shanda sharer killers where are they now

Angel is in good hands. "Peer pressure. According to the show, Shanda began spending much time with her, and the two became romantically involved. And I would thank her. 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. Rippey came out of the car to hold down Sharer. They then went to Tacketts house to clean up and drink sodas before realizing that their victim, now screaming in the trunk, was still alive. [77], "Shana Sharer's mother to appear on Dr. Phil", Sharer murderer Rippey to be freed from prison, "Amanda Heavrin Speaks About Shanda Sharer - In Cold Blood: A Daughter's Brutal Murder", "Death of Innocence - The Murder of Young Shanda Sharer", "Thinking the Unthinkable: What Led 4 Teens to Torture, Murder Child? 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). Later that morning, two hunters found the body. Shanda Renee Sharer was born in June 1979 in Pineville, Kentucky. After this look at the murder of Shanda Sharer, read about the disturbing killing of James Bulger. She would often attempt to impress her friends by pretending to be possessed by the spirit of "Deanna the Vampire". Catch the episode of The 1990s: The Deadliest Decade, titled The New Girl, on Investigation Discovery on August 19, 2022. The whole episode I refer to Shanda as Shandra. For nearly eight hours, the girls sexually assaulted and tortured Shanda Sharer, except for Toni Lawrence which refused to participate in the heinous act. He thanks you for reading his content. WARNING: This article contains graphic content related to physical and s*xual violence and murder. Hours later they took Shanda to another remote location and continued brutalizing her. Some of Shanda's friends have put up a wonderful blog that discusses all the many issues surrounding this horrific crime. Melinda Loveless has a new lease on life as a trainer of service dogs for the disabled. Melinda has also reportedly changed her name since her release and prefers to stay away from the public eyes. She was 12 years old at the time of her death. My child would want this." Melinda felt crushed, especially when Larry remarried. The four girls who took place in the events that occured that night are Melinda Loveless, Laurie Tackett, Hope Rippey and Toni Lawrence. Peer pressure. Loveless told Heavrin and another friend the whole story but had them promise to keep their mouths shut. Indiana Offenders | National Organization of Victims of . In the end, Melinda and Mary pleaded guilty to murder, arson, and criminal confinement, receiving a 60-year sentence in January 1993. Her prediction was partly true. On this particular weekend Shanda had been staying with her father, Steve Sharer, and Melinda knew it. She convinced three other teens Hope Rippey, Laurie Tackett and Toni Lawrence to participate in the crime because she believed Sharer stole her girlfriend. "I was really taken aback," said Jacque. [68], "Mean", an episode from the fifth season of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, is based on the murder. Melinda Loveless, now 43, left the Indiana Women's Prison in Indianapolis after serving nearly 24 years of a 60-year sentence for the brutal murder of 12-year-old Shanda Sharer in 1992. First, they took Sharer to a remote trash dump near a logging road in a densely forested area. The girls used the pretense that they were taking Sharer to see Heavrin as the excuse for their visit. It was a crime of passion and peer pressure committed by four teenage girls. [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. Shanda attended fifth and sixth grades in Louisville at St. Paul School where she was on the cheer leading, volleyball and softball teams. Melinda was released in September 2019, and while in prison, she trained service dogs for those living with trauma and disabilities. Shanda Sharer was 12 years old on January 11, 1992 when she was brutally tortured and murdered by 4 teenage girls. Melinda almost immediately found Amanda (the same day Shanda's body was found) and told her the whole story. Then they lit Shanda Sharer on fire and drove off. For seven hours, the four girls brutally tortured Shanda Sharer before ultimately killing her. That torture wasnt enough to satiate the older girls. Her father was a boilermaker. [7], Mary Laurine "Laurie" Tackett was born in Madison, Indiana, on October 5, 1974. Lastly, Loveless was released from Indiana Women's Prison on September 5, 2019. Like Mary, Melindas last known location is Indiana. After treatment of her wound, she was admitted to the hospital's psychiatric ward. Among his complaints were that he was not allowed to sleep in his bed during the day or to read the newspaper. Rippey sprayed Sharer with Windex and taunted, "You're not looking so hot now, are you? Her parents, Stephen Sharer and Jacqueline Vaught got divorced when Shanda was very young. She got into fights at school and reported being depressed, resulting in her receiving professional counseling. One of the dog breeders who supplies Indiana with pups is a burn victim, much like Shanda Sharer was. You have permission to edit this article. She even carved an "M" into the stomach of one . The breeder convinced Vaught to watch a video of Loveless grown up and see what she does in prison for the program. And Im doing it for Shanda. Loveless and Tackett stripped off Sharers clothes and proceeded to punch her repeatedly. At that point, Amanda was in an on-and-off relationship with another teenager, Melinda Loveless. [75], American artist Marlene McCarty used the Shanda Sharer murder as one of the subjects for her Murder Girls series of drawings about teenage female murderers, their sexuality and their relationships. Vaught reported that she had endured criticism over the decision, but defends it saying, "It's my choice to make. She currently goes by a different name and works for a trucking company based out of Madison. Larry and Marjorie gave full confession and renounced drinking and swinging while they were members. When they arrived at Sharer's house at 12:30a.m., Lawrence refused to retrieve Sharer, so Tackett and Rippey went to the door. "That's the one Jacque had touched, had held, had named. Shanda Sharer was born on June 6, 1979 in Pineville, Kentucky to Steve Sharer and Jacqueline Vaught. And Im doing it for her.. In 1994, Tackett and Loveless appealed their sentences, citing their difficult childhoods. [2] After Sharer's parents divorced, her mother remarried and the family moved to Louisville. Court testimony showed Loveless wanted Sharer killed because the two competed for the affections of the same girl. They drove north of Madison, past Jefferson Proving Ground to Lemon Road off U.S. Route 421, a place known to Rippey. Tackett was released from Rockville Correctional Facility on September 11, 2018, after serving nearly 26 years in prison and completing a year of probation. If you dont let good things come from bad things nothing gets better. 'Wow.'". And I know what my child would want. In 2012, Shanda Sharer's mother Jackie Vaught made headlines when she publicly forgave Melinda Loveless. [51] Rippey was sentenced to 60 years, with 10 years suspended for mitigating circumstances, plus 10 years of medium-supervision probation. Rippey and Lawrence, while both friends of Tackett, had not previously met Loveless (16). The church later arranged for Melinda to be taken to a motel room with a 50-year-old man for a five-hour exorcism. [2] After Sharer's parents divorced, her mother remarried and the family moved to Louisville. Melinda Loveless, the mastermind behind the cruel gang rape torture-murder of 12-year-old Shanda Sharer in 1992 was released on Thursday, Sept. 5, after serving more than 26 years in prison. 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. There, Sharer attended fifth and sixth grades at St. Paul School, where she was on the cheerleading, volleyball, and softball teams. Her parents were Stephen Sharer and Jacqueline Vaught. Be the first one to comment on this story. She was 12 years old at the time of her death. [47] Loveless and Tackett were arrested on January 12. Below read an excerpt from the book and delve into the tragic . After she washed, Tackett told the girls' futures with her "runestones". They initially suspected a drug deal gone wrong and did not believe the crime had been committed by locals. 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. "We bring our challenges, many times, to Melinda because she's able to figure out what their strength is," said Sally Irvin of ICAN. The incident attracted international attention due to both the brutality of the murder and the young age of the perpetrators, who were aged . The girls drove Sharer to Witches Castle in Utica where they bound her legs and arms and began their torture of the twelve-year-old girl. The perpetrators were four teenage girls who committed unspeakable crimes under the influence of teenage jealousy and peer pressure. Florida Grandma Takes Out Dentures To Scare Off Naked Intruder, What Stephen Hawking Thinks Threatens Humankind The Most, 27 Raw Images Of When Punk Ruled New York, Join The All That's Interesting Weekly Dispatch. [55], On April 28, 2006, Rippey was released from Indiana Women's Prison on parole after serving 14 years of her original sentence. Derek Kaufman,21, the tough gang leader who was found guilty of first-degree murder. After more than seven hoursof torture, the girls ended itby soaking Sharer with gasoline and burning her alive alongside a country road, evidence revealed. She was close friends with Rippey from childhood. Witnesses said thatLoveless plotted to kill Sharer because she believed Sharer had stolen her 15-year-old girlfriend from her. Jacque saw something she had never seen before. She will now serve parole in Jefferson County, Kentucky, according to the Kentucky Department of Corrections. [3], Melinda Loveless was born in New Albany on October 28, 1975, the youngest of three daughters, to Marjorie and Larry Loveless. Loveless tried to slash Sharer's throat, but the knife was too dull. She was prescribed an anti-depressant and released. The three other girls assumed Loveless was simply going to scare Sharer into breaking up with Heavrin. 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. Then, the three girls drove to pick up Heavrin and take her back to the Loveless home, where they told Heavrin the story. Ididn't," Tackett said. Hope and Toni met Mary, their friend, on January 10, 1992, believing they would go to a concert. The grieving mother said she did it to honor her little girl, who she still thinks about every day. Tacketts motives aside, what would drive 16-year-old Loveless to mastermind such a brutal murder? She helped me to heal, forgive and grow, whether she wanted that or not. Loveless trained dogs for the program for several years. She's my child," said Jacque. During Loveless's sentencing hearing, extensive open court testimony revealed that her father Larry had abused his wife, his daughters, and other children. "If you don't let good things come from bad things, nothing gets better. She became promiscuous, began to self-harm, and attempted suicide in eighth grade. While Tackett went inside to ask for directions, Lawrence called a boy she knew in Louisville and chatted for several minutes to ease her worries, but did not mention Sharer's abduction. If the judge accepted these arguments, Loveless could have been retried or released outright. She told Heavrin that they had killed Sharer and arranged to pick up Heavrin later that day. Shanda was best friends with her mom, and close with her father and stepmother, Sharon. At 2:30a.m., Lawrence and Rippey stayed behind as Tackett and Loveless went "country cruising", driving to the nearby town of Canaan. 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. [12], In November 1990, after Larry was caught spying on Melinda and a friend, Marjorie attacked him with a knife; he was sent to the hospital after he attempted to grab it. The Shanda Sharer Scholarship Fund was established in January 2009. Your login session has expired. Jun 20, 1992 at 12:00 am. 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. They then tried to slit Sharers throat, but the knife was too dull. After another divorce, she moved her family to New Albany, Indiana. [3] When her mother divorced again, the family moved in June 1991 to New Albany, Indiana, and Sharer enrolled at Hazelwood Middle School. Her family has long suspected that her killer is someone she knew, but they have never been able to prove it. Vaught did something remarkable after seeing her daughters killer at work. She began attending Hazelwood Junior High School where she met Amanda Heavrin, 15, and developed a romantic interest in her. When the people of Madison, Indiana heard that a brutal murder had been committed in their midst, they were . Shanda Sharer, a young girl with a promising future, was the victim of a brutal torture death that has forever been imprinted into the minds of the locals. Shanda Rene Sharer (June 6, 1979 January 11, 1992) was an American girl who was tortured and burned to death in Madison, Indiana by four teenage girls. [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. Loveless explained to the two other girls that she disliked Sharer for being a copycat and for stealing her girlfriend.[28]. Shipley felt his heart sink as he read the description - blonde hair, five feet tall, around 100 pounds. [42], Later on the morning of January 11, 1992, two brothers from Canaan were driving toward Jefferson Proving Ground to go hunting when they noticed a body on the side of the road. The fund planned to provide scholarships to two students per year from Prosser School of Technology in New Albany; one scholarship to a student who is continuing his or her education, and the other scholarship to a student who is beginning his or her career and must buy tools or other work equipment. Its my choice to make. The case was covered on national news and talk shows and has inspired a number of episodes on fictional crime shows. They told her that Amanda wanted to meet her, and they were there to pick her up. Loveless immediately grew jealous of Heavrin and Sharer's relationship. Small stated that he would seek to have jurisdiction over the case moved to the Indiana Supreme Court. After this incident, Larry filed for divorce and moved to Avon Park, Florida. This description of how the investigation unfolded . At around 7 am on January 11, 1992, Shandas father, Steve, realized that his daughter wasnt at home in Jeffersonville, Indiana; she had been staying with him at the time. Sharer was reluctant to go with them, yet agreed after changing her clothes. She has chosen to keep her life private since then, and not much is known about what she currently does; her last known location remains to be Indiana. Loveless served more than 26 years in prison for murder and criminal confinement. Melinda Loveless, now 43, left the Indiana Women's Prison in Indianapolis after serving nearly 24 years of a 60-year sentence for the brutal murder of 12-year-old Shanda Sharer in 1992. Her parents discovered the self-mutilation and checked her into a hospital on March 19, 1991. She had since reportedly married her girlfriend and seems to live in Indiana. "I've loved her, I've cried on her. 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. "Angel is in good hands. However, Amanda was in an on-and-off relationship with Loveless, who could not handle the jealousy and made public threats to kill Sharer. Sharer moved to New Albany with her. [11], For two years, beginning when Melinda was five, the family was deeply involved in the Graceland Baptist Church. Now 36, she grew up in prison, in the shadow of her legacy: a crime of jealousy. Died: 11 January 1992. So Jacque Vaught did something remarkable. Ralph's first thought was that the object was a body, though logic dictated that it were something else. Sharer's body was found the morning of Jan. 11, 1992. [32], Rippey told Sharer that Heavrin was still at the Witch's Castle. It was also found that the victim's face and hands were burnt in an attempt to keep her unrecognizable and unidentifiable. Meanwhile, Tackett and Loveless both received 60-year sentences. "I saw someone who was almost reborn.". 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. Loveless hit the victims face with her knee until she bled profusely from her mouth. Ligature marks were found on her wrists, and she had several lacerations on her head, neck and legs. 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.
Leap Of Faith How To Contact Lexi, Juan Carlos Mendez, Dogs At Centennial Beach Tsawwassen, Articles S