They Counted to Three: What Happened to Skylar Neese

In this episode of GBRLIFE Of Crimes, we step into the woods of West Virginia to revisit one of the most chilling betrayals in modern teen crime history—the murder of Skylar Neese. Her killers? Two girls she considered her best friends.

They laughed together. Fought. Forgave. And then… they planned her murder for an entire year.

How does friendship become fatal? What kind of peer pressure turns into premeditated murder? And why did they count to three?

Join me as we explore:

• The complicated friendship triangle of Skylar, Sheila, and Rachel—and how jealousy quietly unraveled their bond.
 • The night Skylar snuck out for the last time, and the moments leading up to her murder.
 • The cover-up, social media clues, and the shocking confessions that followed.
 • The mental health unraveling of Rachel Shoaf, and what really made her crack.
 • What “Skylar’s Law” means, and why it could save lives today.
 • Where Sheila Eddy and Rachel Shoaf are now—and what justice looks like, 14 years later.

This isn’t just a case of “mean girls.” This is a case of manipulation, secrecy, and a crime so senseless it stunned the nation.

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Chapters

• 0:00 A Night of Betrayal
• 4:48 The Toxic Triangle
• 5:56 The Plan Unfolds
• 6:50 The Aftermath of Horror
• 8:07 The Search for Skylar
• 9:28 The Courtroom Revelation
• 10:50 The Psychology of Sheila
• 12:39 Rachel’s Emotional Collapse & Psychology
• 14:31 A Question of Evil

Transcript

0:01

It's just past midnight, in a quiet neighborhood in West Virginia. A teenage girl quietly slips out of her bedroom window. She's careful not to wake her parents. She's not running away. She's meeting up with friends. Two girls she's known most of her life. Girls she's laughed with, fought with, forgiven. The car outside is familiar. The voices calling her name are familiar. For a moment, everything feels like a summer night. But this isn't a late-night joyride. It's a setup. And the girls in the front seat, they've been planning this night for a year. They've brought something sharp. They've rehearsed what to say. And when they lead her into the trees, they know exactly what they're about to do. This is a story of betrayal. Of friendship twisted into something unrecognizable. And the question that still haunts everyone who hears it. Can young girls truly be capable of something this cold? Welcome to GBRLIFE Transmissions. I'm your host, Kaitlyn, and you're listening to GBRLIFE of Crimes, where we explore not just what happened in crimes committed by women, but why they happened and the psychology behind them. Today, we're diving into a case that sounds like it belongs in a horror film, except it actually happened by the hands of Sheila Eddy and Rachel Shoaf. Before the headlines, before the trial, Skylar Neese became a name associated with one of the most disturbing betrayals in modern teenage crime. They were three girls, and they were just that. Girls. The first girl, Sheila Eddy, she was born in September of 1995 in West Virginia. She was the only child of a young mother who adored her, and a father who had suffered brain damage from a car accident when she was two. Her parents divorced a bit later, but she was very well taken care of by her mother, who became an accountant. From the outside, Sheila's life looked shiny because she was charismatic, funny, and she knew how to get what she wanted. Teachers described her as talkative, confident, sometimes a little manipulative. Friends said she was okay. If you got on her bad side, you'd know it. She didn't just ignore people. She could make you feel invisible. Her emotions didn't run deep. Her affections were conditional. And she had an unnerving ability to detach, even as a child. On the other hand, Rachel Schoaf, born in June of 1996, was well-liked because she was just nice to everybody. There was no worry about a bad side. She was the child of divorced parents also, but she didn't seek attention or act out, per se. She was a volunteer and just friendly. Rachel worked hard to appear perfect. Top grades, sweet demeanor, helpful, polite. But inside, she was cracking. She struggled with anxiety, internalized guilt, and an almost desperate need to be accepted by the more well-off kids. She wasn't the kind of girl who made her own decisions. She followed. She adapted. And when she met Sheila, it was like the fire to dry kindling. She was drawn to her confidence, her freedom, her edge. They couldn't have been more different. But that's how these types of pairings usually work. One controls, the other complies. And what they create together is dangerous. Then came Skylar Neese. born February 1996. She was the mutual friend, the link between Sheila and Rachel. Skylar was smart, sarcastic, driven, a straight-A student. She met Sheila first on the summer before third grade at a community center. Their mothers had actually known each other since they were teens, and Rachel became Skylar's friend in the freshman year when they met at school. Quickly becoming part of the duo. Well, now the trio of Skylar, Sheila, and Rachel. For a while, the trio was inseparable. But over time, things shifted. Sheila and Rachel grew close, leaving Skylar out more and more. And this, of course, caused arguments and secrets. There were subtweets, eye rolls, smiles with sharp edges. it got to a point where Skylar was not really spending time with either of the girls who may have had more than a friendship with each other. Clearly, what was once friendship had become a toxic triangle. Behind closed doors, Sheila and Rachel had begun planning something unthinkable. Not in the heat of the moment, calmly, deliberately. Making a list, choosing a location in the woods across state lines. Practicing how they'd do it. They even joked about it, but it became less of a joke when Sheila and Skylar went on their yearly family trip together, clearly trying to work things out since they were friends the longest. But this ended in more arguments than the three of them had ever had, and Sheila telling Rachel after that vacation ended that it was time to act on their plan. So what was the plan exactly? On July 6, 2012, they put their plan into action. Skyler snuck out that night, thinking it was just a hangout, a drive, a summer night of fun with friends, friends who she missed. Maybe this was the night they would all become inseparable, that trio again. But when they got to their planned destination, in the woods, which was not uncommon for the three to head to, they had gone there multiple times before. The chaos and sinister behavior became reality. They told Skylar they forgot something, a lighter, and then they asked her to help look. When Skylar turned around, they counted to three, and then they attacked. Skylar tried to run. She also begged. She even got Sheila in the ankle because she did try to fight, but they didn't stop. No matter what she said or how desperately she pleaded or how hard she fought, it didn't matter to them. They had already decided she wasn't going to make it home. Afterward, the girls calmly walked back to the car, cleaned themselves with items they'd brought, fresh clothes, discarded evidence as they went. Sheila drove them home like it was any other night. Then they went to sleep. The next day, Sheila posted as if nothing had happened, online. She sent tweets, attended schools, even laughed with friends. Rachel did too at first, but inside Rachel was unraveling since it happened, writing in her journal the same night about her remorse of her actions, hoping God would forgive her. The reality of what she had done was sinking in, slowly, painfully. While Sheila carried on unfazed, the mask she wore didn't slip once. The morning after Skylar disappeared, her parents noticed something was off. Her bed hadn't been slept in, and her belongings, including her phone charger and contact lenses, were still in her room. And that wasn't like Skylar. They reported her missing almost immediately, but really, it was after she was a no-show at work, and that was something she never did. But because she was 16 and had snuck out before, authorities initially treated it as a runaway case. It took two days before they really considered this an actual missing person's case. Still, Skylar's parents didn't stop. They canvassed neighborhoods, handed out flyers, and posted online everywhere. As the days turned into weeks, her absence couldn't be ignored. And behind all of it, Sheila was pretending to care while knowing exactly what had happened. It was at this point that Sheila played the role of the grieving best friend. She tweeted and posted tributes she hugged Skylar's mom and Rachel she started to break down the guilt was too much and her mental health declined she was even admitted for treatment after a breakdown it took months of pressure failed polygraphs of Sheila and attempted polygraphs of Rachel along with questioning from the police that would never end but the break came when Rachel was separated from Sheila long enough to stop the manipulation. For her to finally confess. She led police to Skylar's remains in the woods, where they had left her covered with branches in exchange for a plea deal. They didn't find her remains that day, but after searching the area, they ultimately found her body. Rachel pled guilty to second degree murder and was sentenced to 30 years. Eligible for parole after 10. Sheila pleaded guilty to first-degree murder. She received life in prison and the possibility of parole after 15 years. Neither girl spoke at sentencing, and even then, Sheila showed no emotion. She sat there, stoic and expressionless, as if she were watching someone else's trial. No apology, no tears, not even a flicker of guilt, and it was that lack of reaction that sent a chill through everyone in the courtroom. It was the clearest signal of who Sheila Eddy really was. Her ability to compartmentalize, to detach from the horrific reality of her actions, wasn't just disturbing, it was clinical. And this brings us to what lies beneath, the psychology of the girls behind the crime. Sheila Eddy exhibited hallmark traits of psychopathy. Professionals with affective shallowness, the inability to feel or express genuine emotion. Her charm, her social skills, even her apparent concern for Skylar in the days following the murder were all performances. She enjoyed control. She craved attention. And when her dominance in the trio was threatened because of secrets, she responded in the most calculated, remorseless way possible. Since her conviction, Sheila has remained largely silent. She's served over a decade behind bars and has not made any formal public statements of remorse. Unlike Rachel, Sheila has not shown any visible signs of internal conflict or emotional growth either. Psychologists who have analyzed her behavior post-conviction, note her continued emotional detachment and self-focus. She has not been granted parole and currently is still serving her life sentence. In hearings, observers noted the same flat effect and cold demeanor she displayed during the trial. It raises a difficult ongoing question. Is Sheila Eddy simply incapable of true empathy or is she someone who buried her guilt so deeply it will never show on the surface. Rachel Shoaf, on the other hand, unraveled under pressure. Her guilt manifested as breakdowns, anxiety attacks, and ultimately a full confession. At first glance, she seems malleable, somewhat emotionally conflicted, fragile, and desperate for approval. But over time, a more complex picture emerged. Rachel has since been denied parole more than once, with reports suggesting that the weight of what she did still haunts her. Some have suggested she fits the profile of someone with dependent personality traits, shaped by her upbringing and a desperate need to be liked. Others see indicators of borderline personality disorder, A condition marked by emotional instability, black and white thinking, and a fragile sense of identity. Her breakdowns may not have been just guilt. They may have been the collapse of a girl who didn't fully understand who she was outside of her relationships, or what was real until it was too late. Then there was the FBI, who said she likely is a sociopath, because she had no empathy during the planning or participation of the crime. And her cold delivery of the motive. She had stated it was because they just didn't like her anymore, along with her conscious deception during the search for Skylar. But other actions like her extreme guilt, emotional breakdowns, and her eventual voluntary confession show that her emotional instability still point back to borderline personality disorder, because it does often display like a sociopath. Either way, her actions, while unforgivable, raise a difficult question. Was Rachel just a kid swept up in a psychological storm that she wasn't equipped to navigate? Or did she know exactly what she was doing but hoped someone else would carry the blame? One girl planned, the other girl followed, But both crossed a line that they could never return from. So here we are today. Skylar is gone from a betrayal that no one should have to face, let alone at 16. And Skylar's parents are without their daughter because of the very friends they thought she was safe with. So are they evil? Was Sheila born without the ability to feel real connection, which makes her entire friendship with Skylar a lie? Was Rachel just a teenager desperate to be accepted so entangled in emotional chaos that she mistook manipulation for connection and fantasy for reality? Or did society fail them? Were the signs so subtle, or were they glaring, but they were missed by teachers, counselors, and parents? Was the emotional instability, the detachment, the obsession with image and control just brushed off as typical teenage behavior? And if someone had noticed, would it have changed anything? Or are some people simply capable of a kind of cruelty that we don't want to believe lives in girls so young. But that's for you to decide. This has been GBRLIFE of Crimes, part of GBRLIFE Transmissions. I'm Kaitlyn reminding you that understanding the darkness helps us appreciate the light. Join me next time as we uncover another case that challenges everything we thought we knew about the criminal mind.