A popular true crime television series will air an episode about the 2012 murder of 16-year-old Skylar Neese of the Morgantown area Sunday.
The episode, titled "Sheila Eddy," will air on Snapped, a series on Oxygen, Sunday at 9 p.m. It will tell the story of Neese, who was stabbed more than 50 times by her friends.
According to a blog on Oxygen's website, Sharon Martin, also known as "The Voice" of Snapped and a co-executive producer of the show, said this case is about the dark side of high school cliques.
"As the mother of a teenager myself, the idea that someone so young could be capable of such cruelty is startling," Martin said. "It makes you wonder, how well do you know your child's friends?"
Neese, an honors student at University High School, disappeared in July 2012 after sneaking out of her parents home to hang out with Shelia Eddy, whom media reports also refer to as Sheila, and Rachel Shoaf, who she thought were her friends.
Her father discovered her empty bedroom and window cracked the next day, when he was concerned about her making it to her shift at Wendy's.
Surveillance video at the apartment complex showed her leaving her family's apartment near midnight July 6, and getting into a car. With no sign of fear, no money and no contact lenses, she was expected to return.
After months of searching without any productive leads, law enforcement officials considered her a runaway. Her face circulated on a missing person flier for months before a "friend" of hers came forward.
Shoaf admitted to plotting to kill Neese with another girl and led investigators to the body. Covered in branches and leaves, down a rural dirt road in Wayne Township, PA, the victim's body was found less than 30 miles from her home in Star City.
Shoaf pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to 30 years in prison. Eddy pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and is serving a life term.
The story is told through interviews with law enforcement officials, and her friends and family.
Reach Jennifer Gardner at jennifer.gardner@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-5102 or follow @jennc_gardner on Twitter.