Dateline: See No Evil - A complete timeline of Skylar Neese's murder, revisited 

Dateline's episode titled See No Evil features the chilling case of Skyler Neese that later inspired “Skylar’s Law,” ensuring immediate public alerts for missing children in West Virginia. The incident occurred in July 2012, when 16-year-old Skyler was called out by her 2 other best friends. Believing they were going for a late-night drive, Skyler was dragged into the woods and stabbed to death. According to reports, the girls counted to three and repeatedly stabbed her in the remote woods of the Pennsylvania border.

This heinous crime shook society, with teenage girls not only being the victims but also killers. In the Dateline interviews, Skyler's family remembers her as a "bubbly person" who was "loyal to her friends". Read on to know the complete timeline of the murder case as explored on Dateline.

Here is the complete timeline of Skyler Neese's murder case, as shown on Dateline

Skyler Neese was eight years old when she met Shelia Eddy at a community event in Morgantown, West Virginia. Shelia used to spend time with Skyler's family that she became almost like another daughter to Dave and Mary, Skyler's parents. Skyler's father, Dave Neese, recalls, while speaking with ABC News,

“She was like a part of our family. She really was,” Dave Neese said. “I mean, just like one of our kids.”

In 2010, during the Freshman year of high school, Shelia met Rachel Shoaf during school activities. Eventually, these two girls, along with Skyler, became inseparable.

“Skylar was a very bubbly person,” said Dave Neese. “She was also very loyal to her friends, the people she thought were her friends."

Over time, tensions escalated among the three, with Skyler posting some cryptic tweets about betrayal and feeling left out.

On July 5, 2012, in the evening, Skyler finished her shift at her part-time job and returned home to her family. It was only the next morning that Skyler's parents noticed she wasn't in her bed and found the window screen open. When Skyler missed her work for the first time, the parents' concerns grew, and they filed a missing persons complaint. Shelia tells Skylar’s parents they had driven around and dropped her off near the apartment around midnight so she wouldn’t wake them sneaking back in.

The case looks like Skyler ran away from home. However, the surveillance footage of her getting into the car with her two other friends became crucial evidence. Shelia used to tweet a lot about missing her best friend, also helping the family to gather more information about her, while Rachel became anxious and depressed over time.

The investigation revealed surveillance footage showing a car pulling up outside the Neese apartment complex at 12:30 AM after midnight. After 5 minutes, Skyler came out of her bedroom window carrying a small bag and slid into the car. The girls then took her to the interior woods of Greene County, Pennsylvania.

What the incident led to after that was horrific. The girls actually counted to 3 and stabbed Skyler to death. Skyler tried to run but was fatally wounded. The girls also attempted to bury her, but failed due to rocky soil. They then left her body covered under branches.

Rachel confessed to the crime in 2013, as shown on Dateline

shelia eddy

@_sheliiaa

no one on this earth can handle me and rachel if you think you can you're wrong

On December 28, Rachel broke down under guilt, was briefly hospitalized, and later confessed, as shown on Dateline. In 2013, she confessed to the authorities that she and Shelia killed Skyler.

“We asked Rachel, ‘Why did you guys kill Skylar?’ And her only answer to that was, ‘We just didn’t like her,’” State Police Cpl. Ronnie Gaskin told "20/20" in an interview.

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Rachel also led investigators to the rural spot in Greene County where Skylar’s remains were found under brush and branches, as per Dateline. On March 13, Skyler's body was identified, and Rachel Shoaf pleaded guilty to second-degree murder while also agreeing to testify against Sheila Eddy. Shelia was then charged with first-degree murder.

In January 2014, on the day her trial was set to begin, Sheila also pleaded guilty to her crimes and received life in prison with mercy, eligible for parole after 15 years. Rachel was sentenced to 30 years in prison, with eligibility for parole after 10 years.

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