with investigating and prosecuting the case.

They did so because police already knew Rachel was guilty when she took that trip. She had confessed, and passed an extensive polygraph exam afterward. So why authorities let Rachel leave the state is unclear. It may be she was still free to travel reasonable distances from her home. It could also be that she wasn’t considered a flight risk. The truth will come out in post-trial interviews.

But despite the public’s perceptions, the trip was taken for one reason: so Rachel could say good-bye to her maternal grandparents, who lived in Virginia Beach. Because Rachel’s arrest was imminent, the Shoafs knew she wasn’t going to see her grandparents for a long time, if ever again.

The online community’s reaction to the Virginia Beach trip once again highlights social media’s uncertain connections to the truth. For instance, Rachel’s tweet
sunday is the day when me and my mom get drunk together and its a great time
made their beach trip sound like one nonstop party. In truth, this tweet occurred after Patricia let Rachel have a sip of her mimosa. Rachel’s tweet was for one purpose only—to make her mother angry. She succeeded.

All through the late winter and early spring, Rachel had been trying to shore up her image as a happy innocent for her friends, her fans, and the strangers who were becoming more curious about her. She said that once her name was cleared, she was moving to Canada or England, where no one knew the rumors and she could study acting. Once, she simply tweeted,
i just cant wait to get the hell out of here and start a completely new life
.

Some of Rachel’s tweets seemed manufactured, as if they were designed to portray her days as normal—when instead they masked her hidden life. On January 16, for instance, she tweeted,
my life is beyond boring right now
. Rachel just wanted people to think she was no different than she ever had been.

Rachel’s other tweets held a ring of denial and exhausted depression:
can i sleep til im 18 then wake up? that’d be perfect
and
i can’t remember what’s a dream and what’s reality anymore
.

But sometimes, like someone hiding behind a translucent window sheer, reality has a way of becoming visible. This happened on February 10, when Rachel tweeted,
happy birthday skylar
. Later that same night, she tweeted,
i hate the shit i think about at night
. And the next day, she seemed to be shaking off her dark thoughts:
yeah, there are plenty of things i regret from my past. but im on a completely new path now and i really wish people could appreciate that
. Amidst all of this, Rachel had to face constant harassment, some of which she responded to reasonably (
seriously why can’t you guys just mind your own business
) and some with a burst of anger (
GOD I HATE YOU GO AWAY
).

She did receive occasional support from a friend or two (
@_racchh rumors are rumors and that’s all they will ever be, people who matter won’t believe them anyways!
). Some of Rachel’s friends believed the teenager just
couldn’t
have done anything so heinous as kill one of her bffs. Other friends simply thought the legal system accorded her the same right as everyone else: namely, that she should be viewed as innocent until proven guilty.

Rachel tweeted fairly regularly about her life with Mikinzy. There was her January 13
so proud :’) @mikinzyboggs
tweet. And two weeks later, on January 29:
mikinzy is so fun to talk to cause he’s so curious about life and how people think
. Rachel seemed to value the relationship, and in early March she even tweeted
thank god i have a reliable boyfriend lol seriously
.

Unbeknownst to Rachel, Mikinzy wouldn’t be hers much longer. By the time Rachel pled guilty to second-degree murder, they had broken up for good.

***

As it wove its way through the legislative process, Skylar’s Law came up for a vote in each chamber. Each time it passed unanimously.

When he heard the news, Dave called Mary immediately.

“It passed! It passed the House 98–0 and the Senate 34–0,” Dave told his grieving wife.

Governor Earl Ray Tomblin approved the legislation on April 29, his signature transforming one angry mother’s late-night Facebook rant into Skylar’s Law. Governor Tomblin didn’t know it, but with his official seal on the new law, he gave the Neeses the only happy ending they would ever have. Skylar’s Law is now being used as a model by several other states to help reform their own AMBER Alert systems. The reform stands to provide a beacon of hope for parents of present and future missing children.

And one day later, four long months after Rachel’s confession, Shelia Eddy and Rachel Shoaf were taken into custody.

***

Rachel had been crying when she turned herself in to the state police on April 30. Patricia and Rusty were with her, as was Angotti. Gaskins met them all at the Morgantown Detachment, so it wasn’t as difficult as it might have been if the teenage girl had to face a stranger. Still, Gaskins had spent a long day processing her and arranging custodial responsibilities. Finally, with Rachel in custody, Gaskins was ready to close the final chapter on this case. Chris Berry was in the office they shared when Gaskins dialed Tara’s number.

Tara’s voice came on the line after only one ring, “Aren’t you finished harassing us yet?”

Gaskins let his head fall forward, shaking it in frustration. “I’m afraid not, Tara. We have a few more questions for Shelia.”

“She’s right here. Will this take long? We’ve got things to do.”

“This needs to be in person,” Gaskins said. “We could come to you, or you could bring her by the Detachment.”

“We’re at Cracker Barrel right now, finishing up dinner. We can be there in, say, half an hour.”

“That would be fine. See you then.”

As soon as he hung up, Gaskins stood up and grabbed his hat. Without a word, Berry was right behind him.

Tara keyed off her cell and looked at Shelia as she waved at the waitress. “We need to go.”

“I’m not even done!” Shelia whined without glancing up from her cell.

“Yes, you are,” Tara snapped. She finally caught the waitress’s eye, and the girl hurried over. She wasn’t much older than Shelia.

“Will that be—”

“Just give us our check.” Tara was already digging through her purse for her wallet. “Shelia! I said let’s go!”

“What’s with you, Mom? You don’t have to go all psycho on me.” She tweeted her reaction to her Mom’s urgency:
ugh y
, an expression of exasperation.

Little did Shelia know that short tweet would also be her last.

Instead of paying at the register, Tara threw some cash on the table and, expecting Shelia to keep up with her, quickly headed for the exit. Why Tara was in such a hurry is unclear. Given all the times she’d claimed that police were harassing her daughter, she probably wasn’t rushing her daughter
to
a police interview.

Mother and daughter came out the front door of Cracker Barrel, making a beeline around the side of the building toward their car. They stopped short. A state police car was blocking them in. Doors on opposite sides of the cruiser opened simultaneously, and out stepped Gaskins and Berry.

Gaskins and Colebank both wanted the job, and they both got it: they drove Shelia to her new home at the Lorrie Yeager Jr. Juvenile Center in Parkersburg, West Virginia. If Shelia didn’t plead out like Rachel had done, she was going to face a trial that would wreak even more havoc on the people around her. Gaskins and Berry, Colebank and Spurlock, had already expended a great deal of effort interviewing dozens of people about Skylar’s disappearance and murder. The ones they had spent the most time on, the Conaway boys, were both entirely innocent of any connection to the murder. All of Shelia’s and Rachel’s friends and family would probably be dealing with the fallout of the murder for their entire lives. Naturally, so would Skylar’s.

Shelia’s arraignment hearing had been brief, less than thirty minutes, but because she was underage, no one in the public even knew about it. The public had only learned that an unnamed juvenile was facing charges related to Skylar’s murder, and she was in custody. That girl was Shelia, which a great many people had already concluded, thanks to details released after Rachel pled guilty to second-degree murder.

Judge Russell M. Clawges, Jr., presided over Rachel’s May 1 plea hearing and ruled that the teen did understand her actions when she pled guilty.

By the time the proceeding ended ninety minutes later, Mary and Dave Neese had finally learned the answer to the single most important question of the last ten months: What had happened to their daughter?

That answer, according to Rachel Shoaf’s admission in court, was that she had “unlawfully, feloniously, willfully, maliciously, and intentionally caus[ed] the death of Skylar Neese by stabbing her and causing fatal injuries.”

Judge Clawges asked Rachel a series of questions to determine if she understood the severity of her situation. He inquired if she understood her rights, her waiver of indictment by a grand jury, her waiver of the right to appeal the court’s ruling, and her possible sentence. Rachel was composed and subdued, but said she understood everything.

Rachel Shoaf was to be held at the Northern Regional Juvenile Detention Center in Wheeling, West Virginia, until she could be sentenced for the role she played in killing Skylar Neese.

***

Rachel couldn’t keep this secret: on May 1, the entire Morgantown community heard the news. Star City Police Chief Vic Propst was driving his cruiser when he heard on the radio. Propst was so shocked he had to pull off the road. The veteran officer couldn’t stop the tears that began streaming down his cheeks.

Propst wasn’t the only officer to hear about Rachel’s arrest on the radio. Berry was headed home in his Jeep when the announcement came over the airwaves. He went to the fridge and popped the top off a cold beer. As he took a long swig to celebrate, he thought,
By God we did it. We caught ’em. It’s done.

***

Naturally, the UHS student body also learned what Rachel had done.

Students waiting in the hallway outside of Mrs. Farley’s classroom heard about Rachel’s confession after one student began reading the May 1 news on his cell phone. No one remembers who that student was, though, because once the words “Rachel,” “confessed,” and “Skylar’s murder” began to be repeated in the narrow corridor, the news spread like wildfire.

“Everybody knew that Rachel had pled guilty,” Jordan said. She was standing on one side of the hallway, and remembered the first thought she had: “I knew it.”

She couldn’t help but notice the girl directly across from her: pretty, popular Kate Dinsmore, one of Rachel’s closest friends and a fellow Young Life member. “Kate’s hand flew up to her mouth,” Jordan said. “She just stood there with a blank look on her face, and then ran out.”

Kate wasn’t the only stunned student. Jordan remembers that everyone in that hallway had a reaction. Comments like, “I knew it,” “I can’t believe it,” and “We went to school with murderers!” tumbled down the corridor.

Just then, Mrs. Farley appeared. “I know what you all just found out, but put it aside, we’ve got to get to work,” Jordan recalled her saying. The teacher unlocked the door to her classroom and the students filed in quietly. But throughout the classroom, students continued murmuring about the fact that Rachel Shoaf had confessed to the most disturbing crime that had ever taken place in their small town.

***

Next, Jordan went to her computer class, the last class of the day. One student had pulled up on screen the actual written plea released by the media. “We all crowded around to look. It was surreal to see her actual signature,” Jordan said.

Seeing Rachel’s own handwriting on the legal document that acknowledged her part in Skylar’s death “made it real,” Jordan said. But she still texted her mom, “to see for sure.” Jordan’s mom, Erin, Googled the news and confirmed that Rachel had, indeed, confessed to the murder of Skylar Neese.

Throughout the next week, students discussed the news. Some students weren’t surprised at all. Then there were the others—students like Kate Dinsmore and the rest of Rachel’s crowd—who were totally caught off guard. They felt betrayed by Rachel, who was one of their own.

It didn’t take long, either, for students to begin worrying about other deaths: the fatal car crash that killed one girl, the suicide of another, the murder of two other students. Those connections caused them to wonder what was going on at UHS.

“Kids thought, ‘Holy crap, there’s something wrong with our school,’” Jordan said.

Students have been saying the new University High School is cursed for awhile now, and Skylar’s murder has not helped to diminish that rumor. Since it opened in 2008, UHS has been plagued with problems. Over the brief Thanksgiving break that year, shortly after everyone moved in, the sprinkler system went off, showering the inside of the new school. No one discovered the standing water for a couple of days. Students were told to stay home for another week while the pipes were fixed and the mess cleaned up. A few weeks later, a gas leak developed, and classes were again cancelled while repairs were made. On October 6, 2011, classes abruptly dismissed early. Students were told there was another gas leak, but in reality they were sent home because police had located a body in the woods behind the school.
¹⁰

While infrastructure problems might be expected at a brand-new facility, UHS has also been troubled by student deaths, including auto accidents and at least two documented suicides. More troubling are the homicides: Skylar was the fourth homicide associated with the school in four years.

Eventually the murmurs lost steam, and students stopped saying, “I told you so.” They started accepting facts. Even students like Kate. But life wasn’t the same; their youthful idealism was forever shattered. The realization that they had been lied to for almost a year, along with the accompanying feelings of betrayal, was traumatic—and it would remain that way. Even eight months after Rachel’s plea, many of those students still were unable to talk about Skylar’s murder or Rachel’s role in it.

Kate Dinsmore’s experience seemed to exemplify their pain. Finally, after all of the jokes, rumors, and innuendos, UHS students knew for sure that a murderer had walked among them. Students like Kate haven’t really moved past their feelings of betrayal and loss.

When classes concluded that first day in May, Kate returned to class just as last period ended. Several people asked her if she was okay. Jordan said Kate’s head bobbed up and down, but she couldn’t say a word.

***

At first Daniel was ecstatic when he heard the news. But then he also felt sad and angry. He just wanted people to stop talking about what Rachel had done. He tried to tune out the loud snatches of gossip going around UHS, so he could be alone with his thoughts. All those times he had ribbed Rachel, getting digs in at her so she would tell him the truth about Skylar, were for real. He meant every one of them. Yet, at the same time, deep down he didn’t really want to believe that Rachel herself could have done something to hurt his Skylar. Not kind and compassionate Skylar, a girl who refused to kill even insects.

Daniel walked into Mr. Kyer’s class and headed for his seat. But the drama teacher stopped him. With one arm around his shoulder, Kyer guided Daniel away from the other students and over to the side of the room.

“Daniel, um, I want you to know,” Kyer tried to say, then stopped. He took a deep breath. “Look, I’m sorry for what I said that time about you accusing Rachel without proof.”

Daniel looked at Mr. Kyer’s face and wondered if his favorite teacher had been crying. He remembered how much Mr. Kyer had been looking forward to having Skylar as a student that year. How much fun he and Skylar—and Rachel—would have had in class together. Mr. Kyer would have enjoyed seeing them perform improv skits together.

“That’s okay, Mr. Kyer,” Daniel said. “She lied to you, too.”

“Yes, she did,” Kyer said, so softly Daniel almost didn’t hear him. Then Kyer turned away.

***

Gaskins, Colebank, and Shelia were halfway to Parkersburg by the time Rachel’s plea hearing ended. Shelia’s wrists and ankles were shackled, but she was still wearing her street clothes. Not for long, though—the detention center would provide her with an orange jumpsuit. Gaskins hoped she’d noticed the red and yellow “In Loving Memory of Skylar Neese” armband he’d hung on the rearview mirror, just for her.

“Do you have a scrunchie?” Shelia asked Colebank. “My hair is a mess.”

Gaskins and Colebank looked at each other, Gaskins shaking his head. This girl was incredible. She was on her way to detention for her involvement in a murder and she’s worried about her hair?

“Seriously,” Shelia said. “I have to look right when we get there.”

“Do you think photographers will be waiting for you?” Colebank asked. She never ceased being amazed at how Shelia always seemed to think everything was about her.

“No one’s going to be waiting, Shelia,” Gaskins said. “No one cares.”

He looked in the rearview mirror; Shelia was wearing an exaggerated pout, lower lip protruding, the whole show. He couldn’t decide what her game was. Was she after sympathy? He glanced at Colebank, who sat rigidly and stared straight ahead. Unlike Gaskins, Shelia’s sheer presence was almost a personal affront to Colebank. The arrogant, self-absorbed teen had angered Colebank from the first time they’d met. That afternoon Colebank took great pleasure in delivering Shelia to the Lorrie Yeager Jr. Juvenile Center in Parkersburg.

***

After Rachel’s plea and Shelia’s detention, Twitter exploded. People were trying to make sense of what had happened. They truly wanted to understand the two teens’ actions—even though not everyone had figured out that Shelia was the unnamed teen in Rachel’s confession.

For example, jsimp_93 tweeted,
How can you go on about your normal life after what you did? #dontunderstand
. Repeatedly, people said that Skylar’s murder had shaken their faith in fellow human beings. Such was @lyssa_ruth’s tweet,
Idk how anyone could hurt or especially kill their best friend.
(Idk is textspeak for “I don’t know.”)
It just shows us we can’t trust anyone. #justiceforskylar
.

But the people who had believed all along that Shelia and Rachel had committed a terrible crime, and who had been harassed because of it, now fought back. @Hannahsgotalota tweeted,
To everyone who believed them, stood by their side, and told everyone how irrelevant their “rumors” were: go fuck yourself
.

Other people tried a lighter approach. Cheyenne Cowell tweeted,
Sometimes when I’m having a shitty day, I think “hmm. I wonder what Rachel Shoaf is doing” then suddenly I’m in a great mood
.

Interestingly, as if their jobs were done, Mia Barr and Josie Snyder had stopped tweeting in February—despite the fact that the public didn’t find out the remains were Skylar’s until March. Mia and Josie had either lost interest or they simply didn’t think they were needed anymore. However, several other anonymous accounts stepped up to fill the void. Someone called @CountFistula tweeted a blast, that is, he retweeted Shelia’s tweets—with added punchlines:

An anonymous account called @KillerGirlProblems also suddenly became active with tweets such as,
Just when you think you’ve gotten away with murdering your BFF, your accomplice rats you out. “UGH Y” #killergirlproblems
. Like many people on Twitter, KillerGirlProblems also showed sympathy for Skylar’s family:
Just wishing all the prayers & love in the world to the Neese family…how they have made it to this point is beyond me. #staystrong
.
¹¹

Daniel’s tweets showed that for him, life became much more difficult after Rachel and Shelia were arrested, rather than easier. His May 1 tweet called out Rachel and Shelia directly:
I have no sympathy for you girls. I just KNEW that you knew something, and I get called the jackass for believing that? #justiceforskylar
and
At one point, I considered you two some of my best friends. Now I just hope you rot in hell for this.

A couple of days later he tweeted that he was going to see Mary and Dave. After the visit, Daniel was furious:
Hey Rachel, how’s that scar on your knee doing? Mary told me everything. My girl didn’t die without a fight, bitch.

Understandably, Daniel spiraled into a depression, and on May 6, school authorities suspended him after finding illegal substances among his possessions. That evening he tweeted
I get so sad at night. <\3
.

Even though Daniel had been such a driving force in causing Rachel’s story to crumble, at that moment he was completely unable to help himself.