The Murder of Shanda Sharer

Shanda Sharer was 12 years old on January 11, 1992 when she was brutally tortured and murdered by 4 teenage girls. Join us as we discuss the motive that turned teenage girls into killers and the aftermath of Shanda’s murder.

Shanda Sharer

In 1991, 12-year-old Shanda Sharer had just moved to New Albany, Indiana from Kentucky after her parents divorced. She and her mother Jacque were trying to figure out a new normal, and Shanda was trying to make friends. Shanda met Amanda Hearvin in school and they became close. Amanda told Dr. Phil that Shanda was actually the one to make the first move toward a more romantic relationship.

In October of 1991, Shanda and Amanda attended a school dance together where they ended up running into Amanda’s ex-girlfriend, Melinda Loveless.

Melinda. Was. Pissed,

She began threatening Shanda and talked about killing her to many people. Amanda told Dr. Phil that when Melinda told her about how she was going to kill Shanda, she went to a youth prosecutor and told them about the threats. She also provided them with letters Melinda had written that included threats. She said they mentioned having a meeting with the parents. Amanda told her dad about the threats as well, and he told Shanda’s mother.

Melinda’s bullying had become so bad that Jacque had Shanda transfer from Hazelwood Middle School to Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic School. This move wouldn’t stop Melinda. She decided she had threatened Shanda enough, and it was time to make good on those threats. So on January 10th, 1992, Melinda gathered 3 friends (Hope had actually just met Melinda the night before) and together they bullied, tortured and killed Shanda.

Torture and Murder

On Friday, January 10, 1992, 12-year-old Shanda Sharer was staying the weekend with her father when 2 girls knocked on the door. 15-year-olds, Hope Rippey and Toni Lawrence asked Shanda if she wanted to come out and go for a ride with them to see Amanda Hearvin. Amanda and Shanda had become close since Shanda moved to town and had recently become romantically involved.

Shanda wanted to go, but asked the girls to come back later when her dad was asleep. When Hope and Toni returned, they told Shanda they were going to meet Amanda at the Witch’s Castle – an isolated, abandoned house that had become a hangout spot for teens. Shanda wasn’t aware of it, but there was no meeting with Amanda and she was not alone with Hope and Toni. Hiding under a blanket in the back of the car was 16-year-old Melinda Loveless – Amanda’s ex-girlfriend. Melinda had a knife and a mission for vengeance. Also along for the ride was 17-year-old Laurie Tackett

Melinda came out of her hiding spot and threatened to slit Shanda’s throat if she didn’t confess to stealing Amanda from Melinda. Shanda tried to speak, but the angry teen wouldn’t let her. Melinda didn’t care what Shanda had to say, really. Shanda was taken to the Witch’s Castle where Toni and Hope thought they were going to scare her, but Melinda and Laurie had more extreme plans.

For 7 hours, the girls tortured Shanda.

They took her to a trash dump where Melinda and Laurie stripped her and beat her up. Punching her, kneeing her in the mouth until she was bleeding horribly from her mouth.

Hope and Toni stayed in the car. Melinda tried to slit Shanda’s throat, but the knife was too dull so she stabbed her in the chest. The 2 older girls strangled Shanda with a rope until she passed out, and then they put her in the trunk thinking she was dead.

All four girls then drove back to Laurie’s house to get cleaned up and celebrate by drinking some sodas until they heard Shanda screaming from the trunk. Laurie went back to the trunk and stabbed Shanda more then she and Melinda drove off with Shanda still in the trunk. Melinda and Laurie beat and sodomized Shanda with a tire iron before returning to Laurie’s house. Hope and Toni had been waiting in Laurie’s room not knowing what the others were doing. Laurie’s dad even came in and asked about Laurie, but they didn’t tell him what was really going on.

Melinda and Laurie returned in the morning and gathered up Toni and Hope. They updated the girls on what they had done while they laughed about it all. The four teens went to a gas station and bought a 2-liter of Pepsi. They immediately poured out the soda and replaced it with gasoline. Then they drove to a place they thought would be remote enough that no one would find Shanda. Laurie and Melinda demanded that Hope and Toni get out and see what they had done to Shanda. Toni and Hope refused to get out of the car, but Melinda and Laurie weren’t hearing that. Laurie told Hope to get out of the car and bullied her into pouring gasoline on Shanda.

During all of their arguing, Shanda lay dying and whimpering, “Mommy.”

The girls took her out of the trunk and wrapped her in a blanket. At Laurie’s insistence, Hope was the first to pour gasoline on Shanda.

They lit her on fire and drove off. However, Melinda wanted to make sure Shanda was dead so they went back. Melinda poured more gasoline on Shanda and once she was obviously dead, the group of girls left. They drove to a McDonald’s and got sausage biscuits which they compared to Shanda’s burned body while laughing.

Finding the Body and Arresting the Murderers

On the morning of January 11, 1992, 2 hunters found Shanda’s beaten and burned body. Melinda almost immediately found Amanda (the same day Shanda’s body was found) and told her the whole story. She even showed Amanda the bloody trunk and Shanda’s bloody clothes. Everyone involved had been sworn to secrecy. Amanda claims that she didn’t believe Melinda despite the evidence, so she didn’t immediately tell anyone. She claims she did end up telling her dad.

Toni’s and Hope’s consciences were eating at them so that night they told their parents, and then they all went to the police at the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office. By the next day, all four girls were in custody.

Trials and Aftermath

Melinda, Hope, Laurie, and Toni were all tried as adults, but later accepted plea bargains in order to avoid getting the death penalty.

Toni Lawrence and Hope Rippey received lighter sentences for their participation in the murder. Toni was given 20 years and Hope was given 50 years (35 with parole).

Toni was released in 2000 after serving 9 years.

Hope was released in 2006 after serving 14 years.

Melinda and Laurie both got 60 years.

Dr. Phil did a special on this case and interviewed Hope and Amanda as well as Shanda’s mom, Jacque and sister, Paije.

In Hope’s interview, she explained that she was bullying Shanda that night and thought that that’s all this would be, just fun and games. She talked about how they were all dumb and stupid. They didn’t know what they were doing. Hope said that even when Laurie’s dad checked on them in the room, she didn’t confess everything to him out of fear. She accepts the guilt and blame for her actions and says that she didn’t stop it. She was scared and didn’t know what to do so she didn’t stop them.

Shanda’s family feels that Amanda should have left Shanda alone and that she’s just as culpable as the other 4, because she didn’t do anything to stop it. Amanda says she did try by telling the prosecutor and her dad, who warned Jacque. Shanda’s family also believes that Amanda molested Shanda because Shanda was 12-years-old, and Amanda should have left her alone.

During Amanda’s interview on Dr. Phil, she said that, yes they did have a sexual relationship that was initiated by Shanda. She said that Shanda had already been seeing boys older than her (Amanda), and she didn’t do anything Shanda didn’t want to do.

Amanda also complains about the things she lost after Shanda died. Because of everything, Amanda lost her spot on the basketball team as well as her basketball scholarship. She said that she feels that authorities should have done something sooner since she did alert them or that Shanda’s dad could have done something when they came to the door that night. Amanda also said that she was threatened not to come to Shanda’s funeral.

Laurie Tackett’s mom told Dr. Phil, “My opinion is that they [kill] to feel superior, or high on the victim’s fear, and they’re thirsty for the spill of blood.” She said that Laurie was “destined to kill someone in cold blood and spend the rest of her life in prison.”