MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — A Monongalia County teenager charged with murder in a high-profile case won’t go on trial until next year.
Monongalia County Circuit Judge Russell Clawges set the trial for Shelia Eddy for Feb. 2014 in a pretrial hearing Tuesday in Morgantown.
Eddy, 18, allegedly murdered teenager Skylar Neese in July 2012. A co-defendant in the case, Rachel Shoaf, has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and is awaiting sentencing.
Judge Clawges heard several motions from the defense Tuesday. The judge denied a request for bail, reset the original trial date and deferred his decision on other motions including a possible change of venue.
Eddy was in attendance at Tuesday’s hearing.
Neese disappeared from her Star City home. Her body was found nine months later about 30 miles away, just across the Pennsylvania state line. The motive for the killing has still not been released.
Eddy’s change of venue motion argues that she “cannot obtain a fair and impartial trial in Monongalia County due to the existence of substantial publicity and prejudice presently existing against the defendant.”