SKYLAR Neese was a typical teenage girl, she snuck out to meet her friends, had a part-time job, all while juggling school exams.
But tragically, the 16-year-old would never make it back home after a late-night meeting with her best friends.
From left, Sheila Eddy, 17, Rachel Shoaf, 16, and Skylar Neese, 16,had been friends for yearsCredit: Not known clear with Picture Desk
But after a night out with her pals, Skylar would never return homeCredit: Family Handout
Her parents, Mary and Dave, could never imagine what happened to Skylar, and who would do itCredit: CBS
It was July 5 2012, and Skylar had snuck out of her parents’ house at midnight to meet up with her friends Sheila Eddy and Rachel Shoaf.
The three had become inseparable over the years, with Sheila moving to Skylar’s hometown in Star City, West Virginia, when she was eight, they had an unbreakable friendship ever since.
“She was like a part of our family. She really was,” her dad Dave Neese told ABC’s 20/20. “I mean, just like one of our kids.”
Sheila moved to the same school as Skylar in 2010, and brought her friend Rachel into the circle, and the trio seemed to get on perfectly.
The night she disappeared, Skylar had come home from work and went straight to her bedroom.
Her mum and dad assumed that’s where she was all night but reality sank in when they went to check on her in the morning.
“I knew: she snuck out last night,” Dave said. “And then, oh my god, she snuck out last night, and she’s not home.”
Skylar had left her house to meet up with her friends, but they had different plans for her.
When the teen failed to turn up for work the next day, her parents instantly knew something was wrong and called the .
Her friends, Sheila and Rachel, acted concerned and shared their accounts of the night, reports Mamamia .
They told everyone they had picked up Skylar the previous night, driven around cannabis, then dropped her at the end of her street so she wouldn’t wake her parents.
As police searched for Skylar, they came to the conclusion she had gone to a party and overdosed.
Sheila even helped Skylar’s parents search for her and comfort them, all while knowing exactly where Skylar’s body was buried.
While her parents were distraught, Sheila and Rachel continued to post about their lives online.
Where to get support for bereavement
There is lots of help and available if you are experiencing grief after the death of a loved one.
NHS therapy and counselling service s – NHS talking therapies services are for people in England aged 18 or over. You can speak to your GP about talking therapies or get in touch with the talking therapies service directly without going to your GP.
At a loss – Find bereavement services and counselling across the UK
Child Bereavement UK – Offers support if you are bereaved after losing a child. Or if you’re a child or young person who is grieving after losing someone.
The Good Grief Trust – a charity run by bereaved people, helping all those experiencing grief in the UK.
Samaritans – if you’re struggling you can call Samaritans any time on 116 123 to talk about anything.
The day after Skylar’s disappearance, Sheila sent birthday wishes to another friend.
For months, she tweeted about homework and TV shows while police desperately searched for her “missing” friend.
Almost a year on from Sklyar’s disappearance, on April 1, 2013, she posted: “We really did go there.”
“It’s so weird how people fight with their best friend, like I never fight with mine,” she wrote on April 29, 2013.
“I hate seeing or hearing things that remind me of you because you’re the last person I want to be reminded of,” another post from that day read.
While the two teens carried on life as normal, Skylar’s body lay in the woods 25 miles away from her home, she was stabbed 50 times.
The truth only emerged when her supposed friend Rachel suffered a nervous breakdown and confessed to police on January 3, 2013.
She led police to Skylar’s remains and revealed the horrifying truth of what happened that July night.
While Skylar thought the three were meeting up to smoke , the two girls had decided to murder her.
They brought everything they needed with them including knives, cleaning supplies, a shovel and fresh clothes, according to PEOPLE .
Once in the woods, Rachel told police how they had counted to three before attacking Skylar.
Skylar put up a fight, grabbing the knife from Rachel and cut her leg, but Sheila carried on until Skylar passed away.
After, they attempted to dig a hole but decided to leave Skylar’s body in the wood covered in leaves.
Rachel told police the attack took place because “We just didn’t like her.”
Sheila maintained her innocence, until the evidence against her became overwhelming, with the help of being found in her car.
“They had been friends since they were eight years old,” Skylar’s mother, Mary Neese, said. “They were inseparable.”
When Skylar went missing, Mary knew her daughter hadn’t simply run away, as police believed.
“We suspected that they both had known something about it, but we never would have dreamed that they actually murdered her,” Mary said in a new Disney+ documentary, Friends Like These: The Murder of Skylar Neese.
Dave added, “I never thought in my deepest, darkest dreams that the two people that she was best friends with could be related to this.
“I couldn’t wrap my head around it … We were going through emotional hell.”
The pair are both in , with Rachel receiving 30 years and Sheila getting life without parole.
Rachel was the only teen to apologise to Skylar’s parents, saying in court: “I’m so sorry. I don’t know if there’s a proper way to make this apology, because there are not even words to describe the guilt and remorse that I feel each day for what I’ve done.
“The person that did that was not the real me, not the person I am, not what I’m made of and not what I believe.”
Skylar’s story now helps protect other children, the case led to “Skylar’s Law” in West Virginia, requiring authorities to issue Amber Alerts for all missing children, regardless of circumstances.
Sheila Eddy faces a life sentence without parole and never apologised for her role in the crimeCredit: Lakin Correctional Facility
Rachel Shoaf also remains behind barsCredit: Lakin Correctional Center
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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