WV killer Rachel Shoaf is being denied parole for killing Skylar Neese

A woman who senselessly murdered her best friend a decade ago as part of a teen murder plot that gripped the country has been released on parole.

Rachel Shoaf, 26, now remains in prison for the 2012 murder of her best friend, 16-year-old Skylar Neese.

Skylar’s parents, Dave and Mary Neese, testified today at the parole hearing, marking the first time in more than a decade that they have come face to face with one of their daughter’s killers.

Teenagers Rachel Shoaf and Shelia Eddy lured Skylar Neese out of her West Virginia home in July 2012, driving around and smoking marijuana. When they reached the Pennsylvania woods, Eddy and Shoaf stabbed her to death and dumped her body by the roadside.

Both teens comforted Skylar’s parents and played the role of grieving friends when Neese was reported missing, before Shoaf finally admitted in early 2013 that he was brutally murdered.

On May 1, 2013, Shoaf, then 17, pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced to 30 years in prison with the possibility of parole in 10 years.

Today, she appeared via video link at the hearing attended by Skylar’s family.

Dave and Mary Neese wore purple to the hearing, which was Skylar’s favorite color.

According to WBOY 12 NewsWhen asked what she would say to the family, Shoaf said in a statement: “I cannot express how sorry I am for what I have done and for the pain I have caused.

‘I loved her. I know what we did was horrible and there are no words to describe the pain we caused and I know there’s nothing I can say or do.

“I pray for them all the time and pray for peace in their hearts. I would trade places with Skylar so she can be with her loved ones.

“I just want them to know how sorry I am.”

Shoaf is also said to have said, “I made a terrible, terrible mistake that I can’t change, but I’m not a bad person for making one bad choice.”

In a prepared statement obtained by the outlet, Skylar’s father Dave gave reasons why he felt the killer should not be granted parole.

“Because of that evil monster, my kid never got a limo for her prom. Instead, she got a ride in a coroner’s vehicle. There was also no sparkly dress for Skylar, just a body bag. She’ll never have a degree, just a death certificate,’ he said.

“This narcissistic, first-degree, cold-blooded killer has no remorse for the brutal murder of my only child. I believe she is proud to have murdered my daughter in cold blood. The day after she threw kitchen knives into my kid, this devil was seen on a friend’s boat, smiling and posing for pictures.”

He said Shoaf chose the day of July 6 because she wanted to kill Skylar before going to church camp.

“Just another task to cross off her list, like standing over my kid and saying, ‘Die, you motherfucker!’ while my little daughter breathed her last, because the mean butcher didn’t want to be her friend,” he continued.

He said, “I wasn’t there to defend my baby daughter against this diabolical killer on July 6, 2012, but I’m here today to do everything I can to make sure she stays behind bars.

“This prisoner has proven herself to be both evil and mentally unstable. No one can solve that kind of madness. I believe if she gets paroled, she’ll kill again. Murder is a game for this prisoner.

“This person has proven to be a narcissist and is a dangerous person who has no remorse whatsoever. This inmate destroyed so many lives when she killed Skylar.”

He added: “If they are released, no parent can close their eyes at night without fear that their own child could possibly be the next victim.”

He asked the parole board why Shoaf should be given a second chance at life when Skylar didn’t, saying he wanted to make the world without Skylar “as safe as possible from predators like these.”

Dave ended the statement by saying, “I request that you parole this diabolical butcher and let Skylar’s mother and I know that her killer will not be granted the reality of adulthood that our daughter was never allowed to experience.”

Before the hearing, more than 33,000 people signed an online petition with the hope that Shoaf will stay behind bars.

Shoaf, 26, is currently incarcerated at Lakin Correctional Center in Mason County.

Eddy was sentenced to life in prison and was eligible for parole after 15 years.

Prosecutors said the pair planned to kill their friend, but no motive for the brutal murder was revealed at the time of Shoaf’s confession.

Shoaf allegedly told police that the girls no longer wanted to be friends with Skylar, with prosecutors saying this was due to a deteriorating friendship and fears that Skylar would reveal secrets.

At the hearing today, Shoaf said she and Eddy were in a relationship and feared the consequences if exposed, WBOY 12 News reported.

“After things got out about the relationship, there was tension between us,” Shoaf said. It was hostile and violent, in our teens we didn’t know how to handle the conflict and we just wanted it to stop.”

In the early hours of July 6, the pair picked up Skylar from her Star City apartment before smoking marijuana and driving toward Pennsylvania.

Shoaf reportedly also blamed her actions on being under the influence of the drug.

Shoaf and Eddy hid kitchen knives under their clothes, and on the count of three, they began stabbing Skylar repeatedly.

The pair planned to bury the body and took a shovel with them, but authorities said they were not strong enough to break up the ground, so they dragged her body off the road and covered her with rubble.

Shoaf and Eddy then returned home, playing the part of distraught friends, crying and grieving with Skylar’s parents.

Shoaf tweeted, “Where @highastheSky?” — the name Skylar used on Twitter, and both teens continued to post chilling messages on social media in the months following the murder.

Skylar’s father, Dave, said how the couple helped the family hand out missing persons fliers, and asked Eddy to come over and sit on the missing girl’s bed.

Skylar’s aunt Carol Michaud said in 2013, “She came and pretended she didn’t know anything. She pretended and stayed with us and comforted us and swore she had no idea what was going on. To admit to this day that she did just shows how bad she can be.”

In January 2013, Shoaf finally cracked down and told investigators what had happened and where to find the body.

The site is now a memorial to Skylar, with photos and memories of her life.

When she was sentenced, Shoaf asked the court for forgiveness.

“She’s not sorry — she’s sorry she got caught,” Dave Neese said in response to her apology. “That’s the only thing she regrets.”

At the time, he said she would fight to make sure she didn’t get parole.

When Eddy was sentenced in February 2014, Dave Neese addressed the court saying he was ‘taking on behalf of my daughter because she can’t be here’.

Eddy refused to address the court except to plead guilty. Neese’s father later said he found her silence “unacceptable.”

Since her death, Skylar’s parents have spearheaded Skylar’s law, which would require Amber Alerts to be issued for all missing children in West Virginia.

According to the West Virginia Division of Corrections, Shoaf’s expected release date is April 30, 2028.