MORGANTOWN, W.Va.– More than 10 years after the brutal killing of her best friend, Skylar Neese, Rachel Shoaf, 26, has been denied parole in her first attempt at freedom.
Shoaf and co-defendant Shelia Eddy, 27, admitted to stabbing Neese to death on July 6, 2012, after driving to Greene County, Pa. The girls unsuccessfully tried to bury her body but ended up covering it with brush and limbs. Seven months after the killing, Shoaf had a mental breakdown and led police to the body.
Her cooperation resulted in a second-degree murder conviction, while Eddy was convicted of first-degree murder.
Skylar’s family watched the hearing virtually from a community room at Mylan Park, where her father testified. Mother and father, Dave and Mary Neese, testified wearing purple, Skylar’s favorite color, when Dave told the board both girls could not be rehabilitated and that if given freedom he believed they would kill again.
“I told them this person is a narcissist, she is a first-degree killer, and the only thing that separates her from Shelia Eddy is that she’s a rat,” Neese told WAJR News after the hearing.
Shoaf was given an opportunity to address the Neese family.
“I know, I can’t express how sorry I am for what I have done and for the pain I have caused,” Shoaf said. “I loved her. I know what we did was terrible and there’s no words to describe the pain that we caused and I know there is nothing I can say or do. I just pray for them all the time and pray for peace in their heart. I would trade places with Skylar so she could be with her loved ones. I just want them to know how deeply sorry I am.”
Former West Virginia State Police detective Christopher Berry came to the virtual presentation prepared to testify, but he was not called to the stand. Berry said he listened carefully and what he heard sounded a lot like what came from the investigation about 10 years ago.
“Nothing different or new from what we dealt with during the case while we were investigating it,” Berry said. “For today, she lost again, and she deserves to be in jail and stay in jail for the crimes she committed.”
Shoaf was caught in a lie during her testimony about being under the influence of marijuana at the time of the crime. Neese said a decade later Shoaf was still unable to be honest about drug use details to the parole board that are in court documents.
“That night she put it in court documents: yes, she was, and today she said no, she wasn’t, so the Parole Board said, “Wait a minute, you said you were, and now you say you weren’t,” Neese said. “They dug deeper; they really did. I’m really proud of the Parole Board.”
Neese asked the parole board to deny Shoaf the opportunity at adulthood that was denied to Skylar because of their actions. Neese also reflected on how Shoaf and Eddy helped distribute missing persons flyers and even came to Skylar’s bedroom at the Neese home to be “closer” to Skylar.
“The Parole Board did an excellent job,” Neese said. “They dug deeper; they wanted answers and they got them as horrible as they were.”
Berry, now a school resource officer in South Carolina, remembered the efforts of the investigative team that worked for months to assemble the evidence that won a conviction.
“Agent Morgan Spurlock with the FBI, Sgt. Ronnie Gaskins, Jennifer Colebank with the Star City Police Department,” Berry said.