MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — More than a year after she was killed by people she thought were her friends, a Monongalia County teenager will be remembered during a memorial service later this week.
“We want to concentrate on this and give Skylar the best celebration of her life we possibly can,” Dave Neese, Skylar Neese’s dad, said on WAJR’s “Morgantown A.M.” on Tuesday.
A public memorial service for Skylar is now planned for 5 p.m. Friday at Kingdom Evangelical Methodist Church in Westover. Visitation hours are from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Thursday and from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Friday.
Skylar was last seen alive on July 6, 2012 when she snuck out of her family’s Star City home and jumped into a waiting car. The search for her continued for months.
Skylar’s body was found in Greene County, Pennsylvania in January. Her remains were in the custody of federal officials up until last month.
Rachel Shoaf, 16, one of Skylar’s friends, later plead guilty to second degree murder. She confessed to killing Skylar with another girl. That other girl is charged as well, but her case is still being handled in juvenile court so she is not being identified publicly.
Kingdom Evangelical Methodist Church Senior Pastor Kevin Cain said he will keep the focus of Friday’s service on one fact. “There’s a little girl that died,” he said. “We have to memorialize a young lady who died way before she should have.”
On Wednesday, he was scheduled to sit down and talk with Skylar’s family members about what they want to hear during Friday’s service.
“It’s just such a horrible tragedy and you have to do the best you can to bring order where there’s confusion and peace where there’s turmoil,” Pastor Cain said.