shanda sharer killers where are they now

There she met Loveless; the two became friends in late November. 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. The four teenagers were eventually arrested, and initially, Melinda and Mary pointed the finger at each other for the torture-murder. She began attending Hazelwood Junior High School where she met Amanda Heavrin, 15, and developed a romantic interest in her. Her prediction was partly true. In an interview with Shanda Sharer's mother, Jacque Vaught, on the Investigation Discovery series Deadly Women, Vaught stated that Sharer's father was so destroyed by his daughter's murder that he "did everything he could to kill himself besides put a gun to his head" and that he "drank himself to death. In seven years, Loveless has become one of the most trusted and competent trainers in the Indiana Canine Assistance Network (ICAN) program. The 12-year-old began to cry and tried to answer Loveless' questions, testimony showed. In the summer of 1986, after she would not let him go home with two women he met at a bar, Larry beat Marjorie so severely that she was hospitalized; he was convicted of battery. She was sentenced to 60 years in prison but has served the required time for her release. 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. Your login session has expired. When the people of Madison, Indiana heard that a brutal murder had been committed in their midst, they were . She confessed to her involvement and said three others were involved: Hope Rippey, then 15, Mary Tackett, then 17, and Melinda Loveless, then 16. Vaught reported that she had endured criticism over the decision, but defends it saying, "It's my choice to make. Loveless admitted abducting Sharer, torturing her and burning her to death in Madison. When her parents divorced, her mother married another man and Clockwise from top left: Melinda Loveless, Laurie Tackett, Hope Rippey, and Toni Lawrence. I was really taken aback, Vaught said after watching. "[38], The girls drove to a gas station near Madison Consolidated High School, pumped some gasoline into the car, and bought a two-liter bottle of Pepsi. When they returned to Tacketts house, she laughingly described what had just happened to Rippey. As a way of rebelling against her parents, the youngster shaved her head and started to engage in occult practices. "I saw someone who was almost reborn.". 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. Her parents were Stephen Sharer and Jacqueline Vaught. Full name: Shanda Rene Sharer. 12-year-old Shanda Sharer was murdered in 1992. Loveless pleaded guilty to the one count of sexual battery. In 1994, Tackett and Loveless appealed their sentences, citing their difficult childhoods. There were also reports of the victim being sexually assaulted with the same weapon. They returned to the car but became lost again and pulled up to another gas station. 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. [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. Her death is notable due to the torture she endured for more than 10 hours, and subsequently being burned alive. Loveless then convinced the other girls to take Sharer to a remote location where there would be no one else around for miles. He would also "share" her with some of his friends from work, which she found disgusting. LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A classmate of a southern Indiana girl murdered in 1992 said the Indiana justice system should be ashamed of itself. There, Sharer and Heavrin were confronted by 16-year-old Melinda Loveless, who had previously been dating Heavrin for more than a year and was now extremely jealous of this new pairing. Follow him on Twitter: @justinlmack. Shanda was the kind of girl you wanted to be friends with; she was bubbly, outgoing and a lot of fun. Sharer's mother and sister were also guests on the show. On the morning of January 11, 1992, 2 hunters found Shanda's beaten and burned body. [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. Ralph's first thought was that the object was a body, though logic dictated that it were something else. State trooper David Camm and Jefferson County Sheriff Buck Shippley and detectives began an investigation, collecting forensic evidence at the scene. That same day, the girls started talking. Most of the crimes occurred from 1968 to 1977. 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. Tackett further taunted Sharer, claiming that the Witch's Castle was filled with human remains and Sharer's would be next. The description matched his Jane Doe. She passed away when she was 12 years old. 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. Instead, Loveless would be eligible for parole in 15 years, thus maintaining the original guilty plea. "I've loved her, I've cried on her. She had since reportedly married her girlfriend and seems to live in Indiana. They became lost, so they stopped at a gas station and covered Sharer in a blanket. [36][37], Loveless and Tackett returned to Tackett's house just before daybreak to clean up again. Tacketts motives aside, what would drive 16-year-old Loveless to mastermind such a brutal murder? Shanda Renee Sharer (19791992) was a young girl who was tortured and burned to death in Madison, Indiana by four teenage girls. But a dog named Angel is a dog like no other -- a four-legged conduit to Melinda's victim, Shanda Sharer. Now 36, she grew up in prison, in the shadow of her legacy: a crime of jealousy. 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. [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. But in 2004, five years were shaved off her sentence for good behavior. Sharer was reluctant to go with them, yet agreed after changing her clothes. In March 1991, Loveless revealed to her mother that she was a lesbian. After this look at the murder of Shanda Sharer, read about the disturbing killing of James Bulger. Jacque Vaught said she hopes to give away a service dog raised in prison every year in Shanda's name, and she is open to Melinda raising more of them. Loveless and Tackett made Sharer strip down to her underwear; then, Loveless beat Sharer with her fists. However, Jacqueline forbade her daughter from seeing Amanda because of some letters she had written that were sexual in nature. In May 1989, her mother discovered that Tackett was changing from a dress into jeans at school, and, after a confrontation that night, attempted to strangle her. Powered by WordPress.com VIP. The Shanda Sharer Murder. There, Loveless taunted that she had pretty hair and wondered how pretty she would look if they were to cut it off, which frightened Sharer even more. Her parents, Stephen Sharer and Jacqueline Vaught got divorced when Shanda was very young. 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. [14], Tackett became increasingly rebellious after her 15th birthday and also became fascinated with the occult. 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. 12-year-old Shanda Sharer was murdered in 1992. Sharer was born on June 6, 1979, in the small town of Pineville, Kentucky, to Steve Sharer and Jackie Vaught. In a new twist to the case, police have now arrested a man named Johnny Lee Sharer for . Rippey sprayed Sharer with Windex and taunted, "You're not looking so hot now, are you? [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. [68], "Mean", an episode from the fifth season of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, is based on the murder. [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. Craig Schoonover made that statement after Melinda. 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. She claimed that her mother beat her often. Eventually, they took her to another abandoned location and beat her mercilessly before stabbing her in the chest repeatedly. Co-defendants Laurie Tackett, Toni Lawrence and Hope Rippey were earlier released from prison. Upon further appeal, the judge reduced her sentence to 35 years. Sharer moved to New Albany with her. Ultimately four teenage girls would be arrested and charged for the murd. The Shanda Sharer Murder has forever changed my life. In early October 1991, Heavrin and Sharer attended a school dance, where Loveless found and confronted them. It was Shanda, and the investigation revealed that she had been burned alive after being tortured for hours. All four of them were tried as adults and received lengthy sentences instead of the death penalty due to the plea bargain they entered after pleading guilty to their crimes. She's my child," said Jacque. Did The U.S. Loveless was 18 when she planned the crime. Ididn't," Tackett said. She remained on supervised parole until April 2011. Melinda is training Angel to help someone in need, but Angel is already helping her. So, lets find out more about this case then, shall we? Its my choice to make. 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. The grieving mother said she did it to honor her little girl, who she still thinks about every day. I couldn't thank her enough. [31], Eventually, the four girls left for Sharer's house. Loveless was 18 when she planned the crime. Sharer said that she could not go because her parents were awake, and she told the girls to come back around midnight, a few hours later. There, they cold-heartedly beat and terrorized the girl. People were even more shocked when it was revealed that four teenage girls were responsible f Behind bars, she trains puppies to be assistance dogs for disabled people. So Jacque Vaught did something remarkable. When they arrived at Sharer's house at 12:30a.m., Lawrence refused to retrieve Sharer, so Tackett and Rippey went to the door. For nearly eight hours, the girls sexually assaulted and tortured Shanda Sharer, except for Toni Lawrence which refused to participate in the heinous act. Vaught did something remarkable after seeing her daughters killer at work. 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. Shanda was best friends with her mom, and close with her father and stepmother, Sharon. The incident attracted international attention due to both the brutality of the murder and the young age of the perpetrators, who were aged between 15 and 17 years old. 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. She was close to her mother, Jacqueline Vaught, who said her daughter was good at gymnastics, basketball, and baseball and was a cheerleader. She then attempted suicide again, and her daughters called authorities. Peer pressure. Tackett proceeded to stab Sharer several more times before driving off once more with Loveless to beat and sodomize Sharer with a tire iron. In October of that year, the pair attended a school dance together. Death of Innocence - The Murder of Young Shanda Sharer BY David Lohr Autopsy On Sunday morning, Dr. George Nichols conducted Shanda's autopsy. As per the show, Hope and Mary poured the accelerant over Shanda, who was set on fire while she was still alive. After her parents divorced, her mother re-married and moved to Louisville, Kentucky. While she was furious at first, she accepted her daughter's lifestyle. Tackett poured out the Pepsi and refilled the bottle with gasoline. On the cold winter night of Jan. 10, 1992, Loveless enlisted three friends Laurie Tackett (17), Hope Rippey (15), and Toni Lawrence (15) to help her take her revenge on Shanda Sharer. Indiana Offenders | National Organization of Victims of . 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 Sherer Shanda Sherer Shanda Sherer was born on June 6, 1979, in Pineville, Kentucky. She would often attempt to impress her friends by pretending to be possessed by the spirit of "Deanna the Vampire". Tackett then dropped off Lawrence and Rippey at their homes and finally returned to her own home with Loveless. The fifth had been tortured and mutilated nearly beyond recognition. 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. She was sentenced to 60 years in prison but has served the required [] MADISON, Ind. Consequently, he was arrested in February 1993 on charges of rape, sodomy, and sexual battery. Join us as we discuss the motive that turned teenage girls into killers and the aftermath of Shanda's murder. 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. In 1991, Shanda Sharer was a bubbly 12-year-old attending Hazelwood Middle School in New Albany, Ind. William DeLong is a freelance wordsmith. 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? He would also embarrass his children by finding their underwear and smelling it in front of other family members. Then they lit Shanda Sharer on fire and drove off. "Odle comes in, and he's going to set with them, and they're going him hug him, and they're going to talk to him to make it easier for them," said Loveless. In January 2018, Mary was released from prison and was on parole for a year after that. She currently goes by a different name and works for a trucking company based out of Madison. 'Wow.'". 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. She remained on parole until December 2002. [17] Loveless, often described as the ringleader in the attack,[50] had the most extensive history of abuse and mental health issues. 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. Melinda Loveless, 17, Laurie Tackett, 17, Hope Rippey, 16, and Toni Lawrence, 16, plotted to murder Shanda as retaliation for Shanda dating Loveless's ex-girlfriend, Amanda Heavrin. Loveless and Tackett were sentenced to 60 years in prison at the Indiana Women's Prison in Indianapolis. Two other defendants, Toni Lawrence and Hope A. Rippey, were sentenced to 20 years and 50years respectively, according to IndyStar archives. Wikimedia CommonsA small memorial to Shanda Sharer in the field where she died. While the four decided never to talk about it, Toni couldnt take it anymore and confessed to the police. So, lets find out more about this case then, shall we. Rippey and Lawrence, while both friends of Tackett, had not previously met Loveless (16). I was only 10 years old when she was killed, but her death has impacted me more than anyone could have imagined. On appeal, a judge reduced the sentence to 35 years. She was 12 years old at the time of her death. For seven hours, the four girls brutally tortured Shanda Sharer before ultimately killing her. From what we can tell, she chooses to keep a low profile and spends time with her children and father. Vaught stated that she hoped to donate a dog every year in honor of Shanda Sharer. Unfortunately, that did nothing to stop the horrific events that would soon unfold. He thanks you for reading his content. As Shanda Sharers mother, Jacque Vaught, said in a 2012 interview, I had many times said if you want to see as close to a person who has absolutely nothing inside of them, look into Melindas eyes because theres nothing there.. [24], Heavrin met Shanda Sharer early in the fall semester at Hazelwood Junior High when they got into a fight; however, they became friends while in detention for the altercation, and later exchanged romantic letters. At some point, Rippey had taken Sharer's Mickey Mouse watch and danced to the tune it played. Jacque has faced criticism over her decision to let Shanda's killer honor her name. But 20 years later, something no one expected happened. 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. 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