WEST COLUMBIA, W.Va. — One of the defendants in a high-profile Morgantown area murder case has been denied parole for the second year in a row.
Rachel Shoaf, 28, asked the state Parole Board during a hearing Monday from Lakin State Prison to approve her release following the July 2012 murder of Star City teenager Skylar Neece.
Monday’s decision came just two days after the 12th anniversary of the day Shoaf and co-defendant Shelia Eddy lured her Neece from her Star City home and killed her.
Shoaf pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in 2014 and is serving a 30-year sentence with a possibility of parole after 10 years.
As the search was on for Skylar, Shoaf pretended to help by posting missing person fliers and even went to the Neese’s home to offer comfort to the family. Months later, she confessed to a crime and led authorities to a remote area in Pennsylvania, where the body was left partially buried under brush.
The parole board reached the same decision in May 2023 hearing for Shoaf.
Shoaf will be eligible for parole again in June 2025. Her release date is April 30, 2028.
Eddy is serving a life sentence with mercy for first-degree murder and will be eligible for parole in 2028.