[7], Mary Laurine "Laurie" Tackett was born in Madison, Indiana, on October 5, 1974. They initially thought it was a mannequin of some sort, but upon exiting the vehicle realized that it was clearly the burned body of a child. Shanda was best friends with her mom, and close with her father and stepmother, Sharon. In the end, Melinda and Mary pleaded guilty to murder, arson, and criminal confinement, receiving a 60-year sentence in January 1993. They removed her jewelry and began threatening to cut off all Sharer's hair before they eventually lit a fire. Heavrin was horrified and asked to be taken home. [2] After Sharer's parents divorced, her mother remarried and the family moved to Louisville. Mary, who was interested in the occult, even talked about holding a seance to ask Shandas ghost how it felt to be burned alive. Lawrence and Rippey were frightened and stayed in the car. She convinced three other teens -- Hope Rippey, Laurie Tackett and Toni Lawrence -- to participate in the crime because she believed Sharer stole her girlfriend. 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]. But a dog named Angel is a dog like no other -- a four-legged conduit to Melinda's victim, Shanda Sharer. While Tackett did have a hand in killing Shanda Sharer, she was released from prison in January 2018. She took up Charlie, the breeder, on his idea to donate a puppy in Shanda's honor, and she let Melinda loveless train her. The man definitely died from a broken heart".[61]. "Ididn't know Shanda at all. Then, discover the story of teenage serial killer Harvey Robinson. Lawrence was released from prison in 2000, and Rippey was released in 2006. April 25, 2016. Authorities quickly narrowed in on the killers four teenage girls, three of whom had never met the victim until . Meanwhile, Tackett and Loveless both received 60-year sentences. Her parents resumed their relationship in Madison in 1987. Larry and Marjorie gave full confession and renounced drinking and swinging while they were members. Lawrence and Rippey quickly lost interest in the music and went to the parking lot outside, where they engaged in sexual activities with two boys in Tackett's car. "[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. As per the show, Hope and Mary poured the accelerant over Shanda, who was set on fire while she was still alive. So, lets find out more about this case then, shall we? 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. It spiraled out of control way too fast. Her death has been the subject of much speculation and debate over the years. Both Heavrin and Wathen were reluctant to believe the story until Tackett showed them the trunk of the car with Sharer's bloody handprints and socks still present. Sharer was tortured, beaten and burned in a rural area of Jefferson County, Indiana. Join Mike and Morf as they discuss the murder of Shanda Sharer. She's like my kid," said Loveless. Full name: Shanda Rene Sharer. She had been stabbed, strangled, beaten and burned alive. 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. Turning cloudy, a shower possible after 3pm. She was close to her mother, Jacqueline Vaught, who said her daughter was good at gymnastics, basketball, and baseball and was a cheerleader. [PREVIOUS STORY: Judge denies Loveless' request for earlyrelease in torture-killing]. Melinda has also reportedly changed her name since her release and prefers to stay away from the public eyes. Death of Innocence - The Murder of Young Shanda Sharer BY David Lohr Autopsy On Sunday morning, Dr. George Nichols conducted Shanda's autopsy. The Shanda Sharer Murder has forever changed my life. Tackett proceeded to stab Sharer several more times before driving off once more with Loveless to beat and sodomize Sharer with a tire iron. 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. Two days later, with her girlfriend and Toni Lawrence, Tackett cut her wrists deeply and was returned to the hospital. Hope Rippey was one of four girls convicted of murdering Shanda Sharer luring her from her home in the dead of the night and pouring gasoline on her body. Her parents, Stephen Sharer and Jacqueline Vaught got divorced when Shanda was very young. He would also embarrass his children by finding their underwear and smelling it in front of other family members. For seven hours, the four girls brutally tortured Shanda Sharer before ultimately killing her. This tire-iron assault was off and on for hours as the girls went on a joyride through the countryside. She was sentenced to 60 years for murder. [3], Melinda Loveless was born in New Albany on October 28, 1975, the youngest of three daughters, to Marjorie and Larry Loveless. 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. In May 2011, Tackett appeared on an episode of "Dr. Shanda endured hell and was later put in the trunk of the car, only in her underwear. Shanda Renee Sharer was an American girl who was tortured and burned to death in Madison, Indiana, by four teenage girls. 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. Mary Laurine "Laurie" Tackett, 43, of Madison, was released shortly after midnight, according to officials from the Indiana Department of Correction. She claimed that living with her family in Michigan was somewhat turbulent. Sharer was twelve year old girl from Indiana, USA. As a way of rebelling against her parents, the youngster shaved her head and started to engage in occult practices. 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. Loveless hit the victims face with her knee until she bled profusely from her mouth. When they returned to Tacketts house, she laughingly described what had just happened to Rippey. 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. While the four decided never to talk about it, Toni couldnt take it anymore and confessed to the police. Shipley then started the paperwork to get warrants for the arrest of Laurie Tackett and Melinda Loveless. And I know what my child would want. Toni was released in 2000 after serving almost nine years in prison, remaining on parole until late 2002. Tackett claimed that she was molested at least twice as a child at ages 5 and 12. 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. More: Part 2: How fake witnesses, exposed surveillance operation unravel Grundy murder investigation, More: Burger Chef murder victim's mom had surprising thing to say after 1978 killings. They left soon after, fearing they had drawn attention to themselves. Loveless instructed Rippey and Lawrence to go to the door and introduce themselves as friends of Heavrin (Loveless's former and Sharer's current girlfriend), then invite Sharer to come with them to see Heavrin, who was waiting for them at "the Witch's Castle", or Mistletoe Falls, a ruined stone house located on an isolated hill overlooking the Ohio River. [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. When they heard Sharer screaming in the trunk, Tackett went out with a paring knife and stabbed her several more times, coming back a few minutes later covered with blood. [46], Detectives obtained dental records that positively identified Sharer as the victim. 12-year-old Shanda Sharer was murdered in 1992. :confused:--If that's the book by true crime author Aphrodite Jones, I remember it very well "I was the monster. 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. [11], For two years, beginning when Melinda was five, the family was deeply involved in the Graceland Baptist Church. They beat her, sodomized the 12-year-old with a tire iron, choked her with a cord, and sliced her legs with a knife. Shanda Renee 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 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. Toni pleaded guilty to criminal confinement and received a 20-year sentence due to her cooperation. 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). Jun 20, 1992 at 12:00 am. 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.. Everyone involved had been sworn to secrecy. 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 . When they opened the trunk, Sharer sat up, covered in blood with her eyes rolled back in her head, but unable to speak. 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. When they divorced; Jacqueline remarried and moved to Louisville, Kentucky. So Jacque Vaught did something remarkable. Loveless served more than 26 years in prison for murder and criminal confinement. Wikimedia Commons Shanda Sharer In 1991, Shanda Sharer was a bubbly 12-year-old attending Hazelwood Middle School in New Albany, Ind. When they arrived at Sharer's house at 12:30a.m., Lawrence refused to retrieve Sharer, so Tackett and Rippey went to the door. The procedure revealed that she had suffered multiple injuries. She was released on December 14, 2000 after serving nine years in prison. Two other defendants, Toni Lawrence and Hope A. Rippey, were sentenced to 20 years and 50years respectively, according to IndyStar archives. At that point, Amanda was in an on-and-off relationship with another teenager, Melinda Loveless. 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. [34], Tackett led them to a dark abandoned building off a logging road in a densely forested area. 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. 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. Melinda Loveless was the ringleader responsible for the murder of Shanda Sharer, along with her three accomplices, Laurie Tackett, Hope Rippey and Toni Lawrence. The murder of Shanda Sharer occured in Madison, Indiana early in the morning on January 11, 1982. In October of that year, the pair attended a school dance together. First, Melinda and Laurie stripped Shanda naked near a remote trash dump while Hope and Toni waited in the . Florida Grandma Takes Out Dentures To Scare Off Naked Intruder, What Stephen Hawking Thinks Threatens Humankind The Most, 27 Raw Images Of When Punk Ruled New York, Join The All That's Interesting Weekly Dispatch. [23], In 1990, 14-year-old Loveless began dating another young girl named Amanda Heavrin. She became promiscuous, began to self-harm, and attempted suicide in eighth grade. Hope and Toni met Mary, their friend, on January 10, 1992, believing they would go to a concert. Rippey was sentenced to 60 years, with 10 years suspended due to mitigating circumstances plus 10 years of medium-supervision probation. 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. Social workers became involved, and Tackett's parents agreed to unannounced visits to ensure that child abuse was not occurring. 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. [51] Rippey was sentenced to 60 years, with 10 years suspended for mitigating circumstances, plus 10 years of medium-supervision probation. My child would want this.". Her prediction was partly true. Tackett told people in one interview that, I didnt know Shanda at all. [49] Tackett was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder and suffering from hallucinations. Loveless then threatened Sharer in public and soon even talked about killing the 12-year-old. It was a crime of passion and peer pressure committed by four teenage girls. After phoning neighbors and friends all morning, he called his former wife, Sharer's mother, at 1:45p.m.; they met and filed a missing person report with the Clark County sheriff. Shanda's parents divorced when she was young, and she ended up . Loveless is the last of the four to be released from prison. 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. "I've loved her, I've cried on her. He received a sentence of time served and was released in June 1995. Melinda almost immediately found Amanda (the same day Shanda's body was found) and told her the whole story. The film also has three interviews with Loveless. Online records list the earliest possible release date forLoveless as Sept. 5, 2019. Investigation Discoverys The 1990s: The Deadliest Decade: The New Girl chronicles what happened to Shanda and how four girls were responsible for her death. All four girls had troubled backgrounds, with claims of physical or sexual abuse committed by a parent or other adult. Finally, in the early morning hours, the torturers stopped at a gas station and bought a two-liter bottle of Pepsi, which they quickly emptied and refilled with gasoline. And Im doing it for her.. Loveless was 18 when she planned the crime. [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. If you don't let good things come from bad things, nothing gets better. 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 served over 26 years in prison and will continue to serve parole in Jefferson County, Kentucky. 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. 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