GREENE COUNTY, Pa. — Deep into Greene County, Pennsylvania, not far from the West Virginia state line, you’ll find rocks painted purple, candles and makeup.
“She’s got enough sunglasses to last her a year,” said Dave Neese, looking at a tree with hundreds of items hung from it, including a picture of his daughter, 16-year-old Skylar.
All of the items were left by people from all over the country, most of whom Neese will never meet. It’s a murder scene turned memorial for Skylar, a teenage girl frozen in time.
“A lot of times, I’ll sit on this bench and stare down the road there,” Neese said. “That smile, I’ll never forget that.”
On the night of July 5, 2012, Skylar snuck out of her bedroom window to meet up with two girls she believed were her best friends, Rachel Shoaf and Shelia Eddy. They brought her to Greene County and killed her, stabbing her 50 times.
“They couldn’t bury her because this ground was nothing but rock. They drug her down behind this tree, laid a bunch of branches and stuff on top of her,” Neese said. “To think what happened here 12 years ago, that’s about as much hate as you can give another person, what those two girls did.”
Shoaf eventually confessed to the murder and led investigators to Skylar’s body. She’s now up for parole for the second time. Eddy, who was found guilty of murder in the first degree, won’t be eligible for parole for another four years. Channel 11 asked Neese what goes through his mind, thinking about the possibility of either of them getting out of prison.
“Hate again. Skylar doesn’t get a second chance, why should they?” Neese said.
Skylar’s story has captured international attention, most recently in the true-crime podcast, “Three,” reaching #1 on Apple and in several countries following its release this year.
“To even see a little bit of wind under Dave’s wings, now that the kind-of right version of the story is coming out, that just means a lot. We’re very touched by that,” said Jason Hoch, ‘Wavland’ CEO & ‘Three’ executive producer.
Neese said the podcast is another way his Skylar lives on, along with pictures, memories, and letters and poems written by friends.
“I will never have the opportunity to walk her down the aisle, as the wedding march plays, and lift her veil to kiss her…” said Neese, reading a poem written by a friend.
He vows to continue to do good by her, finding ladybugs and light in the darkest of times.
“I was sitting there eating my lunch. I’m talking to Skylar, which I do every day. I said, ‘Skylar, am I doing what you want me to do? Am I doing right?’ it wasn’t 10 seconds later, the wind was blowing so hard, there was no way a butterfly could have flown up and landed right on the edge of my lunchbox. I’m like, ‘Okay I got it.’”
Shoaf’s parole hearing is listed as May 1 on the West Virginia Division of Corrections website.
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