I couldnt thank her enough. Loveless told Heavrin and another friend the whole story but had them promise to keep their mouths shut. Vaught did something remarkable after seeing her daughters killer at work. 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. She was sentenced to 60 years in prison but has served the required [] MADISON, Ind. Later that morning, two hunters found the body. You have permission to edit this article. According to the show, Shanda began spending much time with her, and the two became romantically involved. [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. "You know what, I didn't believe it," said Loveless of the gesture. My opinion is that they [kill] to feel superior, or high on the victims fear, and theyre thirsty for the spill of blood.. The cause of death was smoke inhalation. "I liked it because it wasn't planned," said Loveless. Now 36, she grew up in prison, in the shadow of her legacy: a crime of jealousy. Sharer was tortured, beaten and burned in a rural area of Jefferson County, Indiana. 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. The prosecution immediately declared its intention to try both Loveless and Tackett as adults. It was a crime of passion and peer pressure committed by four teenage girls. By the end of the night, only four of them were alive. That said, Loveless did have a difficult childhood. Meanwhile, Tackett and Loveless both received 60-year sentences. 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. First, they took Sharer to a remote trash dump near a logging road in a densely forested area. 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 He received a sentence of time served and was released in June 1995. [67], The poem In God's Arms by author Lacy Gray dedicated to the family of Shanda Renee Sharer. Instead, they spent seven hours torturing Shanda, who would later suffer one of the worst deaths in history. [7], Mary Laurine "Laurie" Tackett was born in Madison, Indiana, on October 5, 1974. [27], On the night of January 10, 1992, Lawrence (age 15), Rippey (15) and Tackett (17) drove in Tackett's car from Madison to Loveless's house in New Albany. Sharer was born on June 6, 1979, in the small town of Pineville, Kentucky, to Steve Sharer and Jackie Vaught. For nearly eight hours, the girls sexually assaulted and tortured Shanda Sharer, except for Toni Lawrence which refused to participate in the heinous act. 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. The whole thing happened around the jealousy stemming from lesbian relationships. [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. Sharer moved to New Albany with her mother in 1991 and developed a romantic relationship with Amanda Heavrin, a 15-year-old she met at school. It was Shanda, and the investigation revealed that she had been burned alive after being tortured for hours. [22], Toni Lawrence was born in Madison on February 14, 1976. And also don't understand your outrage. Melinda Loveless was the ringleader responsible for the murder of Shanda Sharer, along with her three accomplices, Laurie Tackett, Hope Rippey and Toni Lawrence. [14], Tackett became increasingly rebellious after her 15th birthday and also became fascinated with the occult. Mary, who was interested in the occult, even talked about holding a seance to ask Shandas ghost how it felt to be burned alive. They became lost, so they stopped at a gas station and covered Sharer in a blanket. Tackett, who was 17 at the time of the killing, was charged as an adult and sentenced to 60 years in the Indiana Women's Prison in 1993 alongside co-defendantMelinda Loveless of New Albany. 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. That'sall it was. [2] After Sharer's parents divorced, her mother remarried and the family moved to Louisville. Copyright 2019 by WDRB Media. [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. par ; mai 21, 2022 But, that night, Lawrence and Rippey went straight to the Jefferson County Sheriffs office with their parents and spilled the whole story. She even showed Amanda the bloody trunk and Shanda's bloody clothes. In 1992, 12-year-old Shanda Sharer was brutally murdered by four other girls. Indiana Offenders | National Organization of Victims of . They left soon after, fearing they had drawn attention to themselves. The Killing Field. 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. In the end, Melinda and Mary pleaded guilty to murder, arson, and criminal confinement, receiving a 60-year sentence in January 1993. Tacketts motives aside, what would drive 16-year-old Loveless to mastermind such a brutal murder? Loveless ordered Sharer to tell the truth about stealing the girlfriend or have her throat slit. Instead, Loveless would be eligible for parole in 15 years, thus maintaining the original guilty plea. The perpetrators were four teenage girls who committed unspeakable crimes under the influence of teenage jealousy and peer pressure. Shanda Sharer Murder: Where Are Her Killers Now? Shanda Sharer. Nationality: American. The film also has three interviews with Loveless. [47] Loveless and Tackett were arrested on January 12. 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. The murder of Shanda Sharer occured in Madison, Indiana early in the morning on January 11, 1982. But the hands that once took life, now nurture it. "I was the monster. But 20 years later, something no one expected happened. Hours later they took Shanda to another remote location and continued brutalizing her. Her mother was a fundamentalist Pentecostal Christian and her father was a factory worker with two felony convictions in the 1960s. 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. Tackett and Loveless were sentenced to 60 years in the Indiana Women's Prison in Indianapolis. Hope and Toni met Mary, their friend, on January 10, 1992, believing they would go to a concert. Sharer was tortured, beaten and burned in a rural area of Jefferson County, Indiana. 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. WARNING: This article contains graphic content related to physical and s*xual violence and murder. [3], Melinda Loveless was born in New Albany on October 28, 1975, the youngest of three daughters, to Marjorie and Larry Loveless. My child would want this., Loveless, for her part, feels as if Vaught is helping her to overcome her past. Melinda is training Angel to help someone in need, but Angel is already helping her. What followed was a shocking story of deceit and torture. She was released on December 14, 2000 after serving nine years in prison. She was 12 years old at the time of her death. When both parents were working, the family was financially well off, living in the upper-middle-class suburb of Floyds Knobs, Indiana. Jacqueline was divorced from Shandas father, but they moved to New Albany, Indiana, to be closer to him. She became promiscuous, began to self-harm, and attempted suicide in eighth grade. When they divorced; Jacqueline remarried and moved to Louisville, Kentucky. "She helped me to heal, forgive and grow, whether she wanted that or not," Loveless said through tears, "She did a good thing. 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. 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. 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.. She remained on parole until December 2002. Shanda Sharer was a 12 year old girl living in the idyllic town of Madison, Indiana. State trooper David Camm and Jefferson County Sheriff Buck Shippley and detectives began an investigation, collecting forensic evidence at the scene. There had been just three other murders in the previous 12 years in the County, and none of them were as gruesome. She remained on supervised parole for 5 years until April 2011. She was sincere. 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. Rippey came out of the car to hold down Sharer. She took up Charlie, the breeder, on his idea to donate a puppy in Shanda's honor, and she let Melinda loveless train her. Watch the YouTube video part one and part two that tell about the grisley torture murder of young innocent 12 year old Shanda Sharer by teenage young women. Her parents, Stephen Sharer and Jacqueline Vaught got divorced when Shanda was very young. The conversation woke up Tackett's mother, who yelled at her daughter for being out late and bringing home the girls, so Tackett agreed to take them home. 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. 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. The four girls who took place in the events that occured that night are Melinda Loveless, Laurie Tackett, Hope Rippey and Toni Lawrence. Itspiraled out of control way too fast. She convinced three other. After her parents divorced, her mother re-married and moved to Louisville, Kentucky. 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. Mary Bell. Lawrence and Rippey younger, less involved in the torture, and more forthcoming with authorities received lighter sentences, with Lawrence getting 20 years and Rippey getting 50 (shortened to 35 on appeal). In October 2007, Loveless's attorney, Mark Small, requested a hearing to argue for his client's release. Loveless then convinced the other girls to take Sharer to a remote location where there would be no one else around for miles. I read the book about the case. Loveless and Tackett took turns stabbing Sharer in the chest. Shanda Sharer was 12 years old on January 11, 1992 when she was brutally tortured and murdered by 4 teenage girls. Social workers became involved, and Tackett's parents agreed to unannounced visits to ensure that child abuse was not occurring. She confessed to her involvement and said three others were involved: Hope Rippey, then 15, Mary Tackett, then 17, and Melinda Loveless, then 16. Shipley then started the paperwork to get warrants for the arrest of Laurie Tackett and Melinda Loveless. Her family has long suspected that her killer is someone she knew, but they have never been able to prove it. She will now serve parole in Jefferson County, Kentucky, according to the Kentucky Department of Corrections. Two other defendants, Toni Lawrence and Hope A. Rippey, were sentenced to 20 years and 50years respectively, according to IndyStar archives. All four girls who perpetrated the assault and murder of Shanda Sharer were tried as adults. Witnesses also testified that Tackett, who was obsessed with the occult and the notion of killing someone, had proposed asking Sharer's ghost during a seance how it felt to die by fire, according to IndyStar archives. 'Wow.'". In tears and fearful for her life, Sharer tried to respond but to no avail. :confused:--If that's the book by true crime author Aphrodite Jones, I remember it very well If the judge accepted these arguments, Loveless could have been retried or released outright. [15] Tackett began to engage in self-harm, especially after early 1991 when she began dating a girl who was involved in the practice. Both older girls said he molested them, though Melinda did not admit this ever happened to her. After treatment of her wound, she was admitted to the hospital's psychiatric ward. Tackett claimed that she was molested at least twice as a child at ages 5 and 12. Tackett made Rippey pour the gasoline on Sharer, and then they set her on fire. But a dog named Angel is a dog like no other -- a four-legged conduit to Melinda's victim, Shanda Sharer. 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. 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. On this particular weekend Shanda had been staying with her father, Steve Sharer, and Melinda knew it. I think the ICAN program allows her to have something in her life that she can show love back to and theres never betrayal on either side.. 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. That same day, the girls started talking. They arrived at Sharer's house shortly before dark. In the back seat, Melinda Loveless was hiding under a blanket with a knife. [34], Tackett led them to a dark abandoned building off a logging road in a densely forested area. She currently goes by a different name and works for a trucking company based out of Madison. [18] In December, Tackett moved back to Madison on the promise that her father would buy her a car. After her parents got divorced and her mother remarried . Derek Kaufman bids his mother Joan Esposito farewell as he kisses her hand in court after his sentencing. I saw someone almost reborn. Below read an excerpt from the book and delve into the tragic . She was 12 years old at the time of her death. 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. 12-year-old Shanda Sharer was murdered in 1992. Shanda Sharer. Stephen resettled in Jeffersonville, Indiana with his wife, Sharon. Ultimately four teenage girls would be arrested and charged for the murd. The incident attracted international attention due to both the brutality of the murder and the young age of the perpetrators, who were aged . Jacque never wanted contact with any of Shanda's killers. In 2012, Shanda Sharer's mother Jackie Vaught made headlines when she publicly forgave Melinda Loveless. 12-year-old Shanda Sharer was murdered in 1992. For hours, they tortured a barely conscious Sharer by assaulting her with a tire iron before ultimately taking her to a field and burning her alive. Thats all it was. 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]. Sharer's mother and sister were also guests on the show. 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. Ligature marks were found on her wrists, and she had several lacerations on her head, neck and legs. Join Mike and Morf as they discuss the murder of Shanda Sharer. An Indiana Department of Correction spokeswoman says 44-year-old Melinda Loveless was released from the Indiana Women's Prison in Indianapolis on Thursday after serving 23 years and eight months . When they arrived at Sharer's house at 12:30a.m., Lawrence refused to retrieve Sharer, so Tackett and Rippey went to the door. Known For: Being Tortured and killed by 4 teenage girls. [10], The extent of Larry's abuse of his daughters and other children is unclear. At the Witch's Castle, they took a sobbing Sharer inside and bound her arms and legs with rope. [PREVIOUS STORY: Judge denies Loveless' request for earlyrelease in torture-killing]. And Im doing it for her.. Three more hours later, they took her to another . Loveless served more than 26 years in prison for murder and criminal confinement. The former was released in 2000 after serving nine years while the latter served 14 and got out in 2006. Then, on the night the body was found, a 15-year-old girl, Toni Lawrence, walked into the police station claiming to know about the murder. The 1990s: The Deadliest Decade: The New Girl chronicles what happened to Shanda and how four girls were responsible for her death. 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. However, Jacqueline forbade her daughter from seeing Amanda because of some letters she had written that were sexual in nature. 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. Marjorie later described him as a sexual deviant who would wear her and her daughters' underwear and makeup, was incapable of staying monogamous, and had a mixture of jealousy and fascination with seeing her have sex with other men and women. In January 2018, Mary was released from prison and was on parole for a year after that. But in 2004, five years were shaved off her sentence for good behavior. Tackett told people in one interview that, I didnt know Shanda at all. [66], The poem The Whole World Is Singing by Daphne Gottlieb, is told from the point of view of Shanda Sharer and includes lines from notes written from Shanda Sharer to Amanda Heavrin. S * xual violence and murder Larry 's abuse of his daughters and other is. By author Lacy Gray dedicated to the door Vaught did something remarkable after seeing her daughters killer at.. 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