1 00:00:12,275 --> 00:00:13,379 LISA: In middle school, 2 00:00:13,379 --> 00:00:18,379 you have a lot of girls that are mean. 3 00:00:18,448 --> 00:00:20,689 NIKKI: She was the ringleader of that group. 4 00:00:20,689 --> 00:00:22,172 That was her gang where she'd go 5 00:00:22,172 --> 00:00:24,068 and feel like she was in charge. 6 00:00:26,000 --> 00:00:28,172 CRAIG: She believes that she had 7 00:00:28,172 --> 00:00:30,551 just walked into her yard. 8 00:00:32,482 --> 00:00:36,482 She's trespassing on her property. 9 00:00:36,551 --> 00:00:40,068 NIKKI: I feel like she wanted that girl to suffer. 10 00:00:40,068 --> 00:00:43,172 I think she did it with the full joy in her heart. 11 00:00:43,172 --> 00:00:47,793 [theme music playing] 12 00:00:52,724 --> 00:00:54,275 [theme music ends] 13 00:00:54,275 --> 00:00:56,551 [eerie music playing] 14 00:01:00,724 --> 00:01:04,482 NIKKI: I remember being fast asleep, and my mother starts 15 00:01:04,551 --> 00:01:07,379 screaming my entire government name. 16 00:01:09,000 --> 00:01:11,586 Usually, that means I'm in a lot of trouble. 17 00:01:11,655 --> 00:01:15,896 So I freak out, come in the living room, and my mom is 18 00:01:15,896 --> 00:01:17,379 just pointing at the TV. 19 00:01:17,448 --> 00:01:20,275 REPORTER: Her cut, beaten, and burned body 20 00:01:20,275 --> 00:01:22,689 was found by hunters on Saturday, 21 00:01:22,689 --> 00:01:25,000 burned beyond recognition. 22 00:01:25,033 --> 00:01:28,275 NIKKI: As we're listening to the news... 23 00:01:28,275 --> 00:01:29,896 REPORTER: Detectives believe the victim 24 00:01:29,896 --> 00:01:32,275 is a young female with possible connection 25 00:01:32,275 --> 00:01:35,000 to a missing girl from Hazelwood Junior High. 26 00:01:35,000 --> 00:01:37,482 NIKKI: My mom fell down in her chair. 27 00:01:37,482 --> 00:01:41,275 She started bawling for this girl and bawling over me, 28 00:01:41,344 --> 00:01:43,172 because my mom knew. 29 00:01:43,241 --> 00:01:48,172 What would they have done to me had I gone? 30 00:01:48,172 --> 00:01:50,241 Like, it would have been me in that place. 31 00:01:56,482 --> 00:01:59,793 In the fall of '91, I started ninth grade at 32 00:01:59,862 --> 00:02:02,137 Hazelwood Junior High School in New Albany, Indiana. 33 00:02:04,689 --> 00:02:09,172 New Albany, Indiana is located at the southern point of 34 00:02:09,172 --> 00:02:13,000 Indiana, just across from Louisville, Kentucky. 35 00:02:13,000 --> 00:02:15,379 NIKKI: Hazelwood Junior High, it started from seventh grade 36 00:02:15,448 --> 00:02:16,793 and went up to ninth grade. 37 00:02:16,793 --> 00:02:20,482 When I was there, youngest was 12 in the seventh grade, 38 00:02:20,482 --> 00:02:22,103 oldest was 17. 39 00:02:22,103 --> 00:02:25,000 You know, people start late, they were a little bit older. 40 00:02:25,000 --> 00:02:27,793 The high school was pretty much right next door to 41 00:02:27,793 --> 00:02:30,793 the junior high school, so we all intermingled a lot. 42 00:02:30,793 --> 00:02:33,689 Younger kids with much older kids. 43 00:02:33,689 --> 00:02:35,551 You get a lot of peer pressure. 44 00:02:37,103 --> 00:02:40,586 I felt like I was only as worthy as the amount of 45 00:02:40,586 --> 00:02:41,896 friends that I had. 46 00:02:45,103 --> 00:02:46,689 Break! 47 00:02:46,689 --> 00:02:48,172 NARRATOR: And just like every other 48 00:02:48,172 --> 00:02:50,000 junior high school in America, 49 00:02:50,034 --> 00:02:53,689 it's the popular girls who rule the school at Hazelwood. 50 00:02:53,689 --> 00:02:55,689 NIKKI: They were little princesses. 51 00:02:55,689 --> 00:02:57,482 They were in the most expensive stuff. 52 00:02:57,482 --> 00:02:59,793 Some of them were pulling up in brand-new Volvos 53 00:02:59,862 --> 00:03:01,172 and things like that. 54 00:03:01,172 --> 00:03:05,000 They were just like the quintessential mean girl, 55 00:03:05,000 --> 00:03:07,379 always bullying me for being different, 56 00:03:07,448 --> 00:03:10,172 because I wanted to wear a trench coat, ride a skateboard, 57 00:03:10,241 --> 00:03:12,965 and that wasn't the thing to do back then. 58 00:03:16,275 --> 00:03:19,482 NARRATOR: But not every girl at Hazelwood wears designer brands 59 00:03:19,482 --> 00:03:21,000 and drives fancy cars. 60 00:03:22,310 --> 00:03:25,172 There's another clique at Hazelwood that rebels against 61 00:03:25,172 --> 00:03:27,689 everything the princesses stand for. 62 00:03:27,689 --> 00:03:32,275 They're the hoodlums, aka the hoods. 63 00:03:32,275 --> 00:03:34,275 CRAIG: The girls that were considered the hood girls 64 00:03:34,275 --> 00:03:36,689 were girls from the other side of the tracks. 65 00:03:36,758 --> 00:03:39,067 They were a little rough around the edges. 66 00:03:39,137 --> 00:03:42,000 They all smoked cigarettes, had sex, 67 00:03:42,000 --> 00:03:43,689 and they all fought. 68 00:03:43,758 --> 00:03:46,586 The hoodlum girls had a lot of attitude. 69 00:03:46,655 --> 00:03:49,586 You know, they were never real feminine. 70 00:03:49,586 --> 00:03:52,793 It was your traditional, you know, Def Leppard shirts 71 00:03:52,793 --> 00:03:54,689 and Kmart Keds. 72 00:03:54,758 --> 00:03:57,793 NARRATOR: Every clique, no matter how different, 73 00:03:57,862 --> 00:03:59,379 has its mean girls. 74 00:03:59,379 --> 00:04:02,793 And there's one hood girl who rules the rest. 75 00:04:02,793 --> 00:04:06,896 The first day at Hazelwood, holy [bleep], 76 00:04:06,965 --> 00:04:10,379 Melinda Loveless is right in front of me. 77 00:04:10,379 --> 00:04:13,172 Now, we're face to face. 78 00:04:13,172 --> 00:04:16,689 This unmatched beauty that she possessed, 79 00:04:16,689 --> 00:04:20,103 the long, brown, curly hair. 80 00:04:20,103 --> 00:04:24,172 She kind of had this sort of '50s greaser 81 00:04:24,172 --> 00:04:25,689 style going on. 82 00:04:25,689 --> 00:04:29,103 She was definitely out of my league. 83 00:04:29,103 --> 00:04:32,482 NARRATOR: Whether hood or not, everyone at Hazelwood 84 00:04:32,551 --> 00:04:34,793 knows Melinda Loveless. 85 00:04:34,793 --> 00:04:39,379 The guys want her, and the girls want to be her. 86 00:04:39,379 --> 00:04:43,034 CRAIG: She wasn't the prom girl, wasn't a cheerleader. 87 00:04:44,310 --> 00:04:48,482 She was running with the kids that were 88 00:04:48,551 --> 00:04:49,896 going against the grain. 89 00:04:49,896 --> 00:04:52,172 She was the ringleader of that group. 90 00:04:52,172 --> 00:04:54,000 That was her gang where she'd go and feel like 91 00:04:54,000 --> 00:04:56,103 she was in charge. 92 00:04:56,103 --> 00:05:00,379 Melinda was still in the ninth grade at age 16. 93 00:05:00,448 --> 00:05:01,793 NIKKI: I don't personally know why 94 00:05:01,862 --> 00:05:03,379 she was held back a grade, 95 00:05:03,448 --> 00:05:06,379 but I feel like Melinda being older, she seemed more 96 00:05:06,379 --> 00:05:07,793 cool than others. 97 00:05:07,793 --> 00:05:09,379 I really liked Melinda. 98 00:05:09,379 --> 00:05:11,586 I definitely wanted to be her friend. 99 00:05:11,586 --> 00:05:14,172 I had one class where I literally sat next to 100 00:05:14,172 --> 00:05:15,482 her the whole year. 101 00:05:15,482 --> 00:05:17,275 She was always pretty quiet. 102 00:05:17,275 --> 00:05:20,586 But Melinda came off as someone who couldn't be bothered 103 00:05:20,586 --> 00:05:23,103 or like everyone was kind of beneath her. 104 00:05:23,103 --> 00:05:26,793 To be her friend, you have to accept that 105 00:05:26,793 --> 00:05:28,586 she's going to be in charge. 106 00:05:28,655 --> 00:05:30,896 If you crossed her, not only were you going to lose her as 107 00:05:30,965 --> 00:05:32,379 a friend, but she would make sure you lost 108 00:05:32,379 --> 00:05:34,172 all of your other friends. 109 00:05:34,241 --> 00:05:37,586 NARRATOR: And Melinda's love life was a constant source of 110 00:05:37,655 --> 00:05:38,862 gossip in the hallways. 111 00:05:41,000 --> 00:05:45,586 Melinda was openly lesbian at a time where that was not 112 00:05:45,655 --> 00:05:49,482 normally accepted in the Midwest. 113 00:05:49,551 --> 00:05:52,689 And so, you know, she had the confidence to be like, 114 00:05:52,689 --> 00:05:55,896 this is who I am, I don't really care what you think. 115 00:05:55,965 --> 00:05:57,482 NARRATOR: There's only one person 116 00:05:57,482 --> 00:06:00,896 at Hazelwood whose opinion matters to Melinda. 117 00:06:00,896 --> 00:06:04,586 CRAIG: The first time I saw Amanda Heavrin, 118 00:06:04,586 --> 00:06:07,689 I had no idea she was a girl. 119 00:06:07,758 --> 00:06:11,172 Short hair, dressed like a boy. 120 00:06:11,172 --> 00:06:17,275 In Podunk, Indiana, you just didn't see a girl 121 00:06:17,275 --> 00:06:20,103 that looked and acted just like a boy. 122 00:06:20,103 --> 00:06:23,379 It was a foreign concept. 123 00:06:23,379 --> 00:06:27,068 Amanda was a jock, and like, 124 00:06:27,068 --> 00:06:28,482 nobody [bleep] with her. 125 00:06:28,482 --> 00:06:32,896 I'd always heard that if she wanted someone, 126 00:06:32,965 --> 00:06:35,137 she didn't back down. 127 00:06:36,793 --> 00:06:39,068 NIKKI: The only other outed lesbian that I was aware 128 00:06:39,068 --> 00:06:40,586 of was Melinda. 129 00:06:40,586 --> 00:06:43,586 I knew in the fall of '91, Amanda and Melinda 130 00:06:43,586 --> 00:06:45,344 were the couple. 131 00:06:50,000 --> 00:06:52,137 Amanda was one of our basketball stars. 132 00:06:54,000 --> 00:06:56,586 And Melinda would wear her Letterman jacket to every 133 00:06:56,586 --> 00:06:57,793 class, every day. 134 00:06:59,000 --> 00:07:02,172 Like, it was serious for some junior high. 135 00:07:05,275 --> 00:07:08,689 GINA: But Amanda and Melinda's relationship was very volatile. 136 00:07:08,758 --> 00:07:11,689 They had this on and off again, 137 00:07:11,758 --> 00:07:13,379 hot and cold relationship. 138 00:07:13,379 --> 00:07:16,793 Melinda Loveless was a 16-year-old ninth grader, 139 00:07:16,793 --> 00:07:20,103 and Amanda Heavrin was a 15-year-old eighth grader. 140 00:07:20,103 --> 00:07:23,586 And so when Amanda was with Melinda, 141 00:07:23,586 --> 00:07:25,689 she was more subservient. 142 00:07:25,689 --> 00:07:29,068 Melinda definitely had this dominant part 143 00:07:29,137 --> 00:07:30,793 in their relationship. 144 00:07:30,793 --> 00:07:33,379 And so Melinda had control of Amanda. 145 00:07:33,379 --> 00:07:36,689 NARRATOR: Or so Melinda thought. 146 00:07:36,689 --> 00:07:40,172 [school bell rings] 147 00:07:40,241 --> 00:07:44,068 GINA: Early in the 1991, 1992 school year, 148 00:07:44,137 --> 00:07:45,758 Melinda gets a detention. 149 00:07:49,896 --> 00:07:53,448 When she walks in the room, she sees Amanda, 150 00:07:55,310 --> 00:07:59,379 but instead of paying attention to her, 151 00:07:59,448 --> 00:08:04,172 she watches as her girlfriend passes notes and giggles 152 00:08:04,241 --> 00:08:07,241 with this other girl right in front of Melinda's eyes. 153 00:08:10,172 --> 00:08:13,000 [school bell rings] 154 00:08:13,000 --> 00:08:16,482 When detention is over, Amanda introduces Melinda 155 00:08:16,482 --> 00:08:18,896 to her new friend, Shanda Sharer. 156 00:08:18,896 --> 00:08:22,068 CRAIG: In the fall of 1991, 157 00:08:22,068 --> 00:08:25,586 Shanda Sharer was a seventh grader and was 158 00:08:25,655 --> 00:08:28,379 a new student at Hazelwood Junior High School. 159 00:08:28,448 --> 00:08:31,689 Before Shanda moved to New Albany, she was living 160 00:08:31,689 --> 00:08:33,068 in Louisville, Kentucky. 161 00:08:33,136 --> 00:08:34,895 JACQUELINE: So I was from New Albany. 162 00:08:34,895 --> 00:08:36,793 My family was all there. 163 00:08:36,793 --> 00:08:39,688 When I got divorced from my husband in Louisville, 164 00:08:39,688 --> 00:08:41,275 that's where I wanted to go back to. 165 00:08:41,344 --> 00:08:45,586 So, that's when I went ahead and enrolled her 166 00:08:45,655 --> 00:08:47,000 in the public school. 167 00:08:47,000 --> 00:08:49,689 And Shanda started going to Hazelwood. 168 00:08:49,689 --> 00:08:53,000 NARRATOR: The transition hasn't been entirely smooth. 169 00:08:53,034 --> 00:08:56,000 A fight in the hallway lands Shanda in detention. 170 00:08:56,034 --> 00:08:59,793 But she comes out with a brand-new friend, 171 00:08:59,793 --> 00:09:01,896 Amanda Heavrin. 172 00:09:01,965 --> 00:09:05,000 JACQUELINE: Amanda was a little older than her. 173 00:09:05,000 --> 00:09:08,068 Shanda thought Amanda was somebody everybody knew and that 174 00:09:08,068 --> 00:09:11,689 that was a way in, you know, to make friends. 175 00:09:11,689 --> 00:09:14,275 NARRATOR: Shanda may think that Amanda's friendship 176 00:09:14,275 --> 00:09:16,448 will get her on the fast track to popularity, 177 00:09:17,896 --> 00:09:21,896 but it will be the biggest mistake of her life. 178 00:09:21,965 --> 00:09:24,793 GINA: Amanda was getting a little bit tired 179 00:09:24,793 --> 00:09:26,586 of being expected to shower 180 00:09:26,655 --> 00:09:31,000 Melinda with attention and love and affection. 181 00:09:31,000 --> 00:09:34,379 She meets Shanda, and she thinks this is a way 182 00:09:34,379 --> 00:09:36,000 she could have more control. 183 00:09:36,034 --> 00:09:38,068 JACQUELINE: I certainly would hope that 184 00:09:38,068 --> 00:09:40,172 Shanda would have stayed away from somebody like Amanda, 185 00:09:40,241 --> 00:09:42,586 but, you know, I guess she 186 00:09:42,586 --> 00:09:45,275 was just really desperate to make friends. 187 00:09:56,000 --> 00:09:58,482 JACQUELINE: When she was in Louisville, 188 00:09:58,482 --> 00:10:00,482 everybody knew Shanda. 189 00:10:00,551 --> 00:10:03,137 She was a big fish in a little pond. 190 00:10:04,206 --> 00:10:08,862 And then I moved her over to Indiana, 191 00:10:10,482 --> 00:10:14,379 and she was going to a school where she didn't know anybody. 192 00:10:14,448 --> 00:10:17,586 When we were in school together, Shanda did hang out 193 00:10:17,586 --> 00:10:21,068 with, you know, the more popular group of kids. 194 00:10:21,068 --> 00:10:24,586 So that's why it was so important for her to be liked. 195 00:10:24,586 --> 00:10:26,586 NARRATOR: And Shanda senses right away 196 00:10:26,586 --> 00:10:28,068 that to be cool at Hazelwood, 197 00:10:28,137 --> 00:10:31,482 it pays to run with the older teens. 198 00:10:31,482 --> 00:10:35,000 Shanda was not happy that she was 12 years old. 199 00:10:35,000 --> 00:10:39,862 She wanted desperately to be 13 and to be able to tell 200 00:10:39,862 --> 00:10:42,000 all the kids at her new school she was a teenager. 201 00:10:42,000 --> 00:10:46,000 She thought that would really help her make friends. 202 00:10:46,000 --> 00:10:48,862 The night before the first day, she tried on 203 00:10:48,862 --> 00:10:50,275 10 different outfits. 204 00:10:50,344 --> 00:10:52,172 She wanted it all to be perfect. 205 00:10:52,172 --> 00:10:56,000 She wanted to have the best clothes and look good 206 00:10:56,000 --> 00:10:59,344 and, you know, look like everybody else. 207 00:11:01,172 --> 00:11:03,275 Shanda had to have the biggest hair. 208 00:11:03,344 --> 00:11:08,068 She used curling irons and then teased it 209 00:11:08,068 --> 00:11:10,000 like crazy. 210 00:11:10,000 --> 00:11:12,931 She really wanted to fit in and to be accepted. 211 00:11:15,103 --> 00:11:18,586 But I think Shanda might've done things that she 212 00:11:18,586 --> 00:11:22,689 might not normally do, to hang out with the popular girls. 213 00:11:23,896 --> 00:11:25,793 NARRATOR: That includes cultivating 214 00:11:25,793 --> 00:11:27,758 her friendship with Amanda, 215 00:11:27,758 --> 00:11:30,068 even if it risks pissing off the meanest 216 00:11:30,068 --> 00:11:32,275 girl in Hazelwood. 217 00:11:32,275 --> 00:11:36,275 When Melinda started to notice that Shanda was getting 218 00:11:36,344 --> 00:11:38,379 close to Amanda, 219 00:11:38,379 --> 00:11:41,862 she wasn't going to have any part of that, 220 00:11:41,931 --> 00:11:43,758 you know, from the very beginning. 221 00:11:44,896 --> 00:11:47,000 She hated Shanda. 222 00:11:47,000 --> 00:11:50,379 GINA: Shanda looked much older than 12 years old. 223 00:11:50,379 --> 00:11:53,793 That is probably why she attracted Amanda Heavrin. 224 00:11:53,793 --> 00:11:57,068 But Melinda most likely felt very threatened by Shanda, 225 00:11:57,068 --> 00:12:00,000 because not only was she losing control, she was losing control 226 00:12:00,000 --> 00:12:02,241 to someone much younger than her. 227 00:12:05,000 --> 00:12:07,103 NARRATOR: Unwilling to lose ground to 228 00:12:07,103 --> 00:12:08,586 a measly seventh grader, 229 00:12:08,655 --> 00:12:11,172 Melinda tightens the already short leash 230 00:12:11,172 --> 00:12:12,827 she keeps Amanda on. 231 00:12:14,000 --> 00:12:16,758 But middle school girls will always find 232 00:12:16,758 --> 00:12:18,068 a way to connect. 233 00:12:20,379 --> 00:12:25,586 On September 13, 1991, Amanda writes a note to Shanda. 234 00:12:25,655 --> 00:12:29,275 "I have a question to ask you. 235 00:12:29,344 --> 00:12:32,448 "Do you kind of, in a way, like girls? 236 00:12:34,586 --> 00:12:37,448 Do you think I'm cute or something?" 237 00:12:42,068 --> 00:12:43,172 Shanda was beautiful. 238 00:12:43,241 --> 00:12:45,758 She was a beautiful, beautiful girl. 239 00:12:45,758 --> 00:12:48,344 And Amanda was attracted to her. 240 00:12:50,896 --> 00:12:54,586 GINA: Amanda's telling her that she thinks she's pretty, really 241 00:12:54,586 --> 00:12:58,586 aggressively throwing out hints that maybe there's more 242 00:12:58,586 --> 00:13:01,862 to their relationship than just friendship. 243 00:13:01,931 --> 00:13:03,793 She liked the compliments and the attention. 244 00:13:03,793 --> 00:13:06,551 I mean, as preteens, we like the attention. 245 00:13:10,172 --> 00:13:12,965 JACQUELINE: I discouraged it from the very beginning. 246 00:13:12,965 --> 00:13:16,172 As Shanda and Amanda's relationship progressed, 247 00:13:16,241 --> 00:13:17,862 there were things Amanda was 248 00:13:17,862 --> 00:13:20,068 encouraging her to do. 249 00:13:20,068 --> 00:13:23,275 It was things like physical contact, like kissing. 250 00:13:23,275 --> 00:13:26,758 She would say, this is what girls at Hazelwood do. 251 00:13:27,896 --> 00:13:31,586 GINA: Amanda Heavrin had a lot of comfort with her sexuality 252 00:13:31,655 --> 00:13:34,482 for such a young age. 253 00:13:34,482 --> 00:13:36,896 JACQUELINE: And being a lesbian is fine with me, 254 00:13:36,896 --> 00:13:38,862 but Shanda was 12. 255 00:13:38,862 --> 00:13:41,655 She wasn't old enough to know her sexuality. 256 00:13:46,103 --> 00:13:49,000 NARRATOR: But one morning, Amanda's luck 257 00:13:49,000 --> 00:13:50,793 juggling Shanda behind 258 00:13:50,793 --> 00:13:53,379 Melinda's back runs out. 259 00:13:53,379 --> 00:13:56,172 NIKKI: When Melinda saw Shanda's name on the folder 260 00:13:56,172 --> 00:13:58,965 and the little love letter, 261 00:14:00,068 --> 00:14:01,379 she imploded. 262 00:14:01,379 --> 00:14:05,482 She was very vocal about how dare Amanda be 263 00:14:05,551 --> 00:14:08,482 exchanging letters with another girl. 264 00:14:08,482 --> 00:14:12,379 Melinda's insecurities were bubbling up inside of her. 265 00:14:12,379 --> 00:14:15,482 Melinda had control of the social circle, but she 266 00:14:15,482 --> 00:14:18,965 feels like because of Shanda, Melinda starts to lose 267 00:14:19,000 --> 00:14:20,344 control of Amanda. 268 00:14:30,793 --> 00:14:32,482 NIKKI: It was seventh period. 269 00:14:32,551 --> 00:14:34,482 I'm coming down from the third floor, 270 00:14:36,103 --> 00:14:39,586 and I see Melinda yelling at Amanda, calling her 271 00:14:39,586 --> 00:14:41,172 a cheater and a liar. 272 00:14:42,793 --> 00:14:45,965 Melinda's just losing her [bleep]. 273 00:14:45,965 --> 00:14:48,379 She's screaming, she's yelling, 274 00:14:48,379 --> 00:14:50,379 "Can't believe you did this to me." 275 00:14:50,379 --> 00:14:53,172 And then here goes Melinda, taking this jacket off 276 00:14:53,172 --> 00:14:55,172 and throws it at her. 277 00:14:55,172 --> 00:14:56,758 Melinda was spiraling. 278 00:14:58,758 --> 00:15:00,965 I just looked at Amanda, and I'm like, "Are you okay?" 279 00:15:01,000 --> 00:15:02,862 And she's like, "Yeah, this is crazy. 280 00:15:02,862 --> 00:15:04,758 I'm done." 281 00:15:04,758 --> 00:15:07,689 And she picks up her coat, and she walks on her own. 282 00:15:07,689 --> 00:15:10,068 She don't say nothing else. 283 00:15:10,137 --> 00:15:12,965 Obviously, Melinda and Amanda's relationship was 284 00:15:12,965 --> 00:15:14,793 over after that. 285 00:15:14,793 --> 00:15:18,172 NARRATOR: But Melinda Loveless isn't one to just get mad. 286 00:15:18,172 --> 00:15:20,689 She also gets even. 287 00:15:20,758 --> 00:15:22,896 I'm sitting next to Melinda the whole class, 288 00:15:22,896 --> 00:15:24,379 and she's fuming. 289 00:15:24,379 --> 00:15:26,965 She won't quit talking about wanting to beat this girl up, 290 00:15:27,000 --> 00:15:28,896 Shanda. 291 00:15:28,896 --> 00:15:30,896 I told her to calm down. 292 00:15:30,896 --> 00:15:32,379 Melinda was 16. 293 00:15:32,379 --> 00:15:34,379 I'm like, I know you're not upset with this little 294 00:15:34,379 --> 00:15:37,482 12-year-old little girl over a relationship that you were 295 00:15:37,482 --> 00:15:39,103 having in junior high school. 296 00:15:39,103 --> 00:15:41,103 Let's get a grip, you know? 297 00:15:41,103 --> 00:15:44,586 And she's like, "No, you're right, you're right." 298 00:15:44,586 --> 00:15:47,586 I felt like she took me seriously, and I talked 299 00:15:47,586 --> 00:15:49,172 some sense into her. 300 00:15:56,310 --> 00:15:59,068 Our school dances were pretty live. 301 00:15:59,137 --> 00:16:01,068 A lot of music, a lot of dancing, 302 00:16:01,068 --> 00:16:02,689 a lot of intermingling. 303 00:16:02,689 --> 00:16:04,275 They were fun. 304 00:16:04,344 --> 00:16:08,586 Amanda had asked Shanda to go to the dance at school, 305 00:16:08,586 --> 00:16:10,586 and they went together. 306 00:16:10,586 --> 00:16:13,172 NARRATOR: Amanda knows she's starting some drama 307 00:16:13,241 --> 00:16:15,068 by showing up at the dance with Shanda. 308 00:16:18,379 --> 00:16:20,758 GINA: A friend of Melinda's calls her and tells her 309 00:16:20,827 --> 00:16:23,965 that Amanda is not only at the dance, but she's at 310 00:16:24,000 --> 00:16:25,862 the dance with Shanda. 311 00:16:25,862 --> 00:16:29,172 CRAIG: Even though she and Amanda broke up, 312 00:16:29,241 --> 00:16:32,275 Melinda was possessive over Amanda. 313 00:16:32,275 --> 00:16:35,862 To Melinda, Shanda just walked into her yard, 314 00:16:35,931 --> 00:16:37,379 so to speak. 315 00:16:37,379 --> 00:16:40,137 She's trespassing on her property. 316 00:16:41,103 --> 00:16:42,862 NIKKI: That's just straight crazy. 317 00:16:42,862 --> 00:16:45,275 But that's how Melinda thought it to be. 318 00:16:45,275 --> 00:16:49,586 CRAIG: It's not a long distance from the front door of 319 00:16:49,586 --> 00:16:53,103 Melinda's house through the cemetery to 320 00:16:53,103 --> 00:16:54,965 the entrance to the gymnasium. 321 00:16:54,965 --> 00:16:59,344 We're talking maybe 300, 400 yards, maybe. 322 00:17:07,275 --> 00:17:11,172 I saw Melinda moving with a head of steam, 323 00:17:11,172 --> 00:17:14,550 and then Melinda snuck up on Shanda. 324 00:17:17,275 --> 00:17:19,758 I can just remember being like, oh, [bleep]. 325 00:17:27,689 --> 00:17:29,689 I was off in the corner with a whole other group of friends 326 00:17:29,689 --> 00:17:30,758 doing dance-offs. 327 00:17:30,827 --> 00:17:32,379 I was in my zone. 328 00:17:32,379 --> 00:17:34,689 I heard commotion, and I just saw the crowds of people 329 00:17:34,689 --> 00:17:37,448 forming, and we went looking around to see 330 00:17:37,517 --> 00:17:39,965 who it was, because we love the drama. 331 00:17:40,000 --> 00:17:44,103 Shanda was ambushed by Melinda, and then she just 332 00:17:44,103 --> 00:17:46,344 started beating on her in front of Amanda. 333 00:17:49,103 --> 00:17:54,137 But Amanda did not do anything to intervene. 334 00:17:54,137 --> 00:17:59,068 In my opinion, I think Amanda was like, hell yeah. 335 00:17:59,068 --> 00:18:01,275 Well, I got two cute girls fighting over me. 336 00:18:01,275 --> 00:18:07,448 Watching Melinda get upset and throw punches over her made 337 00:18:07,517 --> 00:18:10,724 Amanda feel important, powerful, and in control. 338 00:18:12,000 --> 00:18:16,275 Melinda leaves Shanda disheveled, upset, crying, 339 00:18:16,275 --> 00:18:19,137 and tells her to stay away from Amanda. 340 00:18:19,137 --> 00:18:23,172 NARRATOR: Melinda's beatdown and Amanda's betrayal at 341 00:18:23,172 --> 00:18:25,862 the dance leaves Shanda broken. 342 00:18:30,379 --> 00:18:32,689 JACQUELINE: It was a day and night change. 343 00:18:32,689 --> 00:18:34,344 Shanda didn't talk to me a lot anymore. 344 00:18:34,344 --> 00:18:36,758 She'd come home, and she'd go to her room. 345 00:18:36,827 --> 00:18:41,896 She didn't dress up, and she wore, like, baggy clothes. 346 00:18:41,896 --> 00:18:44,241 That wasn't her. 347 00:18:44,310 --> 00:18:47,586 When I saw that, that's when I knew things were bad. 348 00:18:47,586 --> 00:18:49,655 And I know there's a lot of parents that think children 349 00:18:49,655 --> 00:18:53,379 have a right to their privacy and all that, but they don't. 350 00:18:53,379 --> 00:18:56,103 I have every right to look in their room, 351 00:18:57,482 --> 00:18:59,137 to go into their diary. 352 00:18:59,137 --> 00:19:01,551 I thought that Shanda was not having anything 353 00:19:01,620 --> 00:19:03,034 to do with Amanda. 354 00:19:03,034 --> 00:19:06,655 And then I found a lot of letters that Amanda had 355 00:19:06,655 --> 00:19:08,965 written after the dance. 356 00:19:11,379 --> 00:19:13,689 NARRATOR: Despite the beatdown at the dance, 357 00:19:13,689 --> 00:19:16,965 Amanda Heavrin just can't quit Shanda Sharer 358 00:19:16,965 --> 00:19:19,137 and tries to win her back. 359 00:19:19,137 --> 00:19:21,241 JACQUELINE: Amanda was giving her compliments 360 00:19:21,310 --> 00:19:23,000 and telling her she was sorry. 361 00:19:23,000 --> 00:19:25,482 Shanda had even made comments to people that she wishes 362 00:19:25,482 --> 00:19:27,241 Amanda would just leave her alone. 363 00:19:28,482 --> 00:19:32,241 And there was a letter Shanda had wrote to Amanda. 364 00:19:32,310 --> 00:19:38,034 When I read that letter, I knew how dire the situation 365 00:19:38,034 --> 00:19:39,379 was with Shanda. 366 00:19:39,379 --> 00:19:42,344 There had been sexual contact between her and Amanda. 367 00:19:45,758 --> 00:19:49,000 I knew she was unhappy, and that's when I found out 368 00:19:49,000 --> 00:19:50,862 how ashamed she was of herself. 369 00:19:50,931 --> 00:19:55,000 She was so conflicted whether or not 370 00:19:55,000 --> 00:19:56,379 she was a lesbian. 371 00:19:56,379 --> 00:19:59,551 It just broke my heart, because she was 12 years old. 372 00:20:01,379 --> 00:20:05,000 LISA: The situation with Amanda was toxic, so Shanda's mom 373 00:20:05,000 --> 00:20:09,241 decided to move her to another school to start fresh. 374 00:20:09,310 --> 00:20:11,344 Shanda left Hazelwood, and I put her in 375 00:20:11,344 --> 00:20:12,655 Our Lady of Perpetual Help. 376 00:20:17,172 --> 00:20:21,448 NARRATOR: By Christmas 1991, Shanda manages to tune out 377 00:20:21,517 --> 00:20:25,241 Amanda's continued advances and seems to be bouncing back 378 00:20:25,310 --> 00:20:29,137 to her former self at her new Catholic school. 379 00:20:29,137 --> 00:20:32,137 Now she's in an environment that's indicative to kids 380 00:20:32,137 --> 00:20:33,965 acting like kids. 381 00:20:34,000 --> 00:20:38,172 That was like her safe space away from the hoodlums, 382 00:20:38,172 --> 00:20:41,241 especially Melinda and Amanda. 383 00:20:41,310 --> 00:20:43,551 JACQUELINE: I think she still was ashamed, 384 00:20:43,620 --> 00:20:46,344 but she was happy again. 385 00:20:46,344 --> 00:20:47,965 She had made new friends. 386 00:20:47,965 --> 00:20:51,275 She was kind of getting back to where 387 00:20:51,275 --> 00:20:52,793 she had been before. 388 00:20:52,793 --> 00:20:56,344 She started to prosper, and her grades came up. 389 00:21:04,344 --> 00:21:07,103 NARRATOR: The new year marks a fresh start for Shanda, 390 00:21:07,103 --> 00:21:09,068 but back at Hazelwood, 391 00:21:09,068 --> 00:21:12,000 Melinda is still living in the drama. 392 00:21:12,000 --> 00:21:15,275 Turns out beating up a 12-year-old is a bad look, 393 00:21:15,275 --> 00:21:18,758 and Queen Bee Melinda has fallen from her throne. 394 00:21:18,758 --> 00:21:21,862 CRAIG: If Melinda would have tried to recruit some girls from 395 00:21:21,931 --> 00:21:24,344 Hazelwood, they would have looked at her 396 00:21:24,413 --> 00:21:26,655 like she's got three heads. 397 00:21:26,655 --> 00:21:30,551 So she had to look for the backing, 398 00:21:30,620 --> 00:21:33,000 if you will, from other areas. 399 00:21:33,000 --> 00:21:35,689 We were going up to the skate park in Louisville, 400 00:21:35,689 --> 00:21:37,448 like, every weekend. 401 00:21:37,448 --> 00:21:40,689 Melinda used to hang out at the skate park. 402 00:21:40,689 --> 00:21:46,172 Skateboarders, in general, are really accepting of 403 00:21:46,172 --> 00:21:47,862 the different kids. 404 00:21:47,931 --> 00:21:51,551 So a lot of the hoods would hang out at the skate park. 405 00:21:53,758 --> 00:21:57,655 GINA: Melinda met Laurie Tackett through mutual friends. 406 00:21:57,655 --> 00:22:02,034 Laurie is a 17-year-old girl from Madison, Indiana. 407 00:22:02,034 --> 00:22:05,655 And she was a student at Madison High School 408 00:22:05,724 --> 00:22:07,448 before she dropped out of school. 409 00:22:07,517 --> 00:22:10,068 And she moves to Louisville. 410 00:22:11,586 --> 00:22:14,793 If Laurie had been a student at Hazelwood Junior High, she very 411 00:22:14,793 --> 00:22:17,034 much would have been part of the hood's clique. 412 00:22:17,034 --> 00:22:20,793 She was the daughter of fundamentalist Christians, 413 00:22:20,793 --> 00:22:23,655 and she becomes obsessed with things that are the absolute 414 00:22:23,724 --> 00:22:27,448 opposite of what her parents are trying to instill in her. 415 00:22:27,517 --> 00:22:33,068 She had a fascination with death in and of itself, 416 00:22:33,068 --> 00:22:37,241 the occult, witchcraft, very dark things of that nature. 417 00:22:38,689 --> 00:22:42,275 She suffered from wanting to fit in just as much 418 00:22:42,275 --> 00:22:46,103 as any other teenage kid, except for she's a lost soul. 419 00:22:46,103 --> 00:22:49,068 So she's willing to do whatever just so she could be 420 00:22:49,068 --> 00:22:50,448 called Melinda's friend. 421 00:22:52,379 --> 00:22:55,551 GINA: January of 1992, 422 00:22:55,551 --> 00:22:59,655 Melinda starts to confide in Laurie that she was very 423 00:22:59,724 --> 00:23:02,655 unhappy and angry about Amanda. 424 00:23:02,655 --> 00:23:06,068 Amanda was trying to get back with Melinda and in 425 00:23:06,068 --> 00:23:07,896 Melinda's good graces. 426 00:23:07,896 --> 00:23:12,655 Amanda leads Melinda to believe that she is the only person 427 00:23:12,655 --> 00:23:14,103 she wants to be with. 428 00:23:14,103 --> 00:23:17,551 But then her actions totally contradict that, 429 00:23:17,551 --> 00:23:21,000 because at the same time, she's doing things to make 430 00:23:21,000 --> 00:23:23,862 Melinda jealous and to keep some control in 431 00:23:23,862 --> 00:23:26,758 that relationship dynamic. 432 00:23:26,827 --> 00:23:29,965 JACQUELINE: Even months after Shanda left Hazelwood, 433 00:23:29,965 --> 00:23:34,137 Amanda was still taunting Melinda with Shanda. 434 00:23:34,137 --> 00:23:37,793 Melinda was obsessed with Amanda Heavrin, 435 00:23:37,793 --> 00:23:40,275 and she couldn't let go of that jealousy. 436 00:23:40,275 --> 00:23:44,344 Melinda has to figure out now how to either move on 437 00:23:44,344 --> 00:23:46,482 or how to get her control and power back. 438 00:23:46,482 --> 00:23:50,344 And I think for Laurie, seeing how angry Melinda was, 439 00:23:50,344 --> 00:23:52,000 it sort of excited her. 440 00:23:52,000 --> 00:23:55,862 So she encouraged Melinda to get more 441 00:23:55,862 --> 00:23:57,275 and more worked up. 442 00:23:57,275 --> 00:24:00,689 And Melinda chooses to get her power back over Amanda, 443 00:24:00,689 --> 00:24:02,344 however she can. 444 00:24:02,344 --> 00:24:05,586 She wanted somebody to help egg her on, and she found that 445 00:24:05,586 --> 00:24:06,827 in Laurie Tackett. 446 00:24:12,655 --> 00:24:16,965 That Saturday morning, on the 11th, an officer who 447 00:24:16,965 --> 00:24:19,758 worked for the Jefferson County Sheriff's Department 448 00:24:19,827 --> 00:24:22,689 received a call about a possible homicide, 449 00:24:22,689 --> 00:24:25,655 12, 14 miles from Madison. 450 00:24:25,655 --> 00:24:29,965 So we drove out, and we talked to 451 00:24:30,000 --> 00:24:33,137 two hunters who'd been out hunting that morning, 452 00:24:33,137 --> 00:24:35,965 and they saw the body. 453 00:24:37,586 --> 00:24:41,655 The victim appeared to be a young female, and her body 454 00:24:41,724 --> 00:24:44,241 was severely burned. 455 00:24:44,310 --> 00:24:47,793 Not every day that you would see a body, you know, 456 00:24:47,793 --> 00:24:49,275 badly burned like that. 457 00:24:49,275 --> 00:24:50,655 So it's just... 458 00:24:51,689 --> 00:24:53,724 it was really horrible. 459 00:24:56,689 --> 00:24:58,448 Who is this person? 460 00:25:02,172 --> 00:25:04,931 [sirens wailing] 461 00:25:08,689 --> 00:25:11,000 CURTIS: We went up to the body on Lemon Road. 462 00:25:11,000 --> 00:25:16,000 And she looked maybe 17, 18 years old. 463 00:25:16,000 --> 00:25:19,896 We had to wonder, why would somebody do this 464 00:25:19,896 --> 00:25:21,586 and then leave her out in the wide open? 465 00:25:21,586 --> 00:25:24,689 Because if they'd just went a few more yards, they 466 00:25:24,689 --> 00:25:26,896 could have placed her in the woods, and she may have 467 00:25:26,896 --> 00:25:28,965 been there till next winter. 468 00:25:29,000 --> 00:25:32,448 I saw that it appeared she was wrapped in some 469 00:25:32,517 --> 00:25:36,137 type of blanket -- it was red in color. 470 00:25:36,137 --> 00:25:39,241 You could see the blanket had melted. 471 00:25:40,758 --> 00:25:44,000 And we did find a plastic two-liter bottle 472 00:25:44,000 --> 00:25:47,310 you could smell gasoline had been in. 473 00:25:56,689 --> 00:25:58,793 We've been out at the crime scene all day, 474 00:25:58,793 --> 00:26:02,586 and the sheriff says, "Let's go. Let's go. 475 00:26:02,586 --> 00:26:04,896 "We got somebody down there at the jail, waiting, 476 00:26:04,896 --> 00:26:10,241 that knows something about a murder in Jefferson County." 477 00:26:10,241 --> 00:26:13,793 We find that a mother and father had come in with their daughter 478 00:26:13,793 --> 00:26:16,965 who says that she knows something about a murder. 479 00:26:20,137 --> 00:26:21,758 NARRATOR: The girl is 15-year-old 480 00:26:21,827 --> 00:26:24,241 Madison High School student, Toni Lawrence. 481 00:26:24,241 --> 00:26:28,000 The petite sophomore looks like the last person 482 00:26:28,000 --> 00:26:29,758 who would have intel on a murder. 483 00:26:29,827 --> 00:26:32,655 CURTIS: She seemed to be crying a lot. 484 00:26:32,724 --> 00:26:36,793 She seemed to be a little bit unhinged. 485 00:26:36,793 --> 00:26:40,965 So detectives went to the room to interview her, 486 00:26:41,000 --> 00:26:42,448 to hear what she has to say. 487 00:26:44,275 --> 00:26:48,000 Toni tells detectives that on the night of January 10, 488 00:26:48,000 --> 00:26:52,482 1992, her best friend, Hope Rippey, another student at 489 00:26:52,482 --> 00:26:55,793 Madison High School, asked her to go with her and some 490 00:26:55,793 --> 00:26:58,551 other friends to a concert in Louisville, 491 00:26:58,551 --> 00:27:01,551 about an hour from Madison, Indiana. 492 00:27:04,862 --> 00:27:08,137 Hope and Toni are picked up by Hope's 493 00:27:08,137 --> 00:27:09,862 friend, Laurie Tackett. 494 00:27:09,862 --> 00:27:13,482 When Toni gets in the car, Laurie tells her, "We're gonna 495 00:27:13,482 --> 00:27:15,034 kill a little girl tonight." 496 00:27:17,689 --> 00:27:21,000 Toni tells detectives that she really didn't believe that 497 00:27:21,000 --> 00:27:23,000 that was going to happen. 498 00:27:23,000 --> 00:27:26,655 She thought that they were maybe going to beat up a girl. 499 00:27:26,724 --> 00:27:31,241 But Toni wanted to be with her friends and be accepted, so she 500 00:27:31,241 --> 00:27:33,655 just kind of goes along for the ride. 501 00:27:35,034 --> 00:27:38,551 The three girls drive for about an hour to 502 00:27:38,551 --> 00:27:43,103 the skate park that Melinda and Laurie hang out at frequently. 503 00:27:44,689 --> 00:27:47,137 When Melinda gets there, the whole 504 00:27:47,137 --> 00:27:49,000 atmosphere changes. 505 00:27:49,000 --> 00:27:51,655 She has a very dominating presence. 506 00:27:51,724 --> 00:27:55,551 She is angry, and she has a butcher knife. 507 00:27:57,172 --> 00:28:01,448 Melinda is stating what she is going to do to get 508 00:28:01,448 --> 00:28:03,241 back at Amanda. 509 00:28:04,896 --> 00:28:09,103 GINA: Immediately, Melinda is calling the shots, telling 510 00:28:09,103 --> 00:28:10,965 them where to go and what they're going to do. 511 00:28:10,965 --> 00:28:13,448 And the girls just kind of comply. 512 00:28:13,448 --> 00:28:16,241 They go along with whatever she says. 513 00:28:16,310 --> 00:28:20,068 And Hope and Toni are instantly intimidated by her, even though 514 00:28:20,068 --> 00:28:22,758 they've never met her before. 515 00:28:22,827 --> 00:28:26,965 She directs Laurie to drive to a house in New Albany. 516 00:28:29,379 --> 00:28:34,034 They show up at this small but cute, well-kept house. 517 00:28:34,034 --> 00:28:37,103 Melinda tells Toni and Hope, "You go up 518 00:28:37,103 --> 00:28:38,344 and knock at the door." 519 00:28:42,068 --> 00:28:44,862 They asked if they could talk to Shanda. 520 00:28:46,137 --> 00:28:49,379 There's Shanda standing right here. 521 00:28:49,379 --> 00:28:51,448 They didn't even recognize her, because they'd never 522 00:28:51,517 --> 00:28:53,000 met her before. 523 00:28:53,000 --> 00:28:56,034 They told her that Amanda wanted to see her 524 00:28:56,034 --> 00:29:00,068 and was waiting for her at the Witch's Castle. 525 00:29:05,172 --> 00:29:07,344 NIKKI: Witch's Castle is very well known. 526 00:29:07,413 --> 00:29:09,862 It was kind of like the spooky place to go. 527 00:29:11,034 --> 00:29:13,758 It was just this old run-down structure in 528 00:29:13,758 --> 00:29:15,172 the back part of the woods. 529 00:29:16,137 --> 00:29:18,793 I was too chicken to go in there, because I was 530 00:29:18,793 --> 00:29:20,448 petrified of the spirit realm. 531 00:29:20,448 --> 00:29:22,137 But all my other friends would. 532 00:29:22,137 --> 00:29:24,551 They'd smoke weed and hang out. 533 00:29:26,793 --> 00:29:30,586 LISA: Shanda explained to Toni and Hope that she couldn't come 534 00:29:30,586 --> 00:29:34,896 right now, but said, okay, come back later. 535 00:29:34,896 --> 00:29:38,551 I think that Shanda thought nothing of it, and she hadn't 536 00:29:38,551 --> 00:29:40,241 seen Amanda in a while. 537 00:29:40,241 --> 00:29:44,965 She just wanted to see what Amanda had to say to her. 538 00:29:45,000 --> 00:29:47,862 Hope and Toni go back to the car, and they tell Melinda 539 00:29:47,862 --> 00:29:51,862 and Laurie they should come back later after Shanda's dad 540 00:29:51,862 --> 00:29:53,310 and stepmom go to sleep. 541 00:29:56,482 --> 00:30:00,103 The whole house is dark, except there's somebody 542 00:30:00,103 --> 00:30:01,965 watching television in the living room. 543 00:30:03,000 --> 00:30:07,000 This time, Laurie goes with Hope up to the door. 544 00:30:07,000 --> 00:30:11,655 They knock very softly, and Shanda comes to the door. 545 00:30:11,655 --> 00:30:15,448 Shanda remembers Hope from earlier in the evening. 546 00:30:16,689 --> 00:30:20,068 They said to her, "Amanda is in the car, 547 00:30:20,068 --> 00:30:21,620 and she's right at the end of the driveway." 548 00:30:23,275 --> 00:30:26,413 She walked down to the car from her dad's house. 549 00:30:28,275 --> 00:30:30,034 It was January 11th. 550 00:30:30,034 --> 00:30:34,655 It was extremely cold, frigid night. 551 00:30:34,655 --> 00:30:37,862 Her purse, her coat, everything was 552 00:30:37,862 --> 00:30:39,655 still in the house. 553 00:30:39,655 --> 00:30:41,482 And I can tell you, she wouldn't have left without her 554 00:30:41,482 --> 00:30:43,758 purse because she didn't go anywhere without her purse. 555 00:30:43,827 --> 00:30:48,551 I think that she went to that car out of 556 00:30:48,620 --> 00:30:52,241 curiosity, just to see what Amanda had to say to her. 557 00:30:53,379 --> 00:30:54,965 Shanda had never snuck out. 558 00:30:54,965 --> 00:30:57,241 She hadn't progressed to all that. 559 00:30:57,241 --> 00:31:01,000 But, you know, a lot of us get in trouble 560 00:31:01,000 --> 00:31:02,448 when we're curious. 561 00:31:05,379 --> 00:31:08,689 NARRATOR: Whether forced or willing, once in the car, 562 00:31:08,689 --> 00:31:11,068 there's no sign of Amanda. 563 00:31:11,068 --> 00:31:14,172 GINA: She asked the other girls where Amanda is. 564 00:31:14,172 --> 00:31:18,758 Amanda's not with them, but Melinda is. 565 00:31:31,068 --> 00:31:35,758 CURTIS: Toni said that the victim is from Jeffersonville, 566 00:31:35,827 --> 00:31:37,862 and she knew that her name was Shanda. 567 00:31:37,862 --> 00:31:40,862 And so I called the Clark County Police 568 00:31:40,862 --> 00:31:44,000 Department, and I said, "Did you take a missing persons report?" 569 00:31:44,000 --> 00:31:46,344 And they said, "Yes, I did." 570 00:31:46,344 --> 00:31:48,103 NARRATOR: Earlier that day, 571 00:31:48,103 --> 00:31:50,137 Shanda's parents had reported her 572 00:31:50,137 --> 00:31:53,344 missing to the Indiana State Police. 573 00:31:53,413 --> 00:31:55,655 CURTIS: Now I had her identified. 574 00:31:57,551 --> 00:32:00,379 We go out to where Shanda lived at, 575 00:32:00,379 --> 00:32:02,620 and we examine her home. 576 00:32:05,000 --> 00:32:08,000 I was able to get fingerprints that belonged 577 00:32:08,000 --> 00:32:12,310 to her, and Jackie Vaught gave me Shanda's dental records. 578 00:32:13,793 --> 00:32:16,758 NARRATOR: While Shanda's parents desperately wait for news, 579 00:32:16,758 --> 00:32:19,862 the autopsy results from the burned body in Madison 580 00:32:19,931 --> 00:32:21,448 come back. 581 00:32:23,758 --> 00:32:26,448 Her fingerprints and the dental records 582 00:32:26,448 --> 00:32:28,551 positively established 583 00:32:28,551 --> 00:32:32,758 the body at the scene was Shanda Sharer. 584 00:32:39,000 --> 00:32:40,758 JACQUELINE: It was late when the state police officer 585 00:32:40,758 --> 00:32:42,965 sat down at the table, and he just said, 586 00:32:42,965 --> 00:32:45,344 "Your daughter is gone." 587 00:32:45,344 --> 00:32:47,896 And I looked at him, and I said, 588 00:32:47,896 --> 00:32:49,103 "What do you mean, she's gone?" 589 00:32:49,103 --> 00:32:50,448 And he said, "She's dead." 590 00:32:55,379 --> 00:32:57,862 I just started crying, screaming. 591 00:32:57,862 --> 00:32:59,448 I was in shock. 592 00:33:01,689 --> 00:33:07,551 But then when they add to it by teenage girls, you just hope 593 00:33:07,620 --> 00:33:09,793 you're having a nightmare. 594 00:33:09,793 --> 00:33:11,448 They were kids. 595 00:33:11,517 --> 00:33:13,448 They didn't look like murderers. 596 00:33:13,448 --> 00:33:17,068 People think murderers have the word monster written 597 00:33:17,068 --> 00:33:18,448 across their forehead. 598 00:33:18,448 --> 00:33:21,758 But bad people can be people that look 599 00:33:21,827 --> 00:33:23,758 exactly like you. 600 00:33:23,827 --> 00:33:27,758 Why would Shanda be scared to open a door to another kid? 601 00:33:27,758 --> 00:33:30,655 This cannot be reality. 602 00:33:30,724 --> 00:33:33,241 It's just horrendous. 603 00:33:38,034 --> 00:33:42,586 CURTIS: Toni Lawrence said she and Hope Rippey, 604 00:33:42,586 --> 00:33:47,344 Laurie Tackett, and, of course, Melinda Loveless, drive 605 00:33:47,413 --> 00:33:51,000 Shanda out to Witch's Castle in Utica. 606 00:33:52,758 --> 00:33:56,965 While on that property, Laurie Tackett takes part of Shanda's 607 00:33:57,000 --> 00:34:01,448 clothing, and she sets it on fire, turns and looks 608 00:34:01,517 --> 00:34:04,241 at Shanda, and says, "Before the night's over, 609 00:34:04,310 --> 00:34:06,758 that's what's gonna happen to you." 610 00:34:08,103 --> 00:34:12,551 Shanda was so terrified and so scared. 611 00:34:14,379 --> 00:34:18,000 CRAIG: Melinda, Laurie, Hope, they fed off of each other. 612 00:34:18,000 --> 00:34:22,344 And once that ball was rolling, there became a mob 613 00:34:22,413 --> 00:34:25,344 mentality where one was trying to outdo the other 614 00:34:25,413 --> 00:34:28,000 and vice versa. 615 00:34:28,000 --> 00:34:30,482 JACQUELINE: For 10 and 1/2 hours, Melinda, 616 00:34:30,482 --> 00:34:32,551 Laurie, Hope, and Toni tried 617 00:34:32,551 --> 00:34:34,965 to kill Shanda Sharer. 618 00:34:35,000 --> 00:34:38,757 They stab her, and they strangle her, 619 00:34:38,757 --> 00:34:40,137 and they beat her. 620 00:34:40,137 --> 00:34:43,447 They tie her up, put her in the trunk, 621 00:34:43,447 --> 00:34:46,000 and they literally thought she was dead. 622 00:34:46,000 --> 00:34:49,344 And then, all of a sudden, they started hearing her 623 00:34:49,344 --> 00:34:50,551 banging on the trunk. 624 00:34:52,034 --> 00:34:53,241 She wouldn't die. 625 00:34:57,551 --> 00:35:01,137 I think it was Melinda that said, "Well, I heard if you 626 00:35:01,137 --> 00:35:04,344 "burn a body, it'll just turn into ashes, and then nobody 627 00:35:04,413 --> 00:35:05,758 will ever know who she was." 628 00:35:07,482 --> 00:35:12,137 CURTIS: Then they drive back into Madison and stop at 629 00:35:12,137 --> 00:35:14,482 a gas station. 630 00:35:14,482 --> 00:35:18,275 They went and got a two-liter soft drink bottle, poured 631 00:35:18,275 --> 00:35:21,655 the soft drink out, filled the bottle with gas. 632 00:35:21,655 --> 00:35:24,965 Then they took this poor little girl out to 633 00:35:24,965 --> 00:35:26,758 Lemon Road near Madison. 634 00:35:26,758 --> 00:35:29,758 This poor girl 635 00:35:29,758 --> 00:35:32,310 was carried out of the car, 636 00:35:33,862 --> 00:35:36,413 wrapped in the red blanket. 637 00:35:39,275 --> 00:35:42,586 Hope is a follower. 638 00:35:42,586 --> 00:35:45,896 So when Melinda instructs Hope to pour the gasoline on 639 00:35:45,896 --> 00:35:48,620 Shanda, Hope does so. 640 00:35:51,448 --> 00:35:54,103 And Melinda lights her on fire. 641 00:35:57,758 --> 00:36:01,448 Toni said Melinda thought it was really funny to see 642 00:36:01,448 --> 00:36:04,862 Shanda struggling to breathe. 643 00:36:04,862 --> 00:36:07,310 She thought that was funny. 644 00:36:15,000 --> 00:36:17,241 There's no hell big enough for these girls. 645 00:36:20,655 --> 00:36:23,344 REPORTER: Indiana teenagers are charged with killing 646 00:36:23,344 --> 00:36:25,241 12-year-old Shanda Sharer. 647 00:36:25,241 --> 00:36:29,068 NIKKI: My mother and I, as we're listening to the news, 648 00:36:29,068 --> 00:36:31,724 we're finding out what Melinda did. 649 00:36:33,448 --> 00:36:37,758 The day that all this happened, Melinda had invited 650 00:36:37,827 --> 00:36:39,137 me to a sleepover. 651 00:36:39,137 --> 00:36:40,965 I'm like, sure, I'll go. 652 00:36:42,482 --> 00:36:45,862 So I get to Melinda's house, and Melinda's mom 653 00:36:45,931 --> 00:36:47,034 opens the front door. 654 00:36:47,034 --> 00:36:49,137 She was like, "Oh, you just missed them. 655 00:36:49,137 --> 00:36:51,620 They literally just left five minutes ago." 656 00:36:53,241 --> 00:36:56,758 I wholeheartedly feel like, had I gone, they would have had 657 00:36:56,827 --> 00:36:58,241 to harm me to even get to that girl. 658 00:36:58,310 --> 00:37:01,689 So I've always felt responsible, because 659 00:37:01,689 --> 00:37:03,655 what happened if I got there? 660 00:37:03,724 --> 00:37:04,862 Would Shanda be okay? 661 00:37:06,896 --> 00:37:10,551 I've carried a lot of guilt, because had I just been 662 00:37:10,620 --> 00:37:13,448 on time, things could have been so different. 663 00:37:20,103 --> 00:37:23,344 GINA: Because Toni had been the one who had come forward 664 00:37:23,413 --> 00:37:27,068 and was willing to testify about the events of that night, 665 00:37:27,068 --> 00:37:30,758 she accepted a plea deal where her charges were dropped 666 00:37:30,758 --> 00:37:32,241 to criminal confinement. 667 00:37:32,241 --> 00:37:36,103 Hope, Laurie, and Melinda eventually plead guilty to 668 00:37:36,103 --> 00:37:38,448 first-degree murder and criminal confinement. 669 00:37:44,379 --> 00:37:46,448 CRAIG: Hope Rippey was just a follower. 670 00:37:50,172 --> 00:37:53,862 Toni Lawrence was just a scared little rabbit. 671 00:37:53,931 --> 00:37:57,068 Toni Lawrence brought the information to the police, 672 00:37:57,068 --> 00:38:01,448 but Toni, you did it a little bit too late, sweetheart. 673 00:38:06,172 --> 00:38:10,137 GINA: Laurie Tackett is the one that I think really wanted 674 00:38:10,137 --> 00:38:12,379 to kill someone. 675 00:38:12,379 --> 00:38:17,103 Laurie gave Melinda the support to be able to do 676 00:38:17,103 --> 00:38:18,931 something so terrible. 677 00:38:23,172 --> 00:38:25,896 NIKKI: Melinda wanted that girl to suffer. 678 00:38:25,896 --> 00:38:29,137 And I feel like she did it with the full joy in her heart. 679 00:38:35,896 --> 00:38:39,551 GINA: Although Amanda was not directly there 680 00:38:39,551 --> 00:38:43,103 or involved, many people place a lot of blame on her for 681 00:38:43,103 --> 00:38:46,862 perpetuating anger and jealousy and resentment. 682 00:38:48,758 --> 00:38:51,551 CRAIG: She will always be associated with this. 683 00:38:53,000 --> 00:38:56,103 And that's something that she is gonna have to 684 00:38:56,103 --> 00:38:58,344 live with for the rest of her life. 685 00:38:59,689 --> 00:39:05,344 It's really hard to conceive that some people could be 686 00:39:05,413 --> 00:39:10,172 so mean-spirited, so jealous, 687 00:39:10,172 --> 00:39:12,448 so outraged, that they let 688 00:39:12,448 --> 00:39:14,758 their emotions lead to murder. 689 00:39:14,758 --> 00:39:17,448 It still shocks me today. 690 00:39:17,517 --> 00:39:21,379 JACQUELINE: You know, the only thing that I ever asked of them 691 00:39:21,379 --> 00:39:23,862 was to serve the time the court gave you. 692 00:39:23,931 --> 00:39:27,862 But appeal after appeal after appeal, 693 00:39:27,862 --> 00:39:29,137 their sentences were cut. 694 00:39:44,172 --> 00:39:46,068 Honestly, I don't care what the sentence is, 695 00:39:46,068 --> 00:39:47,448 it's never enough. 696 00:39:47,448 --> 00:39:49,103 I've lost a child. 697 00:39:51,344 --> 00:39:55,103 Any way a child dies is horrendous, and every parent's 698 00:39:55,103 --> 00:39:56,241 pain is the same. 699 00:39:57,758 --> 00:39:59,448 The day of the funeral, 700 00:40:01,034 --> 00:40:03,793 in the very front of the church were all the little kids. 701 00:40:03,793 --> 00:40:06,241 All the little kids from first grade on. 702 00:40:06,241 --> 00:40:10,448 And Father John literally spoke to them during this 703 00:40:10,517 --> 00:40:13,448 service, and he walked down to them, and he said, 704 00:40:14,655 --> 00:40:18,103 "I want you to think about Shanda as a butterfly. 705 00:40:20,275 --> 00:40:22,344 Take your hands and put them together." 706 00:40:22,344 --> 00:40:24,241 This was just the sweetest thing. 707 00:40:24,310 --> 00:40:27,655 They all put their hands together, and he said, 708 00:40:27,655 --> 00:40:28,965 "I want you to hold your butterfly, 709 00:40:28,965 --> 00:40:30,758 and that butterfly is Shanda." 710 00:40:30,758 --> 00:40:32,586 And he said, "Okay." 711 00:40:32,586 --> 00:40:36,793 He said, "Now I want you all to let your hands open 712 00:40:36,793 --> 00:40:37,896 and let Shanda go." 713 00:40:37,896 --> 00:40:40,620 And they all opened their hands. 714 00:40:42,344 --> 00:40:43,862 It was just wonderful. 715 00:40:46,241 --> 00:40:51,655 On her tombstone is hands with a butterfly in it. 716 00:40:53,379 --> 00:40:56,862 I see butterflies every time I go to her grave. 717 00:40:56,862 --> 00:40:58,172 Every time. 718 00:41:00,068 --> 00:41:01,758 I know I'll be with her again. 719 00:41:01,827 --> 00:41:05,482 And that alone is what makes me get up every day. 720 00:41:05,482 --> 00:41:08,000 Love your kids. 721 00:41:08,000 --> 00:41:09,103 Watch your kids. 722 00:41:09,103 --> 00:41:11,000 Take care of your kids. 723 00:41:11,000 --> 00:41:12,758 Make them feel wanted. 724 00:41:12,827 --> 00:41:13,965 It's the most important in the whole world. 725 00:41:18,482 --> 00:41:19,793 On the next Mean Girl Murders... 726 00:41:19,793 --> 00:41:23,103 You had to have the looks, personality, 727 00:41:23,103 --> 00:41:26,068 and it also depended on who you were friends with. 728 00:41:27,000 --> 00:41:28,655 She was crowned the Dairy Princess. 729 00:41:28,724 --> 00:41:32,241 It would be easy to see where someone could be jealous. 730 00:41:32,241 --> 00:41:37,758 She was number one in every thing she did. Even crime.