At the Witch's Castle, they took a sobbing Sharer inside and bound her arms and legs with rope. Shanda attended fifth and sixth grades in Louisville at St. Paul School where she was on the cheer leading, volleyball and softball teams. It was Shanda, and the investigation revealed that she had been burned alive after being tortured for hours. One of the four women convicted ofbeating, burning and killing 12-year-old Shanda Renee Sharer in 1992 was released Thursday from prison on the 26th anniversary of the girl's body being found. In today's video, we talk about 1992 torture and murder of 12 year old Shanda Sharer where she was kidnapped, beaten, tortured, and then burned alive by four. Investigation Discovery's ' The 1990s: The Deadliest Decade: The New Girl' chronicles what happened to Shanda and how four girls were responsible for her death. Mary, Hope, and Toni drove to Shandas fathers place to lure her out sometime after 11:30 pm. Shanda Sharer, a 16-year-old girl from Missouri, was murdered in 1998. Shanda Sharer was born on June 6, 1979 in Pineville, Kentucky to Steve Sharer and Jacqueline Vaught. That torture wasnt enough to satiate the older girls. In 1992, four teen girls tortured and killed 12-year-old Shanda Sharer. [7], Mary Laurine "Laurie" Tackett was born in Madison, Indiana, on October 5, 1974. That same day, the girls started talking. But 20 years later, something no one expected happened. It spiraled out of control way too fast. The perpetrators were four teenage girls who committed unspeakable crimes under the influence of teenage jealousy and peer pressure. Toni was released in 2000 after serving almost nine years in prison, remaining on parole until late 2002. WARNING: This article contains graphic content related to physical and s*xual violence and murder. Consequently, he was arrested in February 1993 on charges of rape, sodomy, and sexual battery. Some of Shanda's friends have put up a wonderful blog that discusses all the many issues surrounding this horrific crime. In 1991, Shanda Sharer was a bubbly 12-year-old attending Hazelwood Middle School in New Albany, Ind. In exchange for her cooperation, Lawrence was allowed to plead guilty to one count of criminal confinement and was sentenced to a maximum of 20 years. After phoning neighbors and friends all morning, he called his former wife, Sharer's mother, at 1:45p.m.; they met and filed a missing person report with the Clark County sheriff. [76] McCarty's drawing titled Melinda Loveless, Toni Lawrence, Hope Rippey, Laurie Tackett, and Shanda Sharer January 11, 1992 (1:39 am) (20002001) is now in the collection of the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles. Loveless was released in September 2019. [20] Her father was an engineer at a power plant. Her parents divorced in February 1984, and she moved with her mother and siblings to Quincy, Michigan, for three years. All four girls who perpetrated the assault and murder of Shanda Sharer were tried as adults. Then, discover the story of teenage serial killer Harvey Robinson. Jacque has faced criticism over her decision to let Shanda's killer honor her name. [31], Eventually, the four girls left for Sharer's house. [72], The murder of Sharer was covered in the first of two segments in the Lifetime series Killer Kids, episode "Jealousy", aired: July 2014. In seven years, Loveless has become one of the most trusted and competent trainers in the Indiana Canine Assistance Network (ICAN) program. The crime was documented in two true crime books, Little Lost Angel by Michael Quinlan[30] and Cruel Sacrifice by Aphrodite Jones;[64] Jones's book on the case became a New York Times Bestseller. For several months, the prosecutors and defense attorneys did not release any information about the case, giving the news media only the statements by Lawrence and Rippey. "Peer pressure. For hours, they tortured a barely conscious Sharer by assaulting her with a tire iron before ultimately taking her to a field and burning her alive. Shanda Sharer, 12 years old, had been reported missing by her parents some eight hours earlier. Mary, who was interested in the occult, even talked about holding a seance to ask Shandas ghost how it felt to be burned alive. More: Part 2: How fake witnesses, exposed surveillance operation unravel Grundy murder investigation, More: Burger Chef murder victim's mom had surprising thing to say after 1978 killings. Shanda Renee Sharer was born June 6th 1979 in Pineville, Kentucky. [35], The girls drove to Tackett's nearby home and went inside to drink soda and clean themselves. Loveless served more than 26 years in prison for murder and criminal confinement. All four girls had troubled backgrounds, with claims of physical or sexual abuse committed by a parent or other adult. [11], For two years, beginning when Melinda was five, the family was deeply involved in the Graceland Baptist Church. Melinda was someone who had learned to nurture something, love it, then let it go, as she did with Odle last March. She convinced three other teens -- Hope Rippey, Laurie Tackett and Toni Lawrence -- to participate in the crime because she believed Sharer stole her girlfriend. When they opened the trunk, Sharer sat up, covered in blood with her eyes rolled back in her head, but unable to speak. Meanwhile, Lawrence and Rippey stayed behind in Tacketts car. [34], Tackett led them to a dark abandoned building off a logging road in a densely forested area. Furthermore, Shandas grades were getting affected. Larry became a marriage counselor with the church and acquired a reputation for being too forward with women, eventually attempting to rape one of them. [4] Early in the school year, she transferred to Our Lady of Perpetual Help School, a Catholic school in New Albany, where she joined the girls' basketball team. Loveless was 18 when she planned the crime. [22], Toni Lawrence was born in Madison on February 14, 1976. After she washed, Tackett told the girls' futures with her "runestones". [32], Rippey told Sharer that Heavrin was still at the Witch's Castle. Unfortunately, that did nothing to stop the horrific events that would soon unfold. She remained on supervised parole until April 2011. She was 12 years old at the time of her death. There, Sharer attended fifth and sixth grades at St. Paul School, where she was on the cheerleading, volleyball, and softball teams. There had been just three other murders in the previous 12 years in the County, and none of them were as gruesome. Vaught donated a dog named Angel in Shanda's name to Loveless to train for the Indiana Canine Assistance Network program (ICAN) through Project2heal, which provides service pets to people with disabilities. [2] After Sharer's parents divorced, her mother remarried and the family moved to Louisville. [29] Loveless was angry at first, but Rippey and Lawrence assured her about returning for Sharer later. Jacqueline was divorced from Shandas father, but they moved to New Albany, Indiana, to be closer to him. It's something that should have never happened.". She was sentenced to 60 years in prison but has served the required time for her release. Loveless ordered Sharer to slip off her bra, which she then handed over to Rippey, who slid off her own bra and replaced it with Sharer's while steering the car. Her case attracted nationwide attention due to its gruesome nature. Derek Kaufman,21, the tough gang leader who was found guilty of first-degree murder. I've given her medicine, her baths. [9] When Melinda was nine years old, Larry had Marjorie gang raped, after which she tried to drown herself. A sleepy Indiana town awoke one chilly morning in the winter of 1992 to discover the lifeless body of 12-year-old Shanda Sharer in an open field. They lived in or near New Albany throughout Melinda's childhood. Melinda Loveless, mastermind of 1992 murder of Shanda Sharer, released from prison, Woman convicted of gruesome 1992 murder of Shanda Sharer released from prison, WDRB Meteorologist Marc Weinberg's Louisville weather forecast for Wednesday, SPORTS PAGE | Oscar Tshiebwe delivers message, responds with best performance, CRAWFORD | On Kentucky, Tshiebwe's rededication and the value of criticism, Tshiebwe's 37 points, 24 rebounds lead way in Kentucky's win, 2 friends from Louisville claim $1 million Mega Millions winnings, 18-year-old woman dies after hit-and-run in west Louisville, police searching for suspect, Thieves steal 4 cars estimated to be $100k at used car lot in Mt. Loveless began taking off Sharer's rings and handed each to the girls. Join Mike and Morf as they discuss the murder of Shanda Sharer. Join us as we discuss the motive that turned teenage girls into killers and the aftermath of Shanda's murder. She began attending Hazelwood Junior High School where she met Amanda Heavrin, 15, and developed a romantic interest in her. Upon further appeal, the judge reduced her sentence to 35 years. I was only 10 years old when she was killed, but her death has impacted me more than anyone could have imagined. The procedure revealed that she had suffered multiple injuries. Both Heavrin and Wathen were reluctant to believe the story until Tackett showed them the trunk of the car with Sharer's bloody handprints and socks still present. The whole thing happened around the jealousy stemming from lesbian relationships. In court, Teddy described an incident in which Larry tied all three sisters in a garage and raped them in succession; however, the sisters did not confirm this account. Her death has been the subject of much speculation and debate over the years. She was 12 years old at the time of her death. INDIANAPOLIS The last of four women charged as teenagers with the 1992 torture murder of a southern Indiana 12-year-old has been released from prison. [47] Loveless and Tackett were arrested on January 12. Sharer was tortured, beaten and burned in a rural area of Jefferson County, Indiana. Its my choice to make. The murder of Shanda Sharer occured in Madison, Indiana early in the morning on January 11, 1982. "Ididn't know Shanda at all. It is also to be noted that her body was posed in a suggestive position, very obviously meaning that this was done on purpose and with intention. During the episode, Tackett said that if she could go back, she wouldn't have been there that nightand she would have done everything in her power to stop it. [1], Shanda Sharer was born in the Pineville Community Hospital in Pineville, Kentucky, on June 6, 1979, to Stephen Sharer and his wife Jacqueline, who was later known as Jacqueline Vaught. After an inter-county investigation, Shippley contacted the Clark County sheriff and was finally able to match the body to Sharer's missing person report. Behind bars, she trains puppies to be assistance dogs for disabled people. When her parents divorced, her mother married another man and Lawrence refused. During the car ride, Sharer continued begging them to take her back home. In January 1992, Shanda Sharer was brutally tortured and murdered by four teenage girls, led by Melinda Loveless, a 17-year-old girl from Louisville. primary and secondary emotions chart; dr baig st thomas hospital; equation of elastic curve of a beam; bath and body works lavender shower gel [39][40], The girls went to a McDonald's restaurant at 9:30a.m. for breakfast, where they laughed about Sharer's body looking like one of the sausages they were eating. The girls, who were all between the ages of 15 and 17, lured Shanda out of her home in the middle of the night and took her on a drive around southern Indiana. She told Heavrin that they had killed Sharer and arranged to pick up Heavrin later that day. My child would want this.". [21] As with the other girls, Rippey began to self-harm at age 15. Follow him on Twitter: @justinlmack. Melinda was released in September 2019, and while in prison, she trained service dogs for those living with trauma and disabilities. Watch the YouTube video part one and part two that tell about the grisley torture murder of young innocent 12 year old Shanda Sharer by teenage young women. One of the four women convicted of beating, burning and killing 12-year-old Shanda Renee Sharer in 1992 was released Thursday from prison on the 26th anniversary of the girl's body being found.. Then, the three girls drove to pick up Heavrin and take her back to the Loveless home, where they told Heavrin the story. The grieving mother said she did it to honor her little girl, who she still thinks about every day. When the people of Madison, Indiana heard that a brutal murder had been committed in their midst, they were . Rippey was released on parole on April 28, 2006, from Indiana Women's Prison after serving 14 years of her original sentence. The next episode of Investigation Discovery's The 1990s: The Deadliest Decade will explore the horrifying torture and murder of 12-year-old Shanda Sharer in 1992. [8], The Loveless parents would often visit bars in Louisville where Larry would pretend to be a doctor or a dentist and introduce Marjorie as his girlfriend. As a way of rebelling against her parents, the youngster shaved her head and started to engage in occult practices. While the four decided never to talk about it, Toni couldnt take it anymore and confessed to the police. The incident attracted international attention due to both the brutality of the murder and the young age of the perpetrators, who were aged . Sharer was tortured, beaten and burned in a rural area of Jefferson County, Indiana. Heavrin was horrified and asked to be taken home. The 12-year-old began to cry and tried to answer Loveless' questions, testimony showed. Call IndyStar reporter Justin L. Mack at (317) 444-6138. Small stated that he would seek to have jurisdiction over the case moved to the Indiana Supreme Court. "It's my choice to make. Tackett then dropped off Lawrence and Rippey at their homes and finally returned to her own home with Loveless. Lawrence and Rippey were frightened and stayed in the car. Shanda was born in Pineville, Kentucky on the 6th of June 1979. I read the book about the case. In January 1992, a horrifying discovery out in a field near Madison, Indiana, led the authorities on a shocking inquiry that ultimately led to the conviction of four teenagers. Melinda is training Angel to help someone in need, but Angel is already helping her. [67], The poem In God's Arms by author Lacy Gray dedicated to the family of Shanda Renee Sharer. As they got in the car, Rippey began questioning Sharer about her relationship with Heavrin. -- The two bird hunters who found the body of 12-year-old Shanda Renee Sharer on that cold, sunny morning in January, said it looked at . Murderpedia Shanda Sharer's killers. INDIANAPOLIS, IN (WTHR) - In January 1992, 12-year-old Shanda Sharer was lured from her home in Jeffersonville, tortured throughout the night and burned alive. Lawrence, Rippey, and Tackett all had histories of self-harming behavior. At this point, Sharers mother transferred her to Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic School in order to protect her. She even showed Amanda the bloody trunk and Shanda's bloody clothes. If you don't let good things come from bad things, nothing gets better. But 20 years later, something no one expected happened. Instead, Loveless would be eligible for parole in 15 years, thus maintaining the original guilty plea. Amanda. Hope Rippey was one of four girls convicted of murdering Shanda Sharer luring her from her home in the dead of the night and pouring gasoline on her body. Jacque said she still has no plans to meet face-to-face with her daughter's killers. Next, Loveless repeatedly slammed Sharer's face into her knee, which cut Sharer's mouth on her own braces. [60], Sharer's father, Steven Sharer, died of alcoholism in 2005 at the age of 53. After her parents divorced, her mother re-married and moved to Louisville, Kentucky. "That's the one Jacque had touched, had held, had named. Death of Innocence - The Murder of Young Shanda Sharer BY David Lohr Autopsy On Sunday morning, Dr. George Nichols conducted Shanda's autopsy. The Shanda Sharer Murder. Tackett was released in 2018, and served probation for one year. 'Wow.'". While she was furious at first, she accepted her daughter's lifestyle. In 1994, Tackett and Loveless appealed their sentences, citing their difficult childhoods. She's my child," said Jacque. To avoid the death penalty, the girls accepted plea bargains.[48]. Thereafter, Minato and Miyano, then aged 15 and 18, respectively, and two other youths took her to a residence in the Ayase area of Adachi Ward . She remained on parole until December 2002. She had been stabbed, strangled, beaten and burned alive. She's like my kid," said Loveless. And Im doing it for her.. Shanda Renee Sharer was born in June 1979 in Pineville, Kentucky. Rippey asked about Sharer, and Tackett laughingly described the torture. Loveless hid under a blanket in the back seat of the car with the knife. She went into counseling after the incident but did not follow through. They returned to the car but became lost again and pulled up to another gas station. People were even more shocked when it was revealed that four teenage girls were responsible f Instead, they spent seven hours torturing Shanda, who would later suffer one of the worst deaths in history. A small memorial to Shanda Sharer in the field where she died. And I would thank her. The former was released in 2000 after serving nine years while the latter served 14 and got out in 2006. On a freezing January in 1992, five teenage girls crowded into a car. To further threaten Sharer, Tackett then retrieved a shirt with a smiley design from the car and lit it on fire, but immediately feared that the fire would be spotted by passing cars, so the girls left with Sharer. The cause of death was smoke inhalation. Her father, a Vietnam veteran, sexually abused her and her siblings when they were younger and experts have attributed her anger to that abuse (for which he was later arrested and convicted). [6] In 1988, Larry briefly worked as a mail carrier, but quit after three months and did very little work, having brought most of his mail home to destroy it. Tackett was released from Rockville Correctional Facility on September 11, 2018, after serving nearly 26 years in prison and completing a year of probation. She drove to the burn pile, where they opened the trunk to stare at Sharer. There she met Loveless; the two became friends in late November. Eventually, they took her to another abandoned location and beat her mercilessly before stabbing her in the chest repeatedly. This tire-iron assault was off and on for hours as the girls went on a joyride through the countryside. [13] Tackett and her mother came into periodic conflict; at one point, her mother went to Hope Rippey's house after learning that Rippey's father had purchased an ouija board for the girls. On appeal, a judge reduced the sentence to 35 years. What followed was a shocking story of deceit and torture. 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