[43], Sharer's father, Steven, noticed his daughter was nowhere to be found early on January 11. [11], For two years, beginning when Melinda was five, the family was deeply involved in the Graceland Baptist Church. And I know what my child would want. 12-year-old Shanda Sharer was murdered in 1992. The 12-year-old seemed to have things working for her, and when she went missing, she was enrolled in a Catholic school. Again driving to a remote location, the girls hauled their still-alive victim now only able to whimper mommy out of the trunk, wrapped her in a blanket, and poured the gasoline on her. From what we can tell, she chooses to keep a low profile and spends time with her children and father. Loveless admitted abducting Sharer, torturing her and burning her to death in Madison. The teens then bound, bludgeoned, choked, cut and sodomized Sharer at a remote location. Authorities quickly narrowed in on the killers four teenage girls, three of whom had never met the victim until . Her death is notable due to the torture she endured for more than 10 hours, and subsequently being burned alive. 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. Although Heavrin and Loveless had never formally ended their relationship, Loveless started to date an older girl. She will now serve parole in Jefferson County, Kentucky, according to the Kentucky Department of Corrections. Lastly, Loveless was released from Indiana Women's Prison on September 5, 2019. Sharer was born on June 6, 1979, in the small town of Pineville, Kentucky, to Steve Sharer and Jackie Vaught. 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. Rippey asked about Sharer, and Tackett laughingly described the torture. 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. 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. When they arrived at Sharer's house at 12:30a.m., Lawrence refused to retrieve Sharer, so Tackett and Rippey went to the door. Toni was released in 2000 after serving almost nine years in prison, remaining on parole until late 2002. The perpetrators were four teenage girls who committed unspeakable crimes under the influence of teenage jealousy and peer pressure. [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? The church later arranged for Melinda to be taken to a motel room with a 50-year-old man for a five-hour exorcism. In January 2018, Mary was released from prison and was on parole for a year after that. Wikimedia Commons Shanda Sharer In 1991, Shanda Sharer was a bubbly 12-year-old attending Hazelwood Middle School in New Albany, Ind. 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. Sharer continued to make crying and gurgling noises, so Tackett stopped the car. [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. Shanda Sharer met classmate Amanda Heavrin at Hazelwood in 1991, soon after moving to the area with her recently divorced mother from Kentucky. 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. On a freezing January in 1992, five teenage girls crowded into a car. 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. In May 2011, Tackett appeared on an episode of "Dr. Her name was Shanda Sharer; her age--twelve. 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. Both older girls said he molested them, though Melinda did not admit this ever happened to her. There were also reports of the victim being sexually assaulted with the same weapon. As of September 2019, all four had been released from prison at various times. She remained on parole until December 2002. The incident attracted international attention due to both the brutality of the murder and the young age of the perpetrators, who were aged . 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. 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. But a breeder who supplies dogs to the ICAN program at the prison forged an unexpected connection. Meanwhile, Lawrence and Rippey stayed behind in Tacketts car. 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. Full name: Shanda Rene Sharer. "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. She was kidnapped, tortured and burned alive by four teenage girls. Heavrin promised she would not before entering her house. [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. Sharer was twelve year old girl from Indiana, USA. The procedure revealed that she had suffered multiple injuries. The cause of death was smoke inhalation. State trooper David Camm and Jefferson County Sheriff Buck Shippley and detectives began an investigation, collecting forensic evidence at the scene. In October 2007, Loveless's attorney, Mark Small, requested a hearing to argue for his client's release. I was really taken aback, Vaught said after watching. 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. The ringleader and jealous lover soon leapt out from under the blanket and threatened to slit Sharers throat if she didnt confess to stealing Heavrin away from her. She demanded that the board be burnt and that the Rippey house be exorcised. In Dec. 1992,Loveless pleaded guilty to the Jan. 11, 1992 murder of 12-year-old Shanda Sharer of New Albany. In 1991, Shanda Sharer was a bubbly 12-year-old attending Hazelwood Middle School in New Albany, Ind. 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. Itspiraled out of control way too fast. The Shanda Sharer Murder. The film also has three interviews with Loveless. They arrived at Sharer's house shortly before dark. He said that Loveless had been "profoundly retarded" by childhood abuse. Her parents were Stephen Sharer and Jacqueline Vaught. In 1992, four teen girls tortured and killed 12-year-old Shanda Sharer. Tacketts motives aside, what would drive 16-year-old Loveless to mastermind such a brutal murder? [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. Shipley then started the paperwork to get warrants for the arrest of Laurie Tackett and Melinda Loveless. [5], Larry worked irregularly for the Southern Railway after his military service; his profession allowed him to work whenever most convenient for him. She then attempted suicide again, and her daughters called authorities. Hope and Toni met Mary, their friend, on January 10, 1992, believing they would go to a concert. Its my choice to make. 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. It was published February 8, 1993 and May 11, 1995 in the Jeffersonville, Indiana-based newspaper, The Evening News. Follow him on Twitter: @justinlmack. Loveless hit the victims face with her knee until she bled profusely from her mouth. "They're going to have that.". 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. Derek Kaufman,21, the tough gang leader who was found guilty of first-degree murder. Shanda attended fifth and sixth grades in Louisville at St. Paul School where she was on the cheer leading, volleyball and softball teams. She was sentenced to 60 years in prison but has served the required [] MADISON, Ind. She had been stabbed, strangled, beaten and burned alive. [3] When her mother divorced again, the family moved in June 1991 to New Albany, Indiana, and Sharer enrolled at Hazelwood Middle School. Lawrence then phoned a friend and told her about the murder. But the Indiana Supreme Court upheld their sentences. LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The last of four teenagers convicted of the kidnapping, torture and murder of a 12-year-old girl has been released from prison. 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? Loveless hid under a blanket in the back seat of the car with the knife. I think the ICAN program allows her to have something in her life that shows her unconditional love, that she can show that love back to, and there's a result. "I liked it because it wasn't planned," said Loveless. Larry and Marjorie gave full confession and renounced drinking and swinging while they were members. Thereafter, Minato and Miyano, then aged 15 and 18, respectively, and two other youths took her to a residence in the Ayase area of Adachi Ward . [16] Tackett was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder and confessed that she had experienced hallucinations since she was a young child. That said, Loveless did have a difficult childhood. Jacqueline was divorced from Shandas father, but they moved to New Albany, Indiana, to be closer to him. Melinda almost immediately found Amanda (the same day Shanda's body was found) and told her the whole story. Larry became a marriage counselor with the church and acquired a reputation for being too forward with women, eventually attempting to rape one of them. Shanda Rene Sharer (June 6, 1979 - January 11, 1992) was an American girl who was murdered by a group of girls in early 1992. Furthermore, Shandas grades were getting affected. Tackett told people in one interview that, I didnt know Shanda at all. At present, all of them are out of prison, much before the end of their sentences. As per the show, she was jealous of Shanda and had written angry letters to Amanda about killing her perceived competition. Loveless was 18 when she planned the crime. Hours later they took Shanda to another remote location and continued brutalizing her. Tackett was released from Rockville Correctional Facility on September 11, 2018, after serving nearly 26 years in prison and completing a year of probation. She was reunited with friends Tackett and Toni Lawrence, whom she had known since childhood, although her parents saw Tackett as a bad influence. If the judge accepted these arguments, Loveless could have been retried or released outright. 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. The grieving mother said she did it to honor her little girl, who she still thinks about every day. 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. The case was covered on national news and talk shows and has inspired a number of episodes on fictional crime shows. 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. Melinda has groomed Odle as a courtroom dog for abused and traumatized children. shanda sharer killers where are they nowtransfer function of capacitor and resistor in parallel. Age at death: 12 years old. This tire-iron assault was off and on for hours as the girls went on a joyride through the countryside. By the end of the night, only four of them were alive. The whole thing happened around the jealousy stemming from lesbian relationships. She even carved an "M" into the stomach of one . During the ride, Loveless said that she could not wait to kill Sharer; however, Loveless also said she just intended to use the knife to frighten her. The description matched his Jane Doe. 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. 2023 Cinemaholic Inc. All rights reserved. It's something that should have never happened.". Ligature marks were found on her wrists, and she had several lacerations on her head, neck and legs. A burn victim like Shanda, Charlie Petrizzo convinced Jacque to watch a videotape of the new Melinda. Loveless trained dogs for the program for several years. For nearly eight hours, the girls sexually assaulted and tortured Shanda Sharer, except for Toni Lawrence which refused to participate in the heinous act. She still spent most of her time in Louisville and New Albany, and, by December, spent most of it with Loveless. She was 12 years old at the time of her death. Concerned about the effects of their daughter's relationship with Heavrin, Sharer's parents arranged for her to transfer to a Catholic school in late November. The Shanda Sharer Murder has forever changed my life. There, Sharer attended fifth and sixth grades at St. Paul School, where she was on the cheerleading, volleyball, and softball teams. Loveless was released from Indiana Women's Prison on September 5, 2019. She's like my kid," said Loveless. She even showed Amanda the bloody trunk and Shanda's bloody clothes. [17], Tackett stayed in Louisville in October 1991 to live with various friends. [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. Loveless tried to slash Sharer's throat, but the knife was too dull. The small town of Pineville, Kentucky, to be found early on January.! 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