Shanda Sharer

**Shanda Renée Sharer** (June 6, 1979 – January 11, 1992) was an American girl who was murdered by a group of girls in early 1992. Her death is notable due to the torture she endured for more than 10 hours, and subsequently being burned alive.

## Early Life

Shanda Sharer was born on June 6, 1979 to her father Stephen, and her mother Jacque. She had an older half-sister, Paije. Shanda’s parents divorced when she was young, and she ended up moving away with her mother to Louisville, and she ended up remarrying. When Shanda moved, she attended 5th and 6th grade at St. Paul School where she was a cheerleader, and was on the Volleyball and Softball teams. Her mother divorced again, and Shanda relocated in June 1991 to New Albany, Indiana, where she enrolled in Hazelwood Middle-School.

When Shanda started, she was nervous about making friends. However, she did begin making new friends, and one of her new friends asked her to return a ring to a boyfriend she’d recently broken up with. When she gave the ring to the boy, he argued with her for being involved in something that wasn’t her business, and his cousin, 14 year-old tomboy Amanda Heavrin walked by, hearing the conflict. Amanda came to her cousin’s defense, and threw Shanda on the ground, then beating her up. Both Amanda and Shanda got detention for a week, but they ended up becoming best friends during that time. At the time, Amanda was in a relationship with the beautiful but controlling Melinda Loveless (who was mirroring her abusive father’s behaviour), who was surprised when Shanda and Amanda became best friends. Shanda’s mother, Jacque, was very against Shanda’s new friend, but Shanda told her that Amanda was a very nice girl, and that she wasn’t usually violent. Shanda’s father and stepmother took Shanda and Amanda to a festival once, and though Amanda was polite, they disliked her for her cocky attitude.

Something Shanda didn’t reveal to her mother though, is that Amanda was sending love letters to her. Melinda never liked school dances, so she had plans to hang out with her friend drinking Alcohol, so Amanda took Shanda as her date to the dance. This enraged Melinda so she went to the dance and yelled at the couple, but particularly threatened Shanda. Melinda told Shanda to “back off” from Amanda, or she would get hurt. But Shanda continued hanging out with Amanda at Amanda’s urge, and eventually began dating Amanda, who was cheating on Melinda. Amanda liked Shanda for her good looks and different personality to Melinda, Melinda was violent and controlling, while Shanda was sweet and kind, and as she was only 11 when the relationship began, was easy to control. One day, Shanda sent a love-letter to Amanda, but it wasn’t sent properly, so her mother discovered it. She was shocked, because the contents of the note implied that Amanda and Shanda were in a sexual relationship despite Shanda only being 12 (Amanda later confirmed they were intimate). Shanda’s mother wasn’t happy with her daughter having sex when she wasn’t even a teenager, especially since Amanda was 15 by then. Melinda threatened Shanda once while she was out with Amanda, and Amanda sided with Melinda, so Shanda left for home in tears. Shanda’s mother was also noticing how ever since Shanda had become friends with Amanda, she’d begun failing her classes (despite previously being a good student), she was getting into lots of trouble and no longer cared about her appearance, wearing over-sized, baggy clothes. Jacque even discovered Amanda taught her how to forge her mother’s signature on her report cards. Her mother called the school about it and Jacque discovered Shanda was getting lots of detentions, misbehaving in class, and failing all her classes (even P.E). It turned out she was failing P.E because Shanda was refusing to get changed and take showers, so she automatically failed (Jacque later speculated her daughter was traumatised by having sex so young). Jacque subsequently took Shanda out of the school and sent her to a Catholic school in November 1991.

## Murder

When Shanda moved schools, she stopped talking to Amanda having moved on from her since their run-in with Melinda. Amanda kept sending letters over and over, saying how much she loved Shanda, and how she missed her, but Shanda began ignoring her. Amanda and her friends also kept calling Shanda to try and speak to her, but Shanda’s parents put a stop to this. Shanda told her new friend at Catholic school how she didn’t want Amanda in her life. Shanda had also begun dating a boy. Melinda though, was still angry at Shanda because Amanda still wanted Shanda. Melinda had another friend, 17 year-old Laurie Tackett (who had previously been diagnosed with a Borderline Personality Disorder). Laurie was from a strict, religious family and as such, grew very rebellious and was a disappointment to her fanatical Christian mother. Laurie was a Lesbian like Melinda and allegedly had a crush on Melinda, but Melinda was apparently either not interested or oblivious. Laurie was into Satan and Witchcraft and had talked about wanting to kill someone near the Witches Castle, an ancient stone house where Witches allegedly used to live. Melinda wanted to get revenge on Shanda, figuring Laurie would be the perfect accomplice. They decided to invite 2 of Laurie’s friends, 15 year-olds Hope Rippey and Toni Lawrence to a concert. Hope Rippey and Toni Lawrence had been best friends since they were young, and Hope had become close with Laurie more recently. Toni wasn’t keen on Laurie seeing as Hope’s parents thought Laurie was a bad influence. However, Hope wanted Toni to like Laurie, so when Hope was invited to a Concert by Laurie and Melinda, she brought Toni along. Although, in Laurie’s car, they revealed that they’d be “killing a little girl tonight.” Toni initially believed that Laurie was joking.

On the night of January 10, 1992, the girls drove to Melinda’s house to get a change of clothes, and she showed them a knife, saying that she’d only be scaring Shanda. Melinda explained her situation to Hope and Toni, who believed that Shanda was in the wrong and agreed to help “scare” Shanda. Hope was more interested in seeing a fight than helping Melinda, and Toni valued her friendship with Hope, so she stayed. After that, the girls drove to Shanda’s house, she was staying at her father’s house for the weekend, as her parents had joint custody. Shanda was in her old habits again, her grades were good, she was behaving well and dressing like she used to. Toni and Hope knocked on the door, and Shanda answered. Toni and Hope asked to speak to Shanda, which confused Shanda’s father, who was in the living room. Hope and Toni introduced themselves as friends of Amanda, and said Amanda wanted to see Shanda (which wasn’t a complete lie) at the Witches Castle. Shanda was reluctant to go and tried to decline by saying she had a party to attend and that her father wouldn’t let her go out with strangers at night. However, Hope and Toni countered her by saying that they could come back at night and that Shanda could sneak out then, which Shanda reluctantly agreed to. When Shanda shut the door, her father questioned her. Shanda lied to him saying they were friends from school, but he knew she was lying as he’d heard them ask for Shanda despite it being Shanda who answered. Shanda eased her father’s worries by claiming it was slang.

Melinda was furious that Shanda hadn’t come out, however the other three girls eased her mind by saying they should go to the concert they were going to attend and then collect Shanda. The girls went to the concert, however Hope and Toni said they were too cold and went back to Laurie’s car, where they engaged in sexual activity with two boys. Hope and Toni told the boys they were worried and confessed about Melinda and Laurie’s plans. The two boys suggested Hope and Toni get a lift from them; however both girls refused. Shanda went to the birthday party she’d been invited to with her new friend Michelle and had a good time, she then went home.

Shanda’s father and stepmother went to bed, they let Shanda stay up for a bit to watch TV. Toni and Hope knocked for her again, and Shanda was still reluctant to go, but after a while agreed. Shanda got changed and put more makeup on. However, when she snuck out, Shanda left her coat and purse, which has caused Shanda’s mother to speculate that Shanda didn’t intend to leave and was going to walk them to the car before quickly saying she couldn’t go and then hurry back inside, however she was in the car soon before anything could happen. She got into the car, but wasn’t aware that Melinda was hiding in the backseat. As Hope was asking questions about Shanda and Amanda’s relationship, Melinda pulled out from the blanket, putting the knife to Shanda’s neck, and telling her, “Shut up, bitch.” Shanda was terrified, she was begging the girls to let her go home but they instead took her to the Witches Castle. Laurie told Shanda a legend about how Witches used to live in the Witches Castle but that the castle was burned down by the Townspeople and reduced to the small stone house they were hiding in. When they arrived, they bound Shanda with the ropes they brought, and Melinda taunted her saying how pretty her curly Auburn hair was, and how it would not be very pretty if someone chopped it all off. Melinda took Shanda’s rings and gave them to the other three girls, Hope took Shanda’s Mickey Mouse watch and danced to a tune it could make. Laurie also taunted Shanda, saying how the Castle was filled with dead bodies, and that her’s would be one of them. Laurie then got a shirt she brought with her from the car, and lit it on fire infront of Shanda, but was afraid someone in a car might see them, so they drove away from the scene, taking Shanda with them.

Laurie drove to an abandoned building off a logging road, and her and Melinda got out of the car with Shanda, while Toni and Hope stayed back. Laurie and Melinda forced Shanda to strip, and Melinda started to punch her with her fists multiple times, and shoved her head to her knee’s multiple times, which caused Shanda’s mouth to be cut from her braces. Melinda then tried to slash Shanda’s throat, but the knife was too dull. Hope later came out of the car, and Melinda and Laurie took turns stabbing Shanda in the chest. They then strangled her, and put her body in the trunk of the car, thinking that she was dead. They all then drove to Laurie’s house to clean themselves up, but heard moaning’s coming from the car, they all realized that Shanda was still alive. Laurie took out a knife and stabbed Shanda again, thinking that she was dead this time. Later, Laurie and Melinda decided to go out for a drive, leaving Hope and Toni. During the ride, Shanda was still in the trunk, crying, and the girls stopped multiple times to stab and hurt her, to insure that she was finally dead. Reports say that Shanda’s eyes were rolled back to her head, and was drenched in her own blood. Meanwhile, Hope and Toni were asleep for a couple of hours, then woke up when Laurie’s father asked them where his daughter was. Hope and Toni both had the chance to tell him about Shanda, but all they said was that Laurie was out driving. Melinda and Laurie returned back to the house after dawn, and they laughed as they described the torture they inflicted on Shanda. Laurie and Melinda insisted that Hope and Toni come to see Shanda’s corpse; however they realised that Shanda was still not dead. Despite refusing to take part in the torture before, Hope surprised everyone by randomly getting Windex and pouring it all over Shanda’s wounds. Hope taunted that Shanda saying “You’re not looking so hot now, are you”. Melinda was allegedly angry at Hope for doing this, calling her a “monster” which is ironic seeing as Melinda had spent the past 6 hours torturing Shanda. Laurie’s mother found them outside and yelled at the girls for staying out late, but did offer them breakfast. Laurie said that they were going out to get a McDonalds. Laurie’s mother didn’t see Shanda.

As they drove, Shanda’s body was still in the trunk. They decided to burn Shanda’s body (who they believed was dead), so they went to a gas station and purchased a 2 litre bottle of Pepsi, then emptied the bottle and filled it with gasoline. They drove to Lemon Road where Laurie, Hope, and Melinda all got out, while Toni remained in the car. They then took out Shanda’s body (wrapped in a blanket), and Hope poured gasoline on Shanda, while Laurie lit a match on Shanda which went up in flames. Shanda was then officially dying, however as they started driving away Melinda looked back and said that she wasn’t burning enough, so they stopped and Melinda set another fire on Shanda. The three girls then left laughing. The girls all then went to Mcdonald’s for breakfast, making jokes saying that the sausages they were eating looked like Shanda’s burned body. Toni phoned a friend and told her about the murder. Laurie dropped off Toni and Hope home, then Laurie and Melinda went to Laurie’s house. Melinda phoned her friend Crystal and also Amanda Heavrin and bragged to them about the murder. Both Amanda and Crystal were reluctant to believe Melinda and Laurie, so Laurie showed them the bloody trunk. Amanda asked to be taken home. When they were at Amanda’s house, Melinda made out with Amanda and told her she loved her. Melinda also pleaded with Amanda not to tell on her, which Amanda promised.

## Aftermath

Shanda’s father was horrified to find his daughter missing and called his ex-wife, Shanda’s mother, who called all of Shanda’s friends to see if Shanda was there. She also called Amanda Heavrin’s father, who said he hadn’t seen Shanda. Two brothers out hunting later discovered Shanda’s burnt remains, but due to the state of her body, they weren’t able to identify who it belonged to. When the Police saw the burnt corpse, they believed it was an adult due to the way the body was.

Shanda’s mother had a feeling Amanda knew more that what she was saying to them. Later that night, Toni came to her senses, and decide to confess to police what she knew. She went on about what happened that night, saying she had information about a murder. But, she didn’t know the victims full name, only saying that her first name was Shanda, and that she was from Clark County. The Sheriff phoned police in Clark County, asking about someone who was reported missing with the first name Shanda, and they later connected the body with Shanda Sharer. Shanda’s family were devastated.

All four girls accepted plea deals to avoid the death penalty. Melinda and Laurie both turned against each other and tried to pin the blame on each other. All four girls were put on trial as adults: Laurie was 17, Melinda was 16, Hope and Toni were 15 when they murdered Shanda. Toni Lawrence was sentenced to 20 years in prison, due to not participating in the torture but also staying with the girls when they were torturing Shanda and not telling Laurie’s father or the Police when she had the chance multiple times, including a time period of 5 hours. Hope Rippey was sentenced to 50 years in prison initially, but her Lawyer managed to get it reduced to 35 years. Both Laurie and Melinda tried and tried to prove themselves innocent, however they were both sentenced to 60 years. Amanda Heavrin, the girl who had started all this by cheating on Melinda, was not punished by the Law, though Shanda’s mother did publicly blame her and to this day believes Amanda should have been on trial as well. Amanda did however get kicked off her Basketball team for her actions.

Toni Lawrence was released in the year 2000, after serving only 9 years in prison, not even half of her sentence. Hope Rippey frequently tried to get her sentence shortened, and was eventually given early release for good behaviour after serving 14 years in prison. Laurie Tackett was given early release in 2018 after serving 26 years in prison rather than 60 years. Melinda Loveless was also given early release in 2019. Many were horrified to know that four murderers got early release, none of them even serving half of their sentences. During her time in prison, Melinda Loveless trained dogs for the disabled. Shanda’s mother, Jacque, donated a puppy named Angel for Melinda to train, because Shanda loved dogs. Shanda’s mother faced some criticism for doing this, but she stated that “ It's my choice to make. She's my child. If you don't let good things come from bad things, nothing gets better. And I know what my child would want. My child would want this." Steven Sharer, Shanda’s father, died in 2005. Shanda’s mother said her ex-husband “drank himself to death” due to depression, having been incredibly distraught over his beloved daughter’s death. Steven Sharer blamed himself for his daughter’s death.

In 2011, Jacque Vaught (Shanda’s mother) and Shanda’s older half-sister, Paije, appeared on Dr. Phil to discuss Shanda’s death. They also met Hope Rippey (who was on parole) and angrily confronted her about the murder. Amanda Heavrin also appeared, however didn’t speak to Jacque or Paije, she was only interviewed. Amanda angered Phil McGraw, the host of Dr.Phil due to her insensitive comments about Shanda and Shanda’s father, saying that Shanda’s father “paid the price” by drinking himself to death. Jacque said that she thinks Amanda is a predator because she was pressuring Shanda into having sex during when Shanda was 11-12 and Amanda was 14-15.

Toni Lawrence has kept herself out of the media and never done an interview. Toni has two children and she identifies as Straight. Hope Rippey has been more open with the media than Toni and has a wife, Hope identifies as Bisexual. Laurie Tackett did an interview while in prison however has stayed out of the public eye. Melinda Loveless has done several interviews while she was in prison and says she regrets killing Shanda and Shanda’s mother donated a puppy for Melinda to train, however she has not gained as much sympathy from the public and keeps private having been released from prison. Amanda Heavrin may not have been imprisoned for her indirect role in Shanda’s death, but she was apparently sent to prison due to domestic violence in 2019.