Follow him on Twitter: @justinlmack. She remained on parole until December 2002. Its my choice to make. After treatment of her wound, she was admitted to the hospital's psychiatric ward. Jun 20, 1992 at 12:00 am. The case was covered on national news and talk shows and has inspired a number of episodes on fictional crime shows. [7], Marjorie had worked intermittently since 1974. As the four girls ate breakfast at McDonalds just after the killing, the four girls laughed as they compared their sausage breakfast to Shanda Sharers burnt corpse. Larry was drafted into the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War and although horribly emotionally scarred, he was treated as a hero upon his return. It was a crime of passion and peer pressure committed by four teenage girls. Loveless and Tackett made Sharer strip down to her underwear; then, Loveless beat Sharer with her fists. Catch the episode of The 1990s: The Deadliest Decade, titled The New Girl, on Investigation Discovery on August 19, 2022. Just to be sure their work was finished, Loveless had them return a few minutes later to pour some more gasoline on her, watch her writhe in agony, and finally confirm that she was dead. Dr. Phil asked Lauries mother and sister if they agreed with that statement, and they said yes. I think the ICAN program allows her to have something in her life that shows her unconditional love, that she can show that love back to, and there's a result. Shanda Renee Sharer was a 12 year old who was brutally murdered and tortured by 4 teenage girls (between the ages 15 and 17) in January 12, 1992. 12-year-old Shanda Sharer was murdered in 1992. Published on May 20, 2011. Shanda Sharer. In May 2011, Tackett appeared on an episode of "Dr. As they got in the car, Rippey began questioning Sharer about her relationship with Heavrin. She was sentenced to 60 years in prison but has served the required time for her release. Craig Schoonover made that statement after Melinda. Hours later they took Shanda to another remote location and continued brutalizing her. Rippey sprayed Sharer with Windex and taunted, "You're not looking so hot now, are you? But in 2004, five years were shaved off her sentence for good behavior. She was reunited with friends Tackett and Toni Lawrence, whom she had known since childhood, although her parents saw Tackett as a bad influence. She was 12 years old at the time of her death. My child would want this.". It was Shanda, and the investigation revealed that she had been burned alive after being tortured for hours. They drove towards Utica and the Witch's Castle. That same day, the girls started talking. Online records list the earliest possible release date forLoveless as Sept. 5, 2019. [36][37], Loveless and Tackett returned to Tackett's house just before daybreak to clean up again. Some of Shanda's friends have put up a wonderful blog that discusses all the many issues surrounding this horrific crime. She slept in bed with him until he abandoned his family when she was 14. Melinda is training Angel to help someone in need, but Angel is already helping her. 12-year-old Shanda Sharer was murdered in 1992. Shanda was best friends with her mom, and close with her father and stepmother, Sharon. Shanda Sharer, a 16-year-old girl from Missouri, was murdered in 1998. Age at death: 12 years old. In March 1991, Loveless came out as a lesbian to her mother, who was initially furious but eventually accepted it. 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. Shanda was born in Pineville, Kentucky on the 6th of June 1979. Small stated that he would seek to have jurisdiction over the case moved to the Indiana Supreme Court. Slaughter 35,000 Civilians During One Korean War Massacre Or Is It North Korean Propaganda? She was 12 years old at the time of her death. Sharer entered the car, not knowing Loveless was hiding in the back seat under a blanket, according to IndyStar archives. However, what was in store for them was much darker. [41], A friend of Loveless, Crystal Wathen, came over to Loveless's house, and they told her what had happened. But it was one such dance that set in motion a chain of events that would soon bring Shanda Sharers life to a gruesome, torturous end at the hands of four teenage girls. [18] In December, Tackett moved back to Madison on the promise that her father would buy her a car. Lawrence then phoned a friend and told her about the murder. Hope was handed down a 40-year sentence for her involvement, and she was supposed to serve 17-and-a-half years of it behind bars. Lawrence and Rippey were frightened and stayed in the car. Indiana Offenders | National Organization of Victims of . The description matched his Jane Doe. In tears and fearful for her life, Sharer tried to respond but to no avail. And there's never any betrayal on either side," Jacque said. But, that night, Lawrence and Rippey went straight to the Jefferson County Sheriffs office with their parents and spilled the whole story. She had been stabbed, strangled, beaten and burned alive. [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. 28 Pins 4y K Collection by Kim Hickey Similar ideas popular now True Crime Books Mens Skin Care Country Music Pure Products Youtube Books Quick Libros Book Book Illustrations Facts About People They removed her jewelry and began threatening to cut off all Sharer's hair before they eventually lit a fire. Oops, this content can't be loadedbecause you're having connectivity problems, Stay always informed and up to date with our breaking news alerts, By Associated Press - Thursday, September 5, 2019. Sharer was tortured, beaten and burned in a rural area of Jefferson County, Indiana. Join Mike and Morf as they discuss the murder of Shanda Sharer. And I said. Known For: Being Tortured and killed by 4 teenage girls. In 1992, four teen girls tortured and killed 12-year-old Shanda Sharer. Two days later, with her girlfriend and Toni Lawrence, Tackett cut her wrists deeply and was returned to the hospital. The story was turned into a play by Rob Urbinati called Hazelwood Jr. High, which starred Chlo Sevigny as Tackett. Rippey was sentenced to 60 years, with 10 years suspended due to mitigating circumstances plus 10 years of medium-supervision probation. I was only 10 years old when she was killed, but her death has impacted me more than anyone could have imagined. [2] After Sharer's parents divorced, her mother remarried and the family moved to Louisville. Then they lit Shanda Sharer on fire and drove off. 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. Melinda has groomed Odle as a courtroom dog for abused and traumatized children. Her case attracted nationwide attention due to its gruesome nature. A burn victim like Shanda, Charlie Petrizzo convinced Jacque to watch a videotape of the new Melinda. It spiraled out of control way too fast. The three other girls assumed Loveless was simply going to scare Sharer into breaking up with Heavrin. Loveless immediately grew jealous of Heavrin and Sharer's relationship. Part 2: How fake witnesses, exposed surveillance operation unravel Grundy murder investigation, Burger Chef murder victim's mom had surprising thing to say after 1978 killings, Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. In 1991, Shanda Sharer was a bubbly 12-year-old attending Hazelwood Middle School in New Albany, Ind. In 2012, Jacque Vaught made her first contact with Melinda Loveless since the trials, although indirectly. She's (Shanda) my child. At some point, Rippey had taken Sharer's Mickey Mouse watch and danced to the tune it played. 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. Clockwise from top left: Melinda Loveless, Laurie Tackett, Hope Rippey, and Toni Lawrence. When the group of girls drove up to the house, Toni and Hope knocked on the front door; the girl's Daddy answered . Concerned about the effects of their daughter's relationship with Heavrin, Sharer's parents arranged for her to transfer to a Catholic school in late November. Lastly, Loveless was released from Indiana Women's Prison on September 5, 2019. The 1992 . Loveless, the one angry with Sharer and the ringleader behind the murder, naturally received a longer sentence than the two younger girls, but why would Tackett take so much to the killing and earn herself the longer sentence as well? As per the show, Hope and Mary poured the accelerant over Shanda, who was set on fire while she was still alive. And also don't understand your outrage. "I was really taken aback," said Jacque. If you dont let good things come from bad things nothing gets better. [59][60] A few weeks following his release, Larry unsuccessfully sued the Floyd County Jail for $39 million in federal court, alleging he had suffered cruel and unusual punishment during his two-year incarceration. [71], In May 2011, Dr. Phil aired a two-part series on the crime, which featured Shanda Sharer's mother and sister Paige, who both harshly confronted Hope Rippey on the show, and an interview with Amanda Heavrin. August 19, 2022 by Vim Buzz Local Correspondent American girl Shanda Rene Sharer (June 6, 1979 - January 11, 1992) was murdered in Madison, Indiana, by four teenage girls after being tortured and set ablaze. Ligature marks were found on her wrists, and she had several lacerations on her head, neck and legs. After another divorce, she moved her family to New Albany, Indiana. 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. MADISON, Ind. For seven hours, the four girls brutally tortured Shanda Sharer before ultimately killing her. That's all I've ever said.". Tacketts motives aside, what would drive 16-year-old Loveless to mastermind such a brutal murder? Sharer moved to New Albany with her. On the morning of January 11, 1992, 2 hunters found Shanda's beaten and burned body. [46], Detectives obtained dental records that positively identified Sharer as the victim. There were also reports of the victim being sexually assaulted with the same weapon. In November, 1988, Minato (then using the first name Nobuharu) and Hiroshi Miyano (now using the surname Yokoyama), worked together to abduct Junko Furuta as she commuted home from a part-time job. 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. Melinda was someone who had learned to nurture something, love it, then let it go, as she did with Odle last March. She said her goal is to make Shanda proud of her, and she believes Angel would do that. They both gave very rambling statements, identifying the victim as "Shanda", naming the two other girls involved as best as they could, and describing the main events of the previous night. I couldnt thank her enough. Her parents were Stephen Sharer and Jacqueline Vaught. Melinda Loveless has a new lease on life as a trainer of service dogs for the disabled. [3], Melinda Loveless was born in New Albany on October 28, 1975, the youngest of three daughters, to Marjorie and Larry Loveless. [45], All four girls were charged as adults. But the Indiana Supreme Court upheld their sentences. [56], Tackett was released from Rockville Correctional Facility on January 11, 2018, the 26th anniversary of Sharer's death, after serving nearly 26 years, and has completed an additional year of parole.[57]. ""All I've ever said is, 'I just want them to serve their sentence.' They became lost, so they stopped at a gas station and covered Sharer in a blanket. Later that morning, two hunters found the body. Her parents, Stephen Sharer and Jacqueline Vaught got divorced when Shanda was very young. This tire-iron assault was off and on for hours as the girls went on a joyride through the countryside. Both older girls said he molested them, though Melinda did not admit this ever happened to her. Sharer's body was found the morning of Jan. 11, 1992. :confused:--If that's the book by true crime author Aphrodite Jones, I remember it very well I had never heard of Shanda Sharer before she was killed, but her murder has made me a fervent advocate for the prevention of crime. Derek Kaufman,21, the tough gang leader who was found guilty of first-degree murder. The four girls abducted Sharer from her house at midnight on the pretext of driving her to meet Amanda in an abandoned building, where they tied her up and taunted her. Sharer continued to make crying and gurgling noises, so Tackett stopped the car. Lawrence remained in the car while Tackett and Rippey wrapped Sharer, who was still alive, in a blanket, and carried her to a field by the gravel country road. Loveless was 18 when she planned the crime. Tackett grew up in a strict religious household where normal teenager things were not welcome behaviors. Sharer was born on June 6, 1979, in the small town of Pineville, Kentucky, to Steve Sharer and Jackie Vaught. Veteran journalist and host of Investigation Discovery's "True Crime with Aphrodite Jones", Jones reveals the shocking truth behind the most savage crime in Indiana history-the torture, mutilation, and murder of 12-year-old Shanda Sharer by four teenage girls. Tackett made Rippey pour the gasoline on Sharer, and then they set her on fire. why taoism is often misunderstood as a superstitious religion because eric montross big grits eric montross big grits 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. Clockwise from top left: Melinda Loveless, Laurie Tackett, Hope Rippey, and Toni Lawrence. [60], Sharer's father, Steven Sharer, died of alcoholism in 2005 at the age of 53. State trooper David Camm and Jefferson County Sheriff Buck Shippley and detectives began an investigation, collecting forensic evidence at the scene. She donated a puppy named Angel for Loveless to train in prison. "If you don't let good things come from bad things, nothing gets better. While Tackett, Rippey, and Lawrence had never met Sharer prior to that night, Tackett had already known of the plan to intimidate the 12-year-old girl. "She helped me to heal, forgive and grow, whether she wanted that or not," Loveless said through tears, "She did a good thing. In the end, Melinda and Mary pleaded guilty to murder, arson, and criminal confinement, receiving a 60-year sentence in January 1993. Hope and Toni met Mary, their friend, on January 10, 1992, believing they would go to a concert. She did a good thing. Hope was released on parole in April 2006. Derek Kaufman bids his mother Joan Esposito farewell as he kisses her hand in court after his sentencing. Loveless instructed Rippey and Lawrence to go to the door and introduce themselves as friends of Heavrin (Loveless's former and Sharer's current girlfriend), then invite Sharer to come with them to see Heavrin, who was waiting for them at "the Witch's Castle", or Mistletoe Falls, a ruined stone house located on an isolated hill overlooking the Ohio River. Death of Innocence - The Murder of Young Shanda Sharer BY David Lohr Autopsy On Sunday morning, Dr. George Nichols conducted Shanda's autopsy. All four girls who perpetrated the assault and murder of Shanda Sharer were tried as adults. At 2:30a.m., Lawrence and Rippey stayed behind as Tackett and Loveless went "country cruising", driving to the nearby town of Canaan. 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. In 1965, Larry became a probationary officer with the New Albany Police Department, but was fired after eight months when he and his partner assaulted an African-American man whom Larry accused of sleeping with his wife. Jacqueline was divorced from Shandas father, but they moved to New Albany, Indiana, to be closer to him. Small also argued that Loveless, who was 16 years old when she signed the plea agreement, was too young to enter into a contract in the state of Indiana without consent from a parent or guardian, which had not been obtained. Known as one of the youngest serial killers ever, Mary was just 10 when she murdered two boys, age four and three, both by strangulation. She convinced three other teens Hope Rippey, Laurie Tackett and Toni Lawrence to participate in the crime because she believed Sharer stole her girlfriend. The four girls who took place in the events that occured that night are Melinda Loveless, Laurie Tackett, Hope Rippey and Toni Lawrence. 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