GUILTY WV - Skylar Neese, 16, Star City, 6 July 2012

[sadnpod]

Hi Matou! I was wondering where you were! Actually, there were at least a couple of kids at that school that tried. Yes, I think, like us.. alot of them knew, but only had rumors and their own experiences with these mean girls to go on. There was one tweeter in particular who reminded them of what they had done on a very regular basis.

This case shows how horrible high school can be when you are not part of the "popular" group, and how being a part of the "popular" group can make you have a skewed sense of self importance and entitlement. On the most basic level, these girls were bullies. IMO SE was their queen with RS as her major attendant. Through tweets, you can tell there are several of their friends that compete for bff spots and jealousy is rampant among the ones traded in at various times. It seems it was Skylar's time to be traded, but a boy objected. Skylar's beauty shone through on every pic, she was beautiful inside as well as out and would have become stunning in later years. But I don't think she knew it.

High School is not the "best time of your life" for the majority of us. Thank God. Its so sad that Skylar didn't live long enough to know that.

 

[sadnpod]

UPDATE as of Friday, 5/3/13:

No additional charges will be filed in the death of Skylar according to the local Morgantown newspaper. The juvenile file has been sealed and no further information will be released. "We do not have any evidence to suggest any other involvement at this time" quoted by the prosecutor.

I literally threw up when I read this. My brain is racing and I can't even function enough to find a link.

Thank you for the info missjocool, but can I please have a link? TIA

 

[jacy]

UPDATE as of Friday, 5/3/13:

No additional charges will be filed in the death of Skylar according to the local Morgantown newspaper. The juvenile file has been sealed and no further information will be released. "We do not have any evidence to suggest any other involvement at this time" quoted by the prosecutor.

I don't understand this at all. The juvenile...from everything I've read (okay, most of it 'locals') it appeared she was the mastermind. I've only known of this case for 24 hours and I feel so sick.

 

[sadnpod]

I can't find any links on this update. Anyone?

 

[Chesy8027]

I believe it was in the local paper so there may not be a link.

 

[jacy]

I can't find any links on this update. Anyone?

I only see one link matching the words of the story, and that's a subscription-only online paper. However, the title is "Arrests Final in Skylar Case," so maybe they are currently holding everyone they need?

I'm a little confused how it can all be tidied up at this point.

 

[fredned1]

Don't worry folks.....I think some of you are just misreading what is going on. The article is saying that no further arrests will be made. The two girls have been charged and that isn't changing. Because the one girl was charged as a juvenile they have sealed her case and you won't hear anymore about it. That doesn't mean that there won't be a trial. Shoaf will still be required to testify against the other girl in court as per her plea agreement. I just think what the article is saying is that no additional arrests will be made other than the two girls. And at any rate....SE hasn't made any further tweets so I would not believe she is out.

 

[jacy]

Don't worry folks.....I think some of you are just misreading what is going on. The article is saying that no further arrests will be made. The two girls have been charged and that isn't changing. Because the one girl was charged as a juvenile they have sealed her case and you won't hear anymore about it. That doesn't mean that there won't be a trial. Shoaf will still be required to testify against the other girl in court as per her plea agreement. I just think what the article is saying is that no additional arrests will be made other than the two girls. And at any rate....SE hasn't made any further tweets so I would not believe she is out.

You're absolutely right. I just read the full article (won't link because it's Topix) and nothing is different. Skylar will see her justice. THIS justice, anyway, not the full life she deserved.

 

[sadnpod]

I can breathe again.. I just found the article and misread what was posted.

Ugh. Im going to plant flowers in the rain.

 

[jacy]

I can breathe again.. I just found the article and misread what was posted.

Ugh. Im going to plant flowers in the rain.

You should. I need to get away from this as well. Wishing you peace from your flowers. xo

 

[missjocool]

I am subscribed to the online newspaper, so I am unable to submit a link. I just typed word for word what was written. But it looks like we won't hear any more about the other juvenile... besides the rumors and such being posted on other sites... which can be very revealing IMO.

 

[thisiseku]

RS and SE were the first people Skylar followed on Twitter and it ended like this. Horrible, can't really believe that teenagers will kill their best friend just like that.
Skylar's last tweet indicates that something happened because she was obviously mad at someone.

 

[The Charger]

I have so often wondered WHO that last "trust" tweet was directed at...one of the meanies or perhaps the guy rumored to be the cause of all of this?

 

[wvjules]

<---Born and raised in Morgantown and a graduate of University High School.--->

Aboustely NOT should the prom and other end of year festiities be cancelled at UHS. The school did not murder Skylar. RS and SE did. If others knew about it and relayed the information to the police then they've done their part. If others knew and did nothing and/or helped cover it up then they should be charged accordingly. Do not punish the whole school for the horrific acts of a few.

Now with that said, there have been rumors at UHS for months that these girls were involved. Maybe these rumors helped the get ball rolling faster with LE and RS knew her time was coming to an end. Who knows?

It sucks that the Dominion Post is subscribtion only but the local news stations are www.wboy.com and www.wdtv.com They should have mostly the same stories at the DP.

I'm going to UHS graduation in a few weeks for my cousin's graduation. I will keep my ears open for any other 'rumors'.

 

[Goldilox]

So what about the rumored connection to the DC boys and the robbery???

 

[orangesandapples]

So what about the rumored connection to the DC boys and the robbery???

The whole "no other arrests" thing is really strange to me. If what others are saying is true and the other juvenile pleaded not guilty than how does LE know what is going to come out of anything she says? If there were others involved and she says something surely they will be held accountable? Unless a condition of the plea agreement was that RS testimony is bond (which wouldn't happen) it seems premature for them to make that announcement.

The only reason I can see for them to say it (and not mean it) is to stop the bullying/ rumor mill from affecting other minors such as SA, who from my perspective is getting a lot of heat even though I doubt she was involved. JMO.

 

[RDGirl]

In the announcement, they qualified the "no one else" statement with "at this time." The door is still open to charge accessories at a later date, but I think they were trying to make it clear that these 2 girls are the key players and the murderers.

I'll be shocked if SE isn't charged with 1st degree as an adult. It seems clear that they gave Rachel a sweet deal in order to use her against SE. Interested to see how this all comes down in the next few weeks.

 

[The Charger]

In the announcement, they qualified the "no one else" statement with "at this time." The door is still open to charge accessories at a later date, but I think they were trying to make it clear that these 2 girls are the key players and the murderers.

I'll be shocked if SE isn't charged with 1st degree as an adult. It seems clear that they gave Rachel a sweet deal in order to use her against SE. Interested to see how this all comes down in the next few weeks.

Exactly!

 

[Dixie811]

I don't know the details of this particular part of the legal process, but I know of another 16-year-old who committed murder in West Virginia and although he was originally charged as a juvenile, there was then a request submitted to have him prosecuted as an adult later on, and he was transferred to adult status about one month after being arrested.

So RS has already agreed to be charged as an adult as a part of her deal. It is my understanding that it is still possible SE will be charged as an adult, if they have her case transferred to adult court. If this happens, then details of her case can be made public (juvenile cases are all kept private).

In my opinion, SE should certainly be tried as an adult. These girls are intelligent, educated, and conniving. They knew exactly what they were doing.

JMO

 

[The Charger]

Interestingly, in going over the full plea agreement for Shoaf, I noticed that among the terms are that her lawyers will ask the court she be sentenced as a juvenile while the prosecutor will oppose that request. I assume this may be a WV statutory issue when dealing with a minor, but if not it strikes me as odd that the DA wouldn't insist upon her being sentenced as an adult (unless, as I said, he can't by law due to her age) or the defense mandate that she be sentenced as a juvenile. Sounds to me like both sides think they can sway a judge at sentencing, with the defense presenting mitigating factors (age, cooperation, prior record) while the prosecution will try to argue aggravators (the heinous nature of the crime, her behavior between the crime and her plea deal, etc.).

I'd love to sit in on that hearing. Personally, I hope that the prosecutor's 20-year recommendation is ignored and the judge hits her with the forty year max that judicial discretion allows. Even that's too good for her.