Pretty Little Killers (52 page)

Not much is known about the day Mikinzy Boggs went to see his girlfriend
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in juvenile detention, because he has refused to talk about it. People close to the story said Mikinzy was really confused about everything. After news about Rachel's possible involvement began spreading around the school, people said Mikinzy visited the counselor and even had several absences. Teachers say it was a bad
time for him. Now more than ever, they believe the teenager needed answers: about why Rachel was in jail, why the media was reporting that she had confessed to murder, and when she was coming home.

When Mikinzy arrived at the Wheeling facility, he sat and waited to see Rachel. He probably didn't know what to expect, and he might have wondered if he would have to speak to Rachel through bulletproof glass.

During that bittersweet visit Rachel revealed a secret to Mikinzy, and he made a promise to her in return.

At first Rachel was so happy she seemed almost giddy. “Oh, my gosh, hi! Great to see you!”

“Why are you smiling right now?” It didn't make sense to Mikinzy. He hadn't yet heard much news about the crime. “You don't belong in here, Rachel.”

Rachel's answer was short and to the point. “Yes. Yes, I do.”

“What do you mean? You didn't murder anyone. You would never do that.”

“But I did. Shelia and I killed Skylar.”

Mikinzy didn't know what to say, because he wasn't sure he heard her right.
Why would Rachel kill Skylar?

“Why? Why would you do that?” he asked, shaking his head.

Everyone who saw Mikinzy and Rachel together before she confessed insisted the couple was crazy about each other, even though they frequently fought and were always on again, off again.

“Because she knew our secrets, and she was going to blackmail us,” Rachel said calmly.

“What kind of secrets, Rachel?” Mikinzy asked. “What do you mean? I don't understand.”

“She had a video of us making out. She knew we had sex together.”

Mikinzy must have believed Rachel, because he told other people what she told him that day. But he didn't tell them how Rachel explained that she and Shelia had been girlfriends, that they had had a lesbian relationship, possibly while Mikinzy was dating her himself. Maybe she told him she was bisexual, maybe she told him she and Shelia hooked up during the off phase of Rachel and Mikinzy's
on-again, off-again relationship. She did tell him she and Shelia had been lovers and that was why Skylar had to die.

At the time, Mikinzy was either still very confused, or deeply in love with Rachel, and she with him, because of what came next.

“Will you wait for me?” Rachel asked.

Mikinzy didn't hesitate. “Yes.”

Near the banks of the Ohio River, another teenager was eager to impress upon her new inmate friends how badly she'd been wronged. Shelia Eddy reportedly told at least one other teenage girl housed with her at the Parkersburg juvenile center that Rachel was the backstabber who had squealed on her.

Then, even though it's a violation for inmates even to touch each other—much less have a sexual relationship—Shelia and that girl, Dawn, became lovers. For some unknown reason authorities can't explain, Dawn was then transferred to the same facility where Rachel was housed in Wheeling.

When Dawn confronted Rachel, calling her a snitch, Rachel grew so upset she vomited. Rachel begged Dawn to tell Shelia to plead guilty—so there wouldn't be a trial. Reportedly, Dawn intended to bully Rachel, but the two became friends instead, and Dawn's alliance to Shelia was quickly forgotten.

These details wouldn't have become public if Shelia's mother had not shared them with other friends and family. According to Crissy, Tara took a letter from Dawn to Shelia to Crissy's parents' home and read it to them. When her father heard the part where Dawn and Shelia were lovers, he told Tara he never wanted to hear anything like that again.

Crissy said that day was the last time her family heard from Tara.

forty-three

Her Day in Criminal Court

Four long and frustrating
months after Rachel's guilty plea in May, Skylar's family feared the case had become as stagnant as a summer pond. The courts had done nothing. From the outside looking in, that's how it appeared both to the people closest to the case and to the public.

Despite initial rumors that Shelia would be transferred to adult status and Rachel would be sentenced swiftly, nothing further appeared to happen. The media would not even print or speak Shelia's name—much less speculate on what was prompting the delay.

As the summer heat pounded on, it became harder to tell which made people angrier: Rachel confessing to Skylar's murder or the media's refusal to name her accomplice. Eighteen weeks later, the people who followed Skylar's story got their wish: on September 4 Judge Clawges ruled Shelia Eddy would be transferred from juvenile to criminal court.

For the prosecution of Skylar's murder, that legal distinction meant Monongalia County now viewed Shelia as an adult. So did the State of West Virginia. That, in turn, meant both entities would hold the teen fully accountable for her actions. Equally important in the eyes of everyone following Skylar's story, the media could now
print and speak Shelia's name—which news reporters did the minute Prosecutor Ashdown handed them a press release announcing the judge's decision.

For 426 days, from the day Skylar disappeared until September 4, Mary and Dave had never been far from tears. A question from a well-meaning stranger who recognized them in public would cause them to mourn their only child all over again. A passing headline about another missing child would suddenly force them to relive their own tragedy.

Regardless of how many people celebrated Shelia's new status, nothing changed for Mary and Dave. The Neeses continued to grieve. For the baby they brought home from the hospital, for the little girl who ran around naked in her family home, for the teenager who became the loyal confidante to so many of her peers. For Skylar Annette, the sixteen-year-old daughter who was lost to them forever.

So September 4, 2013, the day Shelia's alleged role in the murder became public, was a day to celebrate, but it was also a day for sorrow. That pivotal date initiated Shelia's slow march toward justice, but it also signaled the end of Mary and Dave's old life. In the end, the Neeses realized, it was an empty celebration.
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Trials are not about finding the truth. They are about judging guilt and setting the world right again. But after a crime as savage as the murder of Skylar Neese, people doubt the world can ever again
be
right. A promising young life was violently cut short in July of 2012, and all the possible futures of Skylar Neese—and
every benefit she would have brought to the people she had yet to encounter
—have forever vanished.

The murder is the central stone thrown into the pond, but the waves that ripple out represent all the lives irrevocably changed. Mary
and Dave have suffered most from the killing of their daughter. So have their families, as have those of Shelia and Rachel. Skylar's friends, too, must go on without her. The teenagers at University High School, even the ones who knew Skylar only in passing, had bits of themselves torn away, as well. So did the teachers who trusted Rachel and Shelia, but who now felt betrayed. Even people not directly affected by the murder or its aftermath—in the Morgantown community and well beyond—were stunned by the betrayal of two “best friends” and may never again be able to trust in quite the same way.

Shelia's trial for premeditated murder could never undo the damage. People still longed for it to reveal hidden truths, such as whether some mental illness turned these girls into killers, or what Rachel really meant when she said they didn't want to be friends with Skylar anymore, or if Skylar was killed because they had to keep her quiet.

Shelia's arraignment took only fifteen minutes, but it contained all the elements of high drama. The court hearing was held September 17—eleven days before Shelia would turn eighteen.

Shelia wore the same orange jumpsuit, white socks, and sandals as the rest of the inmates. The only female prisoner in the courtroom stood before the judge, her wrists and ankles shackled.

The contrast between Shelia and her attorney couldn't have been more pronounced. Mike Benninger was as tall, broad, and dark as Shelia was short, slight, and fair. Their voices were a stark contrast as well. His boomed, by far the loudest in the courtroom. Distinct and certain, his voice allowed everyone seated in the wood-paneled room to hear him without the need to lean forward, fearful of missing something. Hers was soft and uncertain, almost childlike. Benninger's presence made Shelia seem even smaller than she was, as if she could not possibly have committed the crimes with which she was charged.

“Have you discussed the charges with your client?” Judge Clawges asked.

“I have, your Honor. Carefully,” Benninger replied.

“Does she understand the charges against her?”

“She
absolutely
does,” the defense attorney said.

Four times in a row, Shelia said, “Not guilty.” To one count of first-degree murder. To one count of kidnapping. To two counts of conspiracy to commit kidnapping and murder.

Dave and Skylar's aunt Carol sat three rows back. Before Shelia could finish her first “not guilty,” sobs were heard from their direction. People who came to observe, who had never met Skylar or her family, began to cry when they heard the sounds of grief coming from the Neese contingent.

In court, Shelia appeared to be chewing gum. Inmates do not normally chew gum while waiting to plead to felony murder charges. But the most distinctive aspect of Shelia's appearance was her emotional demeanor. Some people say they didn't see a single tear. Others said her eyes were rimmed in red, as if she had been crying at some point during the judge's questions.

Some people said Shelia was smiling while she waited for her case to be called. Dave Neese believed she smiled right at him, as if to reassure him that everything was all right. Or to taunt him. News media photos and online reports from observers all seem to indicate that most people believed Shelia had been smiling throughout the procedure. As if she was enjoying the attention.
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