There, Lawrence and Rippey spotted a couple of boys and talked to them before once again getting back into the car and leaving, arriving some time later at the edge of some woods near Tackett's home in Madison. But Tackett also explained how after beating Sharerthey locked the injured but still-living girl in the trunk of her car and drove her to the spot where she was set on fire. Loveless hid under a blanket in the back seat of the car with the knife. They arrived at Sharer's house shortly before dark. The incident attracted international attention due to both the brutality of the murder and the young age of the perpetrators, who were aged . 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. Shipley then started the paperwork to get warrants for the arrest of Laurie Tackett and Melinda Loveless. And I said. Published on May 20, 2011. 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. [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]. They beat her, sodomized the 12-year-old with a tire iron, choked her with a cord, and sliced her legs with a knife. Three more hours later, they took her to another . [45], All four girls were charged as adults. Loveless immediately grew jealous of Heavrin and Sharer's relationship. Among his complaints were that he was not allowed to sleep in his bed during the day or to read the newspaper. In the back seat, Melinda Loveless was hiding under a blanket with a knife. Sharer told the girls to return after her parents were asleep, which they did. "I had many times said, "If you want to see as close to a person that has absolutely nothing inside of them, look into Melinda's eyes 'cause there's nothing there,'" Vaught said. There, they cold-heartedly beat and terrorized the girl. Loveless tried to slash Sharer's throat, but the knife was too dull. Next, Loveless repeatedly slammed Sharer's face into her knee, which cut Sharer's mouth on her own braces. Furthermore, Shandas grades were getting affected. [65] The play was published by Samuel French, Inc. in September 2009. Mary, Hope, and Toni drove to Shandas fathers place to lure her out sometime after 11:30 pm. When they pulled up in front of her house, Loveless kissed Heavrin, told her she loved her and pleaded with her not to tell anyone. However, what was in store for them was much darker. 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. She told Heavrin that they had killed Sharer and arranged to pick up Heavrin later that day. "If you don't let good things come from bad things, nothing gets better. She dropped out of high school in September 1991. Shanda Sharer was born on June 6, 1979 in Pineville, Kentucky to Steve Sharer and Jacqueline Vaught. Melinda Loveless has spent more than 7,000 sunrises and sunsets -- half her life -- behind razor wire. She enlisted the help of her friend Laurie Tackett, 17, and the latter's childhood friends Hope Rippey, 15, and Toni Lawrence, 15. The grieving mother said she did it to honor her little girl, who she still thinks about every day. Lawrence, Rippey, and Tackett all had histories of self-harming behavior. par ; mai 21, 2022 Please logout and login again. Rippey sprayed Sharer with Windex and taunted, "You're not looking so hot now, are you? [26] Heavrin states she gave letters Loveless sent her containing death threats towards Sharer to a "youth prosecutor", but the youth prosecutor never did anything about it as far as she knew. She took up Charlie, the breeder, on his idea to donate a puppy in Shanda's honor, and she let Melinda loveless train her. During an orgy with another couple at their house, Marjorie tried to commit suicide, an act she would repeat several times throughout her daughters' childhoods. When the people of Madison, Indiana heard that a brutal murder had been committed in their midst, they were . Shanda attended fifth and sixth grades in Louisville at St. Paul School where she was on the cheer leading, volleyball and softball teams. They initially suspected a drug deal gone wrong and did not believe the crime had been committed by locals. MADISON, IND. Tackett beat her with a tire iron until she was silent, claiming that she felt the victim's head caving in, and then told Loveless to "smell it". 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.. 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. "It's my choice to make. She still spent most of her time in Louisville and New Albany, and, by December, spent most of it with Loveless. Her parents were Stephen Sharer and Jacqueline Vaught. Loveless served more than 26 years in prison for murder and criminal confinement. [58] After serving 26+ years in prison, she will serve parole in Jefferson County, Kentucky. [63] A documentary produced by Episode 11 Productions, titled Charlie's Scars, captured Vaught's decision to allow Loveless to train dogs in Shanda's name. Shanda Renee Sharer was an American girl who was tortured and burned to death in Madison, Indiana, by four teenage girls. Clockwise from top left: Melinda Loveless, Laurie Tackett, Hope Rippey, and Toni Lawrence. Shanda Sharer, 12 years old, had been reported missing by her parents some eight hours earlier. In 1991, Shanda Sharer was a bubbly 12-year-old attending Hazelwood Middle School in New Albany, Ind. If the judge accepted these arguments, Loveless could have been retried or released outright. 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. Shanda Sharer was born on June 6, 1979 to her father Stephen, and her mother Jacqueline. Loveless was 18 when she planned the crime. Melinda has groomed Odle as a courtroom dog for abused and traumatized children. Shanda was born in Pineville, Kentucky on the 6th of June 1979. 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. At that point, Amanda was in an on-and-off relationship with another teenager, Melinda Loveless. [69][70], The Cold Case second-season episode "The Sleepover" is loosely based on this crime. But in prison, it seems as though Loveless has found some measure of escape from the cycle of violence and abuse. She began attending Hazelwood Junior High School where she met Amanda Heavrin, 15, and developed a romantic interest in her. She had since reportedly married her girlfriend and seems to live in Indiana. Loveless ordered Sharer to tell the truth about stealing the girlfriend or have her throat slit. This tire-iron assault was off and on for hours as the girls went on a joyride through the countryside. They removed her jewelry and began threatening to cut off all Sharer's hair before they eventually lit a fire. They told her that Amanda wanted to meet her, and they were there to pick her up. [53] On November 14, 2008, Loveless's appeal was denied by the Indiana Court of Appeals, upholding Judge Todd's ruling. Mary also grew up in a sheltered environment and was rebellious. 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. Wikimedia Commons Shanda Sharer In 1991, Shanda Sharer was a bubbly 12-year-old attending Hazelwood Middle School in New Albany, Ind. Tackett told the girls that a local legend said the house was once owned by nine witches and that townspeople burned down the house to get rid of the witches.[33]. [PREVIOUS STORY: Judge denies Loveless' request for earlyrelease in torture-killing]. 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. After another divorce, she moved her family to New Albany, Indiana. Her family has long suspected that her killer is someone she knew, but they have never been able to prove it. My child would want this.". She remained on parole until December 2002. Copyright 2019 by WDRB Media. [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. 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. On the morning of January 11, 1992, 2 hunters found Shanda's beaten and burned body. And I know what my child would want. The girls then took Sharer into their car and told her they were going to drive her to the meeting place at the Witchs Castle, an isolated and abandoned house that served as a local teen hangout. She was, by all accounts, a normal girl who made friends easily and had fun at school dances. 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. Two days later, with her girlfriend and Toni Lawrence, Tackett cut her wrists deeply and was returned to the hospital. Unfortunately, that did nothing to stop the horrific events that would soon unfold. Larry and Marjorie gave full confession and renounced drinking and swinging while they were members. The story was turned into a play by Rob Urbinati called Hazelwood Jr. High, which starred Chlo Sevigny as Tackett. She confessed to her involvement and said three others were involved: Hope Rippey, then 15, Mary Tackett, then 17, and Melinda Loveless, then 16. And there's never any betrayal on either side," Jacque said. Shipley felt his heart sink as he read the description - blonde hair, five feet tall, around 100 pounds. Larry, who was violent and abusive, did not usually share his income with the family and impulsively spent any money he earned on himself, especially firearms, motorcycles and cars. Parents: Jacqueline Vaught, Stephen Sharer. He received a sentence of time served and was released in June 1995. [17], Tackett stayed in Louisville in October 1991 to live with various friends. Shanda Sharer. I was really taken aback, Vaught said after watching. Lawrence refused. But the Indiana Supreme Court upheld their sentences. Her parents discovered the self-mutilation and checked her into a hospital on March 19, 1991. She was released on December 14, 2000 after serving nine years in prison. It is alleged that Loveless, Tackett, Rippey and Lawrence came from troubled or abusive . Court testimony indicates that the four girls lured Sharer from her home the night of Jan. 10, 1992, on the pretense that she was being taken to meet her new girlfriend. When they opened the trunk, Sharer sat up, covered in blood with her eyes rolled back in her head, but unable to speak. Image of Melinda Loveless, taken in Dec. 2007. After her parents divorced, her mother re-married and moved to Louisville, Kentucky. Melinda is training Angel to help someone in need, but Angel is already helping her. Sharer entered the car, not knowing Loveless was hiding in the back seat under a blanket, according to IndyStar archives. The procedure revealed that she had suffered multiple injuries. [7], Marjorie had worked intermittently since 1974. Loveless served more than 26 years in prison for murder and criminal confinement. The same morning, a hunter found a badly burned body out in a field in Madison and called the authorities. [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. Washington, Vine Grove man accused of trying to kill a police officer, Baxter Avenue Theatres in the Highlands reopens after brief closure due to water main break, Crestwood man facing more than 100 child pornography charges, Prospect sues to stop low-income apartment development, Construction progressing for outdoor game yard at riverfront near downtown Louisville, 1 killed in collision with semi tractor-trailer on I-264 near Brownsboro Road early Tuesday, Kentucky's largest accounting, advisory firm relocating downtown Louisville office to PNC Tower, WDRB FCC Applications & Related Materials. After reading about the murder of Bobby Kent that inspired the film "Bully," learn about . She was sentenced to 60 years in prison but has served the required time for her release. Loveless and Tackett were sentenced to 60 years in prison at the Indiana Women's Prison in Indianapolis. The description matched his Jane Doe. I read the book about the case. Instead, they stabbed her in the chest and strangled her with a rope before throwing her in the trunk of the car, thinking she was dead. The Abduction. 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. The teens then bound, bludgeoned, choked, cut and sodomized Sharer at a remote location. Now 36, she grew up in prison, in the shadow of her legacy: a crime of jealousy. [16] Tackett was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder and confessed that she had experienced hallucinations since she was a young child. Her death is notable due to the torture she endured for more than 10 hours, and subsequently being burned alive. 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. The two. An Indiana Department of Correction spokeswoman says 44-year-old Melinda Loveless was released from the Indiana Womens Prison in Indianapolis on Thursday after serving 23 years and eight months of a 60-year sentence for the murder and criminal confinement of Shanda Sharer in 1992. [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. 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. Shanda endured hell and was later put in the trunk of the car, only in her underwear. 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. On appeal, a judge reduced the sentence to 35 years. To avoid the death penalty, the girls accepted plea bargains.[48]. After more than seven hoursof torture, the girls ended itby soaking Sharer with gasoline and burning her alive alongside a country road, evidence revealed. Shanda would start attending Hazelwood Middle School and was quickly making friends. Everyone involved had been sworn to secrecy. But a breeder who supplies dogs to the ICAN program at the prison forged an unexpected connection. During her sentencing hearingin 1993, Tackettconceded that she let opportunities to save Sharer's life slip awayand that she was too afraid to stop it. 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. Her name was Shanda Sharer; her age--twelve. [10], The extent of Larry's abuse of his daughters and other children is unclear. She was sincere. Shanda Sharer met classmate Amanda Heavrin at Hazelwood in 1991, soon after moving to the area with her recently divorced mother from Kentucky. 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. Larry was verbally abusive to his daughters and fired a handgun in the direction of Melinda's older sister Michelle when she was seven, intentionally missing her. But in 2004, five years were shaved off her sentence for good behavior. [34], Tackett led them to a dark abandoned building off a logging road in a densely forested area. Her mother was a fundamentalist Pentecostal Christian and her father was a factory worker with two felony convictions in the 1960s. Various court testimonies claimed he fondled Melinda as an infant, molested Marjorie's 13-year-old sister early in the marriage, and molested the girls' cousin Teddy from age 10 to 14. Shanda would stay with him on . "That's the one Jacque had touched, had held, had named. But the hands that once took life, now nurture it. 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. Date of birth: 6 June 1979. First, they took Sharer to a remote trash dump near a logging road in a densely forested area. 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. After that incident, she refused him sex for a month, until he raped her as their daughters overheard the event through a closed door. Hours later they took Shanda to another remote location and continued brutalizing her. They then strangled Sharer with a rope until she was unconscious, placed her in the trunk of the car, and told the other two girls that Sharer was dead. After treatment of her wound, she was admitted to the hospital's psychiatric ward. Ralph's first thought was that the object was a body, though logic dictated that it were something else. After this look at the murder of Shanda Sharer, read about the disturbing killing of James Bulger. 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. Shanda Sharer Murder: Where Are Her Killers Now? [20] Her father was an engineer at a power plant. On a freezing January in 1992, five teenage girls crowded into a car. That'sall it was. [17] Loveless, often described as the ringleader in the attack,[50] had the most extensive history of abuse and mental health issues. [14], Tackett became increasingly rebellious after her 15th birthday and also became fascinated with the occult. He thanks you for reading his content. 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. She currently goes by a different name and works for a trucking company based out of Madison. Four teenage girls lured 12-year-old Shanda Sharer to the witch's castle at midnight on the pretense that another friend was in desperate trouble. Jacque has faced criticism over her decision to let Shanda's killer honor her name. Tackett and Loveless were sentenced to 60 years in the Indiana Women's Prison in Indianapolis. Shanda Sharer's mother and murderer form unlikely alliance, 1 dead in crash on I-264 West in Brownsboro Road area; all lanes reopened, 18-year-old killed in west Louisville hit-and run identified; police searching for suspect, PREVIOUS STORY: Judge denies Loveless' request for earlyrelease in torture-killing. Shanda was born on June 6th, 1979, and was born in Pineville, Kentucky. In tears and fearful for her life, Sharer tried to respond but to no avail. But, that night, Lawrence and Rippey went straight to the Jefferson County Sheriffs office with their parents and spilled the whole story. I couldnt thank her enough. Sharer was reluctant to go with them, yet agreed after changing her clothes. Turning cloudy, a shower possible after 3pm. Melinda felt crushed, especially when Larry remarried. [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. If you dont let good things come from bad things nothing gets better. [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? Sharer was tortured, beaten and burned in a rural area of Jefferson County, Indiana. [35], The girls drove to Tackett's nearby home and went inside to drink soda and clean themselves. Her prediction was partly true. She donated a puppy in her daughter's honor to the Indiana Canine Assistance Network program, where Loveless had taken to training dogs for the disabled. [55], On April 28, 2006, Rippey was released from Indiana Women's Prison on parole after serving 14 years of her original sentence. In the end, Melinda and Mary pleaded guilty to murder, arson, and criminal confinement, receiving a 60-year sentence in January 1993. He filed for bankruptcy in 1980. She convinced three other teens Hope Rippey, Laurie Tackett and Toni Lawrence to participate in the crime because she believed Sharer stole her girlfriend. That same day, the girls started talking. However, Jacqueline forbade her daughter from seeing Amanda because of some letters she had written that were sexual in nature. [22], Toni Lawrence was born in Madison on February 14, 1976. Shanda Renee Sharer (19791992) was a young girl who was tortured and burned to death in Madison, Indiana by four teenage girls. Did The U.S. Larry remained in prison for over two years awaiting trial; however, a judge eventually ruled that all charges except one count of sexual battery had to be dropped due to the statute of limitations, which was five years in Indiana. The 1990s: The Deadliest Decade: The New Girl chronicles what happened to Shanda and how four girls were responsible for her death. By the end of the night, only four of them were alive. "[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. State trooper David Camm and Jefferson County Sheriff Buck Shippley and detectives began an investigation, collecting forensic evidence at the scene. There she met Loveless; the two became friends in late November. Its something that should have never happened., Furthermore, in an interview on Dr. Phil, the convicted killer explained why she thinks people kill. 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. They drove towards Utica and the Witch's Castle. Her parents, Stephen Sharer and Jacqueline Vaught got divorced when Shanda was very young. She then attempted suicide again, and her daughters called authorities. Her death has been the subject of much speculation and debate over the years. Loveless is the last of the four to be released from prison. 2023 Cinemaholic Inc. All rights reserved. Shanda was born in Pineville, Kentucky on June 6th, 1979 to Stephen Sharer and his wife Jacqueline, who was later known as Jacqueline Vaught. :confused:--If that's the book by true crime author Aphrodite Jones, I remember it very well Hope was released on parole in April 2006. Shes my child. Why 12-Year-Old Shanda Sharer Was Tortured And Killed By Four Teenage Girls. And also don't understand your outrage. In seven years, Loveless has become one of the most trusted and competent trainers in the Indiana Canine Assistance Network (ICAN) program. 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. In 1992, 12-year-old Shanda Sharer was brutally murdered by four other girls. 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. The murder of Shanda Sharer occured in Madison, Indiana early in the morning on January 11, 1982. In 2012, Jacque Vaught made her first contact with Melinda Loveless since the trials, although indirectly. And I know what my child would want. Shanda Rene Sharer (June 6, 1979 - January 11, 1992) was an American girl who was murdered by a group of girls in early 1992. 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. ""All I've ever said is, 'I just want them to serve their sentence.' Her parents would eventually divorce, and Shanda's mother Jacque would move the family to New Albany, Indiana in June 1991. [2] After Sharer's parents divorced, her mother remarried and the family moved to Louisville. Hope and Toni met Mary, their friend, on January 10, 1992, believing they would go to a concert. 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.
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