Hello friends,

 

As you all know, on Friday July 6, 2012, Rachel Shoaf, along with Shelia Eddy, committed the unthinkable crime of brutally murdering Skylar Neese. 

Their heinous action had been planned for many months. On Thursday July 5, 2012, as midnight approached, Rachel and Shelia coaxed Skylar into sneaking out of her Star City, West Virginia apartment. They used the guise of going to a party together, and more importantly, resolving some friction that the trio had experienced in recent months.

After driving Skylar across state lines into Pennsylvania, nearly 30 miles from her home, the trap was officially set. Shortly after their arrival at a secluded area on a backroad, Rachel and Shelia pulled kitchen knives concealed in their hoodies, and began stabbing Skylar to death while her back was turned. As Skylar attempted to flee, it was Rachel, who tackled her in order to finish her off. Skylar Neese died at 16 years old, choking on her own blood, after having been stabbed over 50 times.

In the months that followed, Rachel and Shelia did all they could possibly do to deny any knowledge of what happened to Skylar. For months, they insisted that they dropped her off, just down the street from her apartment. As time went on, their story began to unravel and both state and federal law enforcement officials began to focus their investigation on Rachel and Shelia.

It wasn’t until December of 2012 that Rachel Shoaf suffered a mental breakdown after 5 months of trying to conceal the truth. After spending time in a mental health facility, Rachel Shoaf confessed to authorities that she and Shelia murdered Skylar Neese.

Her revelation that “We stabbed her” left seasoned law enforcement officials stunned. When asked why, Rachel’s response was “We just didn’t like her.”

In May of 2023, Rachel became eligible for parole for the first time. Her initial intake date was July 25, 2014 - To date, Rachel has served less than 10 years in prison for her role in Skylar’s murder.

During her parole hearing, Rachel acknowledged that the trio had been fighting and that she and Shelia “Just wanted it to stop.” Rachel then went onto say that she’s not a “bad person” based on “one bad choice”.

What she STILL FAILS to realize is that she didn’t make just “one bad choice”, rather she repeatedly, and willingly, made a series of bad choices over the many months of premeditation leading up to that fateful night.

In addition, Rachel also stated she made a “terrible, terrible mistake”. While we agree with her that her actions were terrible, we vehemently disagree that this was a mistake. Premeditated murder is never a mistake, it’s not something she did on accident. No, her actions were purposeful and cold blooded. 
She says that she wishes she could’ve taken Skylar’s place, yet she doesn’t acknowledge the evil nature of her own actions, chalking it up to lack of maturity.

We acknowledge that teens lack development in areas in the brain that control things such as decision making and impulse, but we do not believe premeditated murder quantifies as something that can be blamed on lack of maturity.

We are incredibly thankful that she was denied parole in 2023 and we remain firm in our belief that Rachel must continue to be held accountable for her role in Skylar’s murder. We acknowledge that in all likelihood, Rachel will be released in 2028, but we insist that she remain in prison until then and not be paroled even a minute sooner.

With this petition, our goal is to be a resounding voice of the wishes of the general public, and also that of Skylar’s amazing parents, Dave and Mary Neese, in keeping Rachel Shoaf behind bars.

By the time her next parole hearing takes place, it will have been 4,317 days since Rachel and Shelia murdered Skylar. 4,317 days since Dave and Mary heard their last “I love you” from their daughter. 

Skylar should’ve turned 28 years old on February 10, 2024. Instead, her ashes are in an urn in Dave and Mary’s home. Her sentence was death, her executioners were Rachel Shoaf and Shelia Eddy. Dave and Mary’s sentence is life. They will never again see their daughter. She is gone from this earth - forever.

Thank you so very much for taking time to sign and share our petition. 

Respectfully,

Barry D. Bach