Yes, Skylar Neese’s killers are still in jail. Rachel Shoaf and Shelia Eddy are both incarcerated at Lakin Correctional Center in West Columbia, West Virginia, where they have been held since 2014. Shoaf has been denied parole twice and waived her 2025 hearing, but her good-time credit puts her projected release date at April 30, 2028. Eddy, serving a life sentence for first-degree murder, will not even be eligible for her first parole hearing until 2028.
Rachel Shoaf’s Current Status
Shoaf pleaded guilty to second-degree murder on May 1, 2013.1WV MetroNews. Shoaf Plea Agreement Prosecutors recommended 20 years in exchange for her cooperation and for leading police to Neese’s body. Judge Russell Clawges rejected that recommendation and imposed a 30-year sentence with parole eligibility after 10 years. Because she was still a juvenile at sentencing, she was held in a juvenile facility until she turned 18 and was then transferred to adult prison.
She became parole-eligible in 2023. Her first hearing, in May 2023, ended in denial. The West Virginia Parole Board denied her again in July 2024 after roughly 10 minutes of deliberation, citing a recent disciplinary violation and the lack of an acceptable home plan for release. That 2024 hearing had been pushed back multiple times from its original May date because of the unspecified violation.
Shoaf was eligible for another hearing in June 2025 and chose to waive it. Skipping a hearing is not unusual for inmates who read the odds and prefer not to go through the process. Her next opportunity comes in June 2026.
Why She Will Likely Be Out in 2028 Regardless
Shoaf is serving a definite 30-year term, which means she can earn good-time credit against her sentence. Accounting for that accumulated credit, her projected release date is April 30, 2028. That date holds whether or not the parole board ever votes in her favor. If she is denied at every remaining hearing, she still walks out that day.
One qualification applies. West Virginia law for violent felony offenders deducts one year from accumulated good time to create a mandatory post-release supervision period, during which she would be subject to electronic or GPS monitoring.2West Virginia Legislature. West Virginia Code 15A-4-17 Release in 2028 will not mean unsupervised freedom.
Shelia Eddy’s Current Status
Eddy’s path out is much narrower. She pleaded guilty to first-degree murder with mercy on January 24, 2014, and was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 15 years. Under her plea, kidnapping and conspiracy charges were dropped. The “with mercy” designation is what makes her eligible for parole at all; without it, she would die in prison.
She has not yet had a parole hearing and will not be eligible until 2028. Unlike Shoaf, she cannot shorten that wait with good behavior. West Virginia law bars inmates serving life sentences from earning any good-time credit.2West Virginia Legislature. West Virginia Code 15A-4-17 Her only route out is a favorable parole board vote, and that is entirely discretionary. If the board never grants parole, Eddy remains incarcerated for the rest of her life.
Why the Two Sentences Diverged So Sharply
The gap between a projected 2028 release and a possible life behind bars traces back to who talked first. Shoaf confessed and led investigators to Neese’s remains along a rural road in Greene County, Pennsylvania, on January 16, 2013. Without that confession, prosecutors had no body, no physical evidence, and no clear path to conviction. That leverage earned her a second-degree plea. The judge nearly doubled the recommended sentence anyway, which suggests the court still viewed her role as deeply culpable, but second-degree murder in West Virginia carries 10 to 40 years, and parole eligibility came at the 10-year mark.3West Virginia Legislature. West Virginia Code 61-2-1 – First and Second Degree Murder Defined
Eddy, facing trial, took a first-degree plea instead. First-degree murder in West Virginia covers willful, deliberate, and premeditated killings, and the “with mercy” life sentence she received is what preserved any chance of release.3West Virginia Legislature. West Virginia Code 61-2-1 – First and Second Degree Murder Defined
The Neese Family at Every Hearing
Skylar’s father, Dave Neese, has spoken at every stage of the parole process. At Shoaf’s July 2024 hearing, he read a prepared statement calling Shoaf “a malicious monster” and arguing that her crime was “calculated, premeditated and willful.” He told the board that Shoaf had nearly 525,600 minutes to save his daughter’s life and chose to kill her instead. After the denial, he told The Independent, “I hate her with my whole body and soul,” and referred to both Shoaf and Eddy as “dangerous animals” who “belong in cages.”
West Virginia law gives victims’ families substantial standing at these hearings. The prosecuting attorney must prepare a notification form listing immediate family members, and the parole board is required to send notice of any hearing by certified mail at least 45 days in advance. Family members can submit written statements and speak at the hearing. If parole is ever granted, the board must set a release date no earlier than 30 days after the decision and immediately notify the family.
Does the New Parole Law Change Anything?
In 2026, the West Virginia Legislature passed Senate Bill 137, which raised the minimum time murder convicts must serve before parole eligibility. For first-degree murder, the floor rose from 15 years to 25 years. For second-degree, it rose from 10 years to 15 years. The first-degree changes apply only to offenses committed on or after July 1, 2026, so Eddy’s 2028 eligibility is unaffected because her crime occurred in 2012. If the second-degree provisions carry the same prospective limit, Shoaf’s timeline is unchanged as well.
The practical bottom line: barring something unexpected, Shoaf will be released under supervision in April 2028, and Eddy will face her first parole board that same year with no guarantee of a favorable vote and no good-time credit to fall back on. The Neese family has made clear they intend to be present for every proceeding.