MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Dave Neese, the father of slain 16-year-old University High School student Skylar Neese, doubted there was genuine remorse in the apology offered Wednesday by Rachel Shoaf, who received a 30-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to second-degree murder.
“Absolutely not,” Neese said. “She’s not sorry—she’s sorry she got caught. That’s the only thing she’s sorry for.”
Shoaf, 17, and Shelia Eddy, 18, have confessed to a coordinated stabbing death of Skylar Neese on July 6, 2012. Shoaf, the first to cooperate with investigators after the girls’ alibis began to crumble, will be eligible for parole in 10 years.
“She’s not going to get out when she goes up for (parole) anyway,” Dave Neese said.
Eddy previously pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and received a life sentence with parole eligibility after 15 years.
“It’s a horror,” said Monongalia County Prosecutor Marcia Ashdown, who said investigators might never fully comprehend the motive of the killing. “For everyone who hears that story, it’s unbelievable, it’s beyond understanding.
“I feel satisfied that we were able to accomplish a reasonable amount of justice for both of these girls. I feel satisfied that Dave and Mary (Neese) did not have to face the ordeal of a trial.”
View the complete post-sentencing interview with Neese and Ashdown above.