48 Hours: Coached to Kill - 5 harrowing details about the 2020 Jay County killing, revisited 

48 hours, the true crime show features the chilling case of Michael Briar's murder. In January 2020, rural Indiana was shaken by the gruesome murder of Shea Michael Briar, a 31-year-old father and Portland man. When the man was taken to the hospital, it was discovered that he had been shot from the back.

Later, the police arrested two women, Esther Jane Stephen, 31 at the time, and Shelby Nicole Hiestand, an 18-year-old. Stephen had been the head softball coach at Fort Recovery (OH) High School for two seasons, with Hiestand, 18, serving as her assistant. Authorities now claim her anger and frustration with Briar attempting to gain parenting time and having their child's last name changed was the motive behind her and Hiestand's plot to kill him.

Here are five horrifying facts about Michael's murder as shown in 48 Hours.

Here are the 5 harrowing details about the 2020 Jay County killing as shown in 48 Hours

Premeditated plot driven by a custody dispute

The investigation unveiled how the women even scouted out locations for a murder in Jay County in the days before the killing, including a secluded bridge on County Road 125 West. Stephen also went late Saturday night to Hiestand's home to retrieve a .22-caliber rifle and ammunition that would be used in the shooting. This suggests that the murder didn't happen in the heat of the moment but was well planned.

Eventually, court documents and police interviews indicate that Stephen and Hiestand confessed that they had plotted together to kill Briar, as the 48 Hours episode depicts. This was mainly because Stephen was furious at Briar’s legal steps to gain parental rights and change the surname of their daughter.

Luring the victim under false pretenses

After leaving Stephen’s young daughter with a babysitter, Stephen called Briar just after midnight and invited him to “hang out.” They then pick him up from his home in Portland and head for the secluded place the two women had already selected to kill.

The killing and aftermath

Once at the remote bridge, Hiestand allegedly took the rifle from the car and shot Briar in the back. Briar had been left mortally wounded. Although he was still alive when he was discovered shortly before 2 a.m., he later died from the bullet that went through his heart.

Impact on the Community and the Severity of the Sentence

The two women were arrested and subsequently convicted of murder. Stephen was sentenced to 55 years in prison following her conviction in March 2021, and Hiestand was also found guilty and received a comparable sentence. They are the former head and assistant softball coaches, respectively, for whom the community and parents first learned they had been placed on administrative leave.

A third woman was involved in the Murder

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The case didn't end here, as Hannah Knapke, the third woman, later came forward in relation to the killing of Shea Briar. She was sentenced on Thursday to 10 years in prison and 7.5 years of probation for her role in the murder, as shown in 48 Hours. The 19-year-old Knapke from Fort Recovery, Ohio, was sentenced less harshly than Esther Jane Stephen and Shelby Nicole Hiestand after pleading guilty to her part in the case. She was used as a driver while Stephen was taking Briar to the bridge, per reports.

Briar's family issued a statement after the sentencing, reminding that while no sentence can reverse their loss, the sentence offered a degree of accountability and recognition of the harm caused by those involved. The conviction of the 3 women, as shown in 48 Hours, brought to an end one of Jay County's most harrowing crimes, especially considering they were high-school softball coaches and the amount of planning involved.

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