Hannah Knapke, a Fort Recovery, Ohio, woman who drove the van used in the January 2020 shooting of Navy veteran Shea Michael Briar, pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in September 2021 and was sentenced to seventeen and a half years, with all but ten years suspended. The Hannah Knapke case ended with her serving ten years in prison followed by seven and a half years of probation, a sharply different outcome from the two co-defendants who were convicted of murder at trial and sentenced to 55 years each.1
Her Role in the Killing
Knapke was 18 and a college freshman at Marshalltown Community College in Iowa, where she was attending on a volleyball scholarship. She had played softball at Fort Recovery High School under head coach Esther Jane “E.J.” Stephen and assistant coach Shelby Hiestand.
On the night of January 11, 2020, Stephen and Hiestand chose Knapke to pick up Briar because she had no known prior connection to him. The group used a van belonging to Knapke’s parents so the vehicle would not be recognized. They called Briar and invited him to “come for a ride.” Knapke drove the three of them, with Briar in the van, to a remote bridge on County Road 125 W in Jay County, Indiana. Stephen walked Briar away from the vehicle to distract him. Hiestand then shot him in the back with a .22-caliber rifle, striking his heart. Knapke was standing near Hiestand at the time of the shooting. Briar was left on the bridge for roughly an hour before being discovered, and died on the operating table.
Knapke was arrested on January 22, 2020, in Iowa. Marshalltown Community College revoked her scholarship, and she was no longer enrolled. She initially denied involvement before confessing to investigators and telling them details about the plan to pick up and kill Briar.
The Plea Agreement
Knapke was originally charged with murder alongside Stephen and Hiestand. On September 29, 2021, she pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter, a Level 2 felony under Indiana law that carries a maximum sentence of 30 years. The plea was entered under an agreement with the Jay County Prosecutor’s Office.
The research does not indicate whether Knapke formally cooperated with prosecutors or testified against her co-defendants as a condition of the deal. Stephen had already been convicted at trial in March 2021, and Hiestand’s jury returned a guilty verdict in August 2021, so both co-defendants’ cases were resolved before Knapke entered her plea.
The Sentence
On November 17, 2021, Jay Circuit Court Judge Brian Hutchison accepted the plea agreement and sentenced Knapke to 17 years and six months, with all but ten years suspended. The structure of the sentence means:
- Ten years of incarceration.
- Seven and a half years of probation to follow.
According to CBS News reporting on the case, the plea deal allowed for Knapke’s potential release as early as July 2026.
After the sentencing, Briar’s family released a statement saying, “Twenty-two months after Shea’s murder justice has been served. Our family is so thankful for the Jay County Prosecutors office, Jay County Sheriff Department, Jay County Circuit Court and the community. Nothing will bring Shea back but we can now try and move forward by sharing his story and helping the community through the Shea Michael Briar Memorial Fund.”
How Her Outcome Compared to Stephen and Hiestand
Stephen, the mother of Briar’s young daughter Adilyn, was tried first. Prosecutors described her as the “ringleader” of the plot. Jay County Prosecutor Wesley Schemenaur told the court, “This was done for her benefit,” and said Briar had been “left to die on the side of the road like an animal.” A jury convicted her of murder, and Judge Hutchison sentenced her to 55 years on May 4, 2021.
Hiestand, who fired the shot, was convicted of murder at a jury trial in August 2021. Her attorney asked for the minimum 45-year sentence, arguing she had been “groomed” by Stephen. Judge Hutchison rejected that argument, telling Hiestand, “You were a tool. You performed the act.” He sentenced her to 55 years on September 24, 2021.
Knapke, whose role was limited to driving the van and being present at the scene, received the reduced voluntary manslaughter charge and a ten-year executed term. Prosecutors presented evidence that Stephen and Hiestand had spent weeks discussing ways to “get rid of” Briar, including an earlier attempt to drug his tea with crushed ibuprofen and a text from Hiestand to Stephen on December 5, 2019, reading, “Nope I’m killing that bastard with my own two hands.” The record does not describe Knapke participating in those earlier discussions.
Who Shea Briar Was
Shea M. Briar was 31 years old. He was born in Indiana, raised in Hawaii, and graduated from the Academy of the Pacific in 2006 with honors. He enlisted in the U.S. Navy, trained as a Master-at-Arms and canine handler, and served at Bangor Base in Washington and overseas in Italy before leaving the military in 2012. He returned to Jay County, Indiana, worked as a heavy equipment operator, and was active at Fairview United Methodist Church and American Legion Post #211 in Portland.
He and Stephen had a daughter, Adilyn. In November 2019, Briar filed court documents seeking to establish paternity, secure custody and parenting time, and change his daughter’s last name. Prosecutors said Stephen viewed that filing as a threat to her control over the child and told Briar he would “be sorry” if he went through with it. Two months later, he was dead.
Where to Learn More
The case was featured in a CBS 48 Hours episode titled “Coached to Kill,” available on Paramount+. The episode includes interviews with Jay County Sheriff’s Detective Ben Schwartz, who described finding Briar on the bridge, and Tracy Hoevel, Briar’s mother. Kristi Sibray, a former police officer and acquaintance of Stephen’s, recounted that Stephen and Hiestand had discussed killing Briar on multiple occasions and that Stephen had said Briar “needed to die.”