Mean Girls

After a much-needed break from podcasting, the crew at Nitecap True Crime brings on special guest host Terra Kassa who tells the horrific story about Shanda Sharer. 

Shanda Sharer was a young, vivacious teen, just wanting to go to a rock concert. This is the real-life story of a group of very, very, mean girls. 

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Transcript

SPEAKER_04 0:03

911, what is your emergency? I just found a body. I don't know what to do.

SPEAKER_05 0:10

Government official isolated in the You are listening to Nightcap, a true crime podcast.

SPEAKER_00 0:21

If the mystery of murder intrigues you, or if you find crime quite a curiosity. Welcome home.

SPEAKER_04 0:27

Pour yourself a drink, sit back and buckle up. It's gonna get dark.

SPEAKER_02 0:32

Be warned, this podcast does contain explicit content and graphic descriptions of real life accounts and cases. Listener description, it's definitely advised.

SPEAKER_00 0:45

Hi guys. Since I drove the train last week and derailed that bitch like a boss, we are handing the controls over to a special guest this episode. So, uh, who are we? I'm Brittany.

SPEAKER_01 1:00

I'm Susie. And I'm Tara.

SPEAKER_02 1:03

Tara, why don't you tell us a little bit about yourself and how you got roped into telling us and our listeners one of your favorite cases?

SPEAKER_01 1:10

As you guys know, my name's Tara. I didn't really grow up with Gavin, but met him in my teens, so I've known him for quite some time and am obsessed with true crime, just like you guys. So when I found out he was doing this podcast, I text him immediately and was like, put me on your show. Hell yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:28

Hell yeah.

SPEAKER_04 1:29

Well, we're super excited to have you on, so let's uh get at it, eh? What are we drinking, friends? Tara, what you sipping on?

SPEAKER_01 1:36

I had a boozy smoothie earlier, which is just something that I make in my kitchen. But now I am sipping on some Seagram's Escapes. I have uh black cherry fizz in front of me and Jamaican me happy on standby.

SPEAKER_03 1:50

Hell yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:51

Nice. You're gonna read the whole can like Avan does?

SPEAKER_02 1:54

No joking. You don't have to eat that. You don't have to. That's his responsibility. Brittany, what are you drinking?

SPEAKER_00 2:00

I am Bray. I am Brittany. Like, yeah, we get that. Um I am drink, I'm drinking brew dogs, non-alcoholic, hazy. I'm kind of I kind of like overbought cases of beers that looked good. So I'm just kind of cycling through those now so I can clear space in the refrigerator for some new stuff. So it's gonna be like the same four beers over and over for a while. Speaking of same beers, Susie. Let me guess. Uh got that blue moon mango wheat.

SPEAKER_02 2:37

Yeah, yeah, yeah. You already know. I'm back on my bullshit. But I was telling Gavin earlier when we were picking out our beers, he's like, Really, you're gonna buy the same beer? I'm trying to buy new beers. And I was like, You were on Trullies for like a month, okay? This is week three. I got another week of blue moon bullshit until I'm off the hook, okay? Just let me have it. They're really good. They're mango through and through. Try them if you haven't. They're amazing. Amazing, amazing, amazing. What about you, Gabby? Something new, I imagine.

SPEAKER_04 3:06

Oh, yeah, no. So today I'm drinking Big Sky beer with natural flavors. Today I've got ginger lemon basil spiked seltzer. They have other flavors. It's not too shabby. It's way better than that bullshit I had last week. It is a small batch. It is also made just across the Idaho border in Missoula, Montana. Nice. Yeah. And while we were shopping for beer, I may or may not have scored not one, but two cases of two of my favorites that I've found since the podcast. I got another case of that's literally what they're called, you guys, is their mahas. So, Tara, who, what, where, and why? Let's hear it.

SPEAKER_02 4:00

And none of us know any context about this case at all. No details whatsoever. None of you. I didn't even know she was gonna be here. Brittany and I both did it.

SPEAKER_00 4:08

We really have zero idea what's happening.

SPEAKER_02 4:11

We had no idea.

SPEAKER_01 4:12

So this case, we're gonna be literally reacting real time to every aspect of it. So I'm ready, Terry. Yes, bring it on. All right. So I actually called this the original Mean Girls, and you guys are gonna find out why. Oh shit. Oh, Brittany already knows.

SPEAKER_02 4:28

You already know just from the title that she self-titled it.

SPEAKER_00 4:31

Damn it, but I just re-looked up this case the other day. I didn't read it though. Like I just was reminded of the fact that it exists. So is it bad?

SPEAKER_02 4:42

Probably. This is a true crime podcast. Is it ever good? That's true.

SPEAKER_01 4:46

Like, you guys know those like cases that are just like so awful and incomprehensible that they just stick with you. Yeah. So originally, like that's the story for me. Originally, um, I read this story. It somehow came up in my Facebook news feed about a year ago, and it has kind of haunted me. And when Gavin was talking about the podcast, it instantly, I was like, I I just I have to do this one. Gotta do it. I have to do it. Um, so this case is about Shanda Renee Scherer. She was born June 6th, 1979, in Pineville, Kentucky. Her parents, Stephen Scherer and Jacqueline Vaught, got divorced when Shanda was very young. And Shanda was best friends with her mom and close with her father and stepmother Sharon. Shanda was the kind of girl that you wanted to be friends with. She was very bubbly, outgoing, and a lot of fun. At school, she was a cheerleader and played volleyball, and she was smart. She got really good grades. In June of 1991, around Shanda's 12th birthday, her and her mom moved to New Albany, Indiana, so that Shanda could be closer to her dad. Shanda started at Hazelwood Middle School in New Albany. Early on in the school year, she got into a fight with 14-year-old Amanda Heverin. Um, I actually was kind of curious as to why they got into a fight. So I looked it up, and it's just your typical like teenage drama. Um, one of Shanda's new friends wanted to break up with her boyfriend. So Shanda said that she would help by giving the boy back his ring, and the boy just happened to be Amanda's cousin. So Oh, your typical middle school beauty. So they ended up in um an altercation and then we're in detention together where they resolved their issues and became friends. So Jackie, Shanda's mother, was unsettled by the friendship since it had begun. Um, Shanda's grades were slipping and she was getting into trouble. Amanda had also taught Shanda how to forge her mother's signature on progress reports. So, I mean, we've all been there, but I was gonna say that wasn't me at all. I never did that once. So the friendship um soon like shifted from being less of just like platonic friends and more um of like a romantic uh relationship. The two girls uh were exchanging love letters, and in October, they attended a school dance where they encountered Amanda's ex-girlfriend, 16-year-old Melinda Loveless. The sight of Shanda and Amanda together made Melinda furious. At the dance, Melinda tried to fight Shanda, but Amanda stopped her. In the weeks following, Melinda threatened Shanda in public and began to write letters to Amanda saying she wanted Shanda dead.

SPEAKER_04 7:45

So that escalated quickly. Yeah, I was gonna say. So she was born in the 70s, so this took place in like the 84.

SPEAKER_01 7:53

This took place in 91. Oh, 91. So this is 90 now that I'm not at all. Um, so Shanda was only 12. Okay, damn. So she's like so she's 12. Amanda is 14. Lesbian lovers? Yeah. At 12.

SPEAKER_04 8:09

Yes, ahead of the game. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 8:11

Amanda would actually write letters to Shanda, like complimenting her on her hair and her looks, like her clothes, and then would ask her if she was interested in girls. And like at the time, you know, being 12, like you don't really think about that stuff. So right, but I mean, I don't know. I didn't experiment at 12, but some girls are really convincing. You never know, you know, like Amanda just she laid it on thick.

SPEAKER_00 8:39

My eight-year-old just came out to me last night as being bi. So, I mean, people are, you know, my are more aware now. But so for in the 80s or 90s, that's like that was yeah, because it wasn't as well known, you know. It was shitty when I came out. Uh yeah.

SPEAKER_02 8:58

I mean I mean, I always thought I was bi, but that was like mid-2000s. That's like Christina Aguilar's ripped album came out. And of course, how was I not bi looking up for a long time?

SPEAKER_01 9:12

So on discovering Amanda's letters to Shanda, many of which were a sexually explicit nature, Jackie and Steven decided to have Shanda transferred to a different school. By the end of November, Shanda enrolled in Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic School. Coincidence, I think not. Oh no.

SPEAKER_02 9:32

Yeah, just put her in Catholic school, that'll fix everything.

SPEAKER_01 9:35

Shanda and Amanda had not broken up when Shanda transferred schools. Amanda continued to write letters to Shanda and call her at home. Shanda, however, was distracted with her new school and new friends and not as responsive to Amanda as much as she would have liked. Before we get into the events of January 10th, 1992, I'm going to share some background information about the girls involved. We have Melinda Loveless, who is the ringleader. She was 16, originally from New Albany, Indiana. Her father, Larry Loveless, was a Vietnam veteran who had trouble holding down work. Any money he did earn went towards motorcycles and guns. Get her done. Get her done. He was violent, verbally abusive. He drank, and he was a pervert. Oh, those are all great qualities to have. Larry and Melinda's mother, Marjorie, had a quote unquote open relationship. Or rather, Larry would let his friends borrow Marjorie for sex.

unknown 10:43

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 10:44

Yeah. I don't know how you allow somebody to borrow. Isn't there a isn't there a name for that where like where you like watching rape.

SPEAKER_00 10:52

It's rape. Oh, but if it's all consensual, yeah, that he would be a cuckold.

SPEAKER_02 10:57

Yeah. Okay, that's what I'm I'm like, wait, I thought it was consensual. Yeah, okay.

SPEAKER_01 11:01

Never mind. Keep going. So the two would regular regularly engage in orgies with men and women. Larry picked up in bars. Larry violently raped Marjorie while their three daughters were in the home. We were able to hear and see everything. He once. Oh, it gets better. He once beat Marjorie so badly that she was hospitalized. The abuse drove Marjorie to attempt suicide multiple times. Larry also likely subjected his daughters to sexual abuse, which I later confirmed that he did. Um, but the extent of this is unclear. There are reports that he molested his daughters and nieces when they were children. Daughters and nieces.

unknown 11:49

God.

SPEAKER_01 11:50

Piece of shit. To say the least. Melinda shared a bed with him up until she was 14 when Marjorie finally divorced him. Oh my god.

SPEAKER_02 12:03

Wait.

unknown 12:04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 12:05

Completely inappropriate.

unknown 12:07

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 12:08

How and I don't know how you'd even let that go on. For okay.

SPEAKER_01 12:12

After the divorce, Larry moved to Florida and had very little contact with the family. Melinda struggled with depression and would regularly get into fights, both of which were largely caused by her difficult home life. This affected her schoolwork and resulted in her having to repeat a year of school, which would explain why she is 16 and in middle school. Melinda was open about her lesbian orientation, which was rare for a small town Indiana in the early 1990s. Totally. So the second girl, Lori Tackett, was 17 from Madison, Indiana, about 50 miles from New Albany. She came from a strict fundamentalist Christian household, mainly driven by her mother. Her father worked in a factory, and Lori's parents were both abusive, and child services visited the home several times. I tried to find out like the extent of the abuse. So it seems as if like maybe she was raped or they were just like physically abusive. Couldn't really find much on that. Either way, uh Lori was fascinated with paranormal activity and vampirism. Early in 1991, at age of at the age of 16, Lori began to self-harm, which landed her in the hospital several times.

SPEAKER_04 13:28

Oh man, I thought you were gonna tell me that she met herself at 300 years a fire vault.

SPEAKER_02 13:33

I was gonna say it.

SPEAKER_01 13:34

I was gonna say it. Oh man, no, no. The age gap is way too big. She was admitted into a psychiatric ward and diagnosed with borderline personality disorder. And in September of 1991, Lori dropped out of high school. Um, while living in Louisville, Kentucky, in October, Lori met Melinda and they became friends. By the end of the year, Lori was spending most of her time with Melinda in New Albany and in Louisville, Kentucky, but she rarely went home to Madison. And then we have Hope Rippy, who was 15. Um, she's also from Madison and she was friends with Lori. Um, and her parents did not like her spending time with Lori. I don't really blame them, but she was also known to self-harm. And then Tony Lawrence, age 15, also born and raised in Madison. She was good friends with Hope, but had never met Lori or Melinda until the night of the incident. And her and Hope had been friends since they were a very young age. Some reports state Tony was raped when she was 14, but I couldn't find much information on that. Now, this is where I kind of dig into the nitty-gritty of hitting the fan that happened. Um, so tissue's ready for shit hitting the fan because I cried while writing this. I have cried while reading it to my dog. So I may just cry tonight, too. I'll cry with you. It'll be a team effort. All right. I got you. That's good. So here we go. On the evening of January 10th, 1992, Lori, Hope, and Tony piled into Lori's car planning to go to a rock concert. This would be the first time Tony would meet Lori. Lori didn't look or act like a regular 90s teenage girl. She had a harsh, white-blonde, boyish haircut and wore black from head to toe. She had a sinister and unapproachable exterior and showed very little emotion, and Tony was immediately unsettled by Lori. Lori asked Hope, Did you tell her yet? To which Hope replied, Tell her what? We're going to kill a girl tonight. Tony didn't know what to think. She thought it was some kind of twisted joke. Before heading to the concert, Lori drove to New Albany to pick up Melinda. Hope didn't know Melinda well, and Tony had never met her. Melinda was beautiful and glamorous and excited to see the three girls when they arrived. Carrying a large kitchen knife with her, she got into the car and told Hope and Tony how she wanted to scare this girl Shanda because she was trying to be like her and had stolen her girlfriend. Lori, Hope, and Tony had never met Shanda before.

SPEAKER_05 16:28

Oh fuck.

SPEAKER_01 16:29

I don't know where this is going, but it's already really bad. I'm sorry, my I'm sweating. Yeah, I'm getting goosebumps already. So the four arrived around 8 p.m. at Shanda's house, and Melinda hid on the floor of the car. She knew that if Shanda saw her, she would get scared and refuse to come with them. Lori and Melinda told Hope and Tony to knock on Shanda's door and ask her to come with them to see Amanda. Shanda had never seen Hope or Tony before, but she was intrigued at the idea of seeing Amanda, so she told them to come back at midnight once her parents were asleep. Instantly not a good idea. Instantly. Hope and Tony returned to the car, and the four girls drove to the rock concert. So at least they had a good time. At around 12 a.m., they drove back to Shanda's house. So this is now technically January 11th, 1992. So they drive back to Shanda's house, and on the way, Melinda exclaimed how excited she was to kill Shanda, but also said she just wanted to scare her. Hope and Tony didn't believe that Melinda planned to kill the girl, but Tony was becoming increasingly concerned. She refused to go to the door with Hope this time to lure Shanda to the car. So Hope goes to the door, obviously by herself, and gets Shanda to come out. They return to the car and the two begin talking about Amanda. Hope explains to Shanda that Amanda is waiting for them at the witch's castle in Utica, Indiana, which is like this old haunted, out in the middle of nowhere castle. There's like one in every town. Suddenly, Melinda jumps up from behind Shanda, grabbed her hair, and put the blunt end of the knife to her throat. Oh my. Shanda screamed and pleaded with Melinda not to hurt her. Melinda yelled, Shut up, bitch, and proceeded to question Shanda about her sexual relationship with Amanda. Sorry, guys. Straight to the point.

SPEAKER_02 18:28

Wait, was Amanda Amanda was there?

SPEAKER_01 18:30

No, she wasn't. They so they told her that they were gonna take her to see Amanda. Amanda had no idea. That's how they got her. Oh, they lured her. Okay. Yeah. Once they arrive at the witch's castle, Melinda and Lori tied Shanda up. Lori scared Shanda by telling her all about how the place was full of dead people. Shanda, terrified at this point, begged to go home, and Lori lit a t-shirt with a spiley face on the front on fire with a lighter and taunted Shanda, saying soon she would be the one burning. What the fuck? For seven hours, the four girls would brutally torture Shanda before ultimately killing her. Seven hours. That's a long fucking time. The girls then left the witch's castle, dragging Shanda along with them. They began looking for an open gas station, and Shanda told them about one near her house. They did end up going there, but Lori knew that if Shanda was near her home, she might try to get away or call for help. So she covered her with a blanket. They then drove around some more and ended up in the woods not far from Lori's house.

SPEAKER_02 19:46

Oh God, it's getting early. It's getting early.

SPEAKER_04 19:48

I have to give you some um props on your detailed research here. Fuck. Painting quite a picture.

SPEAKER_01 19:55

I watched a documentary. I found all the court documents I could find. I even actually found pictures of like her autopsy.

SPEAKER_03 20:03

Oh damn.

SPEAKER_01 20:04

Oh, yeah. So this is where it starts to get even worse. Melinda Loveless and Lori Tackett stripped off Shanda's clothes and proceeded to punch her repeatedly. Loveless hit the victim's face with her knee until she bled profusely from her mouth. She then tried to cut Shanda's throat with a knife, but it wasn't sharp enough. So they used it to stab her in the chest and abdomen. Oh Hope and Tony stayed in the car, although Hope got out of the car briefly to help restrain Shanda. For real? Melinda and Lori strangled Shanda with a rope until she passed out. They then put her in the trunk of the car and drove back to Lori's house. They told Hope and Tony that Shanda was dead.

SPEAKER_03 20:53

Was she? At this point?

SPEAKER_01 20:57

Oh. No, my. She went back out to the trunk of the car and stabbed her until she was quiet. Jesus Christ, Laura. They then drove to Lori's house where they left Hope and Tony after drinking a couple of sodas. Yeah, that was.

SPEAKER_02 21:17

Oh, they're so back at hand right after we soda drinking murderers.

SPEAKER_01 21:21

That's not Melinda and Lori went driving on some nearby back roads with Shanda still in the trunk of the car. Whenever Shanda made noise, Lori would go around to the trunk where she would stab her with a knife while Melinda would beat and sodomize the 12 year old with a fuck. With a tire iron.

SPEAKER_02 21:49

What? Oh my god. How do you go from just like stabbing a girl because you hate her for stealing your girlfriend to sodomizing her with a tire iron?

SPEAKER_01 21:59

Why is that in the Any teenagers and you're 16 and she's 12. Oh god.

SPEAKER_02 22:08

What that's a one fucked up 16-year-old to go that far. I mean, let alone stabbing her, but to like get that disgusting to be like, yeah, I'm gonna, I'm gonna now after stabbing her, how many fucking times I'm gonna sodomize her.

SPEAKER_04 22:22

The ringleader is the one that's doing this.

SPEAKER_01 22:24

Yeah, so you we have Lori who is stabbing her, the one who's like into like the cult stuff, and then Melinda, the jealous lover, which is the ringleader, right? Yes, yes, which is the ringleader. Miss Loveless, yeah. That's fitting. Yeah. Very much so. It what you know what what really pissed me off is like when I was reading like descriptions of Melinda, they were like, She was this glamorous Julia Roberts look-alike. I'm like, she's a fucking killer. Who gives a shit what she looks like?

SPEAKER_02 22:54

Yeah, why does that even matter? Like they even put that into the case. I can Google pictures of the bitch. I know what she looks like. And why glamorize the way that she fucking looks? I mean, it's no different than people glorifying like Dahmer and No, it's the same with that dude that raped that girl with the pine needles and all that, and they were like, he is he's Olympic grade swimmer with straight A's. That what is his fucking name? Brock Turner.

SPEAKER_01 23:20

Oh, that motherfucker.

SPEAKER_02 23:21

Because they did the same shit in the fucking articles with him. They were like, oh, he's he swims this fucking fast and blah blah blah blah blah blah blah.

SPEAKER_04 23:28

Like still has a life ahead of him.

SPEAKER_02 23:31

Why even put that fucking in there? That doesn't even like make sense to me.

SPEAKER_01 23:37

Sorry, I got a little like that's the part that like really gets me. That's fucked. So okay, so they beat sodomized 12-year-old with tire iron, and it was unclear how long they were driving for. So we don't know how long they were out doing this for, but every time Shanda would make noise, they would go back to the trunk of the car and do some fucked up shit. So they returned to Lori's house, picked up Hope and Tony, and then drove back to the woods. Lori and Melinda wanted to show Hope and Tony what they had done to Shanda, but Tony refused to look. The three girls, meaning Lori, Melinda, and Hope, looked at Shanda's body in the car, in the trunk of the car, and Hope sprayed Shanda with Windex and said, You're not looking so hot now, are you? Good God.

SPEAKER_02 24:32

On top of everything, you're gonna soak all of those wounds with fucking Windex? Or are these methodical fucking 20-year serial killers or these fucking teenage fucking girls? Because that is insane. I don't I don't even know why that thought would even cross their mind. And why do they have Windex in the car?

SPEAKER_01 24:54

Number one question here it's the 90s. How are they gonna wash their windows? Oh they don't have those like new fancy sprayers. They brought it for a cleanup that they didn't fucking do.

SPEAKER_02 25:06

Oh, good. They brought when they were prepared.

SPEAKER_01 25:08

They brought Windex that was gonna really cover all the fucking blood. Good lord. In the early morning hours, the torturers stopped at a gas station. Tony bought a large bottle of Pepsi to drink, but Lori grabbed it, emptied it, and filled it with gasoline.

SPEAKER_04 25:26

Oh please tell me that the poor girl has succumbed to her injuries by now. I wish I could.

SPEAKER_01 25:33

Oh fuck. I really wish I could. Again, driving to a remote location, they ended up on Lemon Road, a country road surrounded by fields. Lori and Hope hauled their victim, who was still alive and only able to whimper the word mommy.

SPEAKER_04 25:53

Oh my god.

SPEAKER_01 25:54

Wrapped her in a blanket and carried her to the edge of the fields, still in view from the road. Lori poured the gas from the Pepsi bottle on Shanda and set her on fire and drove off. Just to be sure their work was finished, Melinda had them return to the scene a few minutes later to pour more gasoline on Shanda, watch her writhe in pain, and finally confirm she was dead.

SPEAKER_02 26:28

Oh no. Twelve?

SPEAKER_01 26:33

She's 12.

SPEAKER_02 26:34

12. She just had a crush on a girl. That's all she did.

SPEAKER_01 26:40

Yeah. So they finally confirmed she was dead. The four girls left and went to eat at McDonald's. Melinda. Yeah. Yeah. Lori, Melinda, and Hope laughed as they compared their sausage breakfast to Shanda's burnt corpse. What? Yeah. Tony was hysterical and used a payphone to call a friend and tell her about the murder. Melinda and Lori decided Tony needed to go home. Because this was the girl the whole time that was like, I'm not down to this. Like, this is fucked up. Like she's like, I just wanted to go to a rock concert with my friends. Yeah. Oh yeah. But at the same time, she never tried to stop it. So, in my opinion, she's just as guilty.

SPEAKER_02 27:29

No, she's probably scared.

SPEAKER_01 27:30

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 27:31

I mean, realistically, if I was that girl, I would be scared as fuck, and I'd be like, I'm not gonna say shit because these dudes are gonna stab me, sodomize me, and burn me too. Like they're already doing with no remorse.

SPEAKER_01 27:44

That poor so after dropping Tony and Hope off at their homes, Melinda got in touch with Amanda. Oh no. And told her Shanda was dead. Amanda didn't believe it and agreed to meet later. Lori and Melinda went to pick up Amanda, then returned to Melinda's house. Once inside, Melinda cried hysterically, telling Amanda what they had done to Shanda. Amanda still didn't believe it, but this changed when they showed her the trunk of Lori's car. The interior was soaked with blood. There was bloody handprints, along with dark curly hairs and one of Shanda's socks. Amanda was horrified and demanded to be taken home. Going back a little bit, around the time that the girls were at McDonald's, two brothers, Don and Ralph Foley, went out hunting for quail. They made their way past Jefferson Proving Ground, driving for about eight miles on a country road. There, they spotted a large dark-colored object on the side of the road. As they got closer, Don thought it was a blow-up doll. They took a closer look, and only then did they realize it was the burnt body of a young woman. They went back home and called the police who told them to go back to the location of the body until the sheriffs arrived.

SPEAKER_02 29:16

That's not a young woman. That's a fucking child.

SPEAKER_04 29:20

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 29:20

Twelve years old, that's that's a fucking child. Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 29:24

She was also burned and bloodied. Beyond recognition, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 29:28

Really tell. So at about 12 p.m., Deputy Sheriff Randall Spry arrived, closely followed by Jefferson County Sheriff Buck Shipley, Detective Steve Henry, and forensic expert Sergeant Curtis Wells, who had arrived around 1 p.m. The four men couldn't believe the horrifying sight. The girl's body had been burned beyond recognition and posed in a sexual position. Wells states, at first sight it really appeared to be a mannequin, but you could smell the horrible smell of burning flesh. So it's never a mannequin. Yeah. It's never. Never mannequin. Shanda was found on her back with her arms in the air and clenched fists. She had third and fourth degree burns on her entire body. She was burned so severely officers were unable to distinguish her age. Autopsy would later reveal the cause of death to be smoke inhalation, meaning she was still alive when she was set on fire. There was also soot in her lungs, which is also a sign of being set up, you know, alive when you're set on fire, along with multiple stab wounds throughout her entire body, including but not limited to her chest, abdomen, arms, and legs. Um I did see where they thought at one point um there was a stab mark on her head, but it was actually a gash from where Melinda hit her with the tire iron and it busted her skull open. And she, I'm like, how are you still alive after that? She's a tough little tookie. Yeah. Yeah. Um, she also had choke marks on her neck and markings around her wrists and ankles from being bound, along with severe rectal bleeding. In the meantime, Steve, Shanda's father, woke up. He noticed that Shanda was not in her room, but didn't think much of it. He assumed she was sleeping in the family room in the basement. When he realized she wasn't there, he began to worry. He called Shanda's friends first, then his ex-wife Jackie, telling her he couldn't find Shanda. Jackie came over and they filed a missing persons report. After that, Jackie, Steve, and Steve's wife Sharon began searching for Shanda. So they just searched around the neighborhood. Which is weird because in some reports I found where they he called Jackie and they searched first and then called Amanda, and Amanda was like, I don't know anything, but you want to talk to this person.

SPEAKER_02 32:03

Trying to cover her ass. Why wouldn't she say something? Fear.

SPEAKER_01 32:08

Yeah. Probably. I mean, her parents didn't like her. At around 8 20 p.m., a hysterical Tony Lawrence entered the police station with her father. She was bursting to tell Detective Henry everything. She told Henry about the plan to go to the rock concert with Lori and Hope, that they ended up going to New Albany, and that they picked up Lori's friend Melinda. She knew the girl's name was Shanda, and she was 12 or 13. She was 12. She couldn't remember exact timings, but she did remember locations like the witch's castle, the woods, Lori's house, Lori and Melinda beating Shanda in the trunk, going to the gas station, and filling the Pepsi bottle with gasoline. This is the girl that was scared. Yeah. So she. So first, like when they were at McDonald's, she called her friend and like told her about it. And then they're like, hey, well, you need to go home. Well, then she ended up breaking down and telling her parents. So her dad was like, Oh, get in the car, like, let's fucking. No. Well, yeah, that's a good girl. She knew that that shit was wrong. So Tony did remember Shanda's address, and Henry contacted Wells, so the detective Wells, to find out whether a missing person's report had been filed at that address. There had been one for 12-year-old Shanda Share. The description of Shanda in the missing person's report matched the body found earlier that day, and dental records were then used to positively identify the body as Shanda's. How long did it take them to figure out? It was literally a matter of hours. Told him to come back at midnight. So that would have been January 11th. So this is all January 11th. So at like 8 20, Tony went in there, told them Shanda's address, they called, and then um January 12th, so literally the next day. So January 12th, 1992, all four girls are in custody. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. The case generated worldwide attention because obviously the cruel brutality inflicted on Shanda. And then on December 14th, 1992, so almost a year later, the trial begins for the murder of Shanda Sheer. All four girls were tried as adults, but they all accepted plea bargains in order to avoid the death penalty. They were going to pose the death penalty on minors? By the time that trial started, Melinda had turned 18 and Lori had turned 19. So they were adults. And then, of course, Hope and Tony, just because of how severe it was, even though they were only 16 at that point, like they were considered. Yeah. I mean, I don't blame them. Rightfully so. Oh, yeah. So during Melinda's trial, she broke down several times in gasping sobs while testifying. I'm just like, Oh, poor you. Poor you. Yeah, I feel so bad. Yeah. As part of her plea agreement, a lawyer for Lori Tackett, Ellen M. O'Connor, asked Melinda to point to pictures that showed gashes Melinda had stated Lori inflicted on Shanda. To which Melinda cried, I don't want to. Oh God. Turning her head away and avoided looking at the pictures of the burned body. Bitch. Yeah. Yeah. Oh, it gets it gets better. So she's the ringleader, right? Right. Keep that in mind. She's the ringleader. So Melinda said her jealousy over Shanda's friendship with the girl who had been her lover led to the killing. She said she was ready to end the evening after she hit Shanda in the stomach and smashed her face against her knee several times. But that Lori had then stepped in. Oh my god, she tried to put it on the other girl. Lori then stepped forward and took over the beating. But Melinda wanted it to stop. Melinda admitted she threw a bottle containing gasoline towards Shanda's burning body, but said the other girls forced her to do it. This is manipulative. The same one that was like, wait, girls, let's go back and make sure she's actually dead. That's so fucking manipulative. Yeah. Shanda's mother, Jackie, addressed the courts and went on record to say, if you want to see as close to a person who has absolutely nothing inside of them, look into Melinda's eyes because there's nothing there. That's fair.

unknown 36:43

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 36:44

Lori and Melinda were both sentenced to 60 years in Indiana women's prison. Hope was sentenced to 60 years. That was reduced to 35 years after an appeal in 2004. Tony pled guilty to one charge of criminal confinement and was sentenced to a maximum of 20 years. Damn.

SPEAKER_02 37:05

That poor girl, she just wanted to go to a rock concert. I mean, she's the reason why all those other girls got caught.

SPEAKER_01 37:10

Yeah. And she got looped into the whole thing. I mean, that's horrible, but yeah. I mean, honestly, because of how she was already like nervous about it, anyways, like I guess if I was in her shoes, maybe I would have still gone to the rock concert, but I probably would have just been like, I think I'm gonna go home.

SPEAKER_02 37:30

Or when you know because McDonald's, like you don't just call a friend, you call like authority right then, and you're like, something's really wrong, and I don't want to be a part of this.

SPEAKER_01 37:39

But I mean she was uh that's a that's a tough spot. Yeah, definitely. So in the following years, so all the girls are in prison. Um, in the following years, Lori Tackett states in an interview that she didn't know Shanda at all, and that she didn't go into that evening knowing anything was gonna happen or wanting anything to happen. She states that it was peer pressure, and that's all it was. It spiraled out of control way too fast, and it's something that should have never happened. Well, at least she has remorse. Yeah. I mean, maybe. I don't know. I don't know. Yeah. Because furthermore, in an interview on Dr. Phil, the convicted killer, explained why she thinks people kill, saying, My opinion is that they killed to Phil superior or high on the victim's fear, and they're thirsty for the spill of blood. Which honestly, she definitely was. Yeah, okay, no remorse, no remorse was it that said that. So this is Lori tack it. So this is like the other, like Well we have a fucking psychopath that says that. Like, well, that was the same one that said this is purely peer pressure. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 38:55

So she's like, when it was like she never meant to do anything.

SPEAKER_01 38:59

And then she was like, No, this they this is why they do this. Yeah, right. They want the blood. Like so, it gets better. It gets better, right? So, yeah, keep in mind, she's like, Oh, it was peer pressure. Dr. Phil asked Lori's mother and sister if they agreed with the statement that she had said, and they said yes. Her mom said the statement that um people kill to Phil superior, they're high on the victim sphere. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 39:29

Wait, what they agreed to it? Like, oh yeah, totally. That's totally why. Like we do the same thing, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 39:35

Yeah. So Dr. Phil asked Lori's mother and sister if they agreed with that statement. So they essentially like, do you agree that that's why she feels people kill? Right. I'm assuming some input to try to show her the opposite side of things, and they both just agree to it. But they said yes. Her mom said that her daughter believed it was her destiny that she would murder someone in cold blood and spend the rest of her life in prison. One more time. Her mom said that her daughter, so Lori herself, believed that she would kill somebody. She would murder someone in cold blood and spend the rest of her life in prison.

SPEAKER_05 40:15

What?

SPEAKER_01 40:16

Yeah. Well, and that's at the ripe age of what? Yeah, she was 17 when she murdered the girl, and she was 18 when she was tried. Tried, yeah. Right.

SPEAKER_00 40:27

But the way she's her mom says it is like, this has been a lifelong dream of hers.

SPEAKER_01 40:31

Like, you're like she wanted to be an ashen.

SPEAKER_02 40:35

Yeah, my kid wanted to be a princess. Yeah, my kid said she wanted to be a murderer. I don't know. Like spend her life in prison. That's really normal. And we backed her up all the way. It's fine.

SPEAKER_01 40:44

Yeah. Support my baby. All right. So I have the release dates here. So Tony Lawrence. Y'all, I don't know. I I want to go to Indiana so bad to see the witch's castle. Yeah. I I was thinking the same thing. I don't know. I want to go to a rock concert and then I want to scare some girls. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 41:10

Add it to the vacation list.

SPEAKER_01 41:11

Yeah. Oh shit. Indiana. Well, they're old now. They lived their life in prison, but they lived it.

SPEAKER_05 41:18

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 41:20

So Tony Lawrence served nine years of her 20-year sentence. Now, this was the girl that like showed the light on everybody else. From what I could find, some reports were saying that she was convicted of murder, but I only found that she was sentenced to the 20 years just for the criminal confinement.

SPEAKER_02 41:39

So like she was confined in the criminal act of what they did.

SPEAKER_01 41:42

Yeah. And she was there and she was a part of it. And because yeah, and because she didn't try and stop it, they were like, okay, well, here's your 20 years. So she got out after nine years. Yeah. So she served nine years of her 20-year sentence and was released in December of 2000. She now goes by Tony Parker. Lives in the Indianapolis area and has two children of her own.

SPEAKER_00 42:07

Oh, yikes.

unknown 42:08

Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 42:10

Um, she has kept mostly a low profile since her release from prison and has since gone on record to say that she wished she had done more to put a stop to that night's events. I'll bet. Yeah. Yeah. So because um, like Tony and Hope were still minors when they were convicted and everything happened, like it was really hard to find like a lot of like background information or like release information on them. So Hope Rippy served 14 years. She was so she was originally sentenced to to 60. That was reduced to 35 years in 2004, but was released on April 28th, 2006. So she served a total of 14 years. So 12 years of her original sentence and two years of her lesser sentence. Hope also lives in the Indianapolis area and is now married to a woman named Alicia Tyree. Does Alicia know? Hey, they didn't even know they were gonna kill the girl. So no idea.

SPEAKER_02 43:17

I mean, technically, I'm because the other two did most of the beating and the torturing and everything else, right? And these two girls were just like, oh shit, these girls are older. Yeah. Yeah. Hell yeah, we're we're cool. This is what cool girls do.

SPEAKER_01 43:29

Yeah. Oh, it's fucked up. So Lori Tackett served 25 plus years of her 60-year sentence and was released on parole January 11th, 2018, on the 26th anniversary of Shanda's body being found.

SPEAKER_02 43:47

On the fucking anniversary, she gets to get out. Yeah. It's disgusting.

SPEAKER_01 43:51

So you know how she was like, oh, it was peer pressure, and then like, oh, like this is why people kill. And then her mom's like, Yeah, my daughter was gonna be a murderer. She was the only one of the four girls that did not seek early release.

SPEAKER_04 44:05

Interesting.

SPEAKER_01 44:06

Yeah. But she did end up getting out early. Yeah. Yeah, but she got out early.

SPEAKER_02 44:12

She wanted that prison life. She was ready. She was like, four for this, dude. I've been married in my whole life.

SPEAKER_01 44:18

So Melinda Loveless also served 25 plus years of her 60-year sentence and was released on parole September 5th, 2019. She is serving her parole in Jefferson County, Kentucky. Damn. So they're all out. They're all out. Oh. So something a little mildly heartwarming, I guess. I'm I really don't know how to feel about it because I'm like, you're such a fucking monster, but I also. You'll see why. So in prison, it seems as though Melinda had found some measure of escape from the cycle of violence and abuse. An Indiana program called I Can or Indiana Canine Assistant Network has been helping Loveless behind bars. She trains puppies to be assisted dogs for disabled people.

SPEAKER_00 45:08

I don't care. She's still sodomized a 12-year-old with the tire iron. She needs to fuck herself.

SPEAKER_02 45:13

That seems like quite a privilege for a girl that sodomized with a tire iron. You get to play with puppies, bitch. Like fuck you and fuck the Indiana prison system for letting her have that.

SPEAKER_00 45:22

Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 45:23

You shouldn't give a touch of puppy, bitch. Like at all after doing that. That is a privilege.

SPEAKER_04 45:28

Go off, Susie.

SPEAKER_01 45:29

I wouldn't piss up. I would not trust her. I would not trust her around my dog. I'd be like, Storm, get over here right now. Like, you do not go near her. God. So one of the dog breeders who supplies Indiana with pups is a burn victim, much like Shanda was. And the breeder convinced Shanda's mother, Jackie Vaught, to watch a video of Loveless grown up and see what she does in prison for the program. The fuck?

SPEAKER_02 46:00

She's really nice. She's so nice that's a good thing. You should see her with these puppies. I mean, she sodomized and tortured and burned a 12-year-old, but she's really good with puppies. She should probably get let out early.

SPEAKER_01 46:12

Get in, bitch. We're gonna play with puppies. Fuck you. Oh god. So the breeder did convince Shanda's mother to watch the video. And she states, I was really taken aback. I saw someone almost reborn. She was sincere. She was compassionate. And I think the I Can program allows her to have something in her life that she can show love back to, and there's never betrayal on either side.

SPEAKER_02 46:42

Until she fucking burns a puppy alive because it doesn't listen to her. Well she's in prison.

SPEAKER_01 46:48

She's not allowed to have lighters.

SPEAKER_00 46:50

Still, they find way.

SPEAKER_01 46:52

What?

SPEAKER_00 46:53

Did you just say lick her?

SPEAKER_04 46:54

No. Like her. Like her.

SPEAKER_05 46:56

Oh my god, I thought you said lick her.

SPEAKER_01 46:59

Brittany. Is that like the butthole swabs? No, I forgot about those.

SPEAKER_05 47:09

That's what I was like, Cabin.

SPEAKER_02 47:12

Now is not the time for a dog dad drug.

SPEAKER_01 47:16

Oh no. So Vaught did something remarkable after seeing her daughter's killer at work. She donated a puppy named Angel for Loveless to train in prison. The grieving mother said she did it to honor her little girl. Wait a second. And she still thinks about every day. Wait a second. So a puppy?

SPEAKER_02 47:42

Shanda's mom. Donated a dog to this bitch that in honor of her dead, tortured, burned baby.

SPEAKER_01 47:52

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 47:53

In what world is that closure or even remotely okay? I'll donate a fucking wood chipper to the bitch.

SPEAKER_01 47:59

Or whatever. Donate a dog. So she said, it's my choice to make. She's my child. If you don't let good things come from bad things, nothing gets better. And I know what my child would want. And my child would want this.

SPEAKER_00 48:18

No, she'd want to be alive and have her own puppy.

SPEAKER_01 48:22

Right? Yeah. I mean, Loveless, for her part, feels as if VOT is helping her to overcome her past. She helped me to heal, forgive, and grow. What the fuck do you need to forgive?

SPEAKER_02 48:35

This needs to be. She said that. She called it. I need to forgive some relationships.

SPEAKER_01 48:46

She helped me to heal, forgive, and grow. Whether she wanted that or not, she did a good thing. I couldn't thank her enough. Angel is in good hands. I'm doing it for Shanda. I'm doing it for her, is what she said. This was the girl that killed her. Yes. That's uh she's doing it for Shanda. I'm training this dog that your mom provided to give to a disabled child.

SPEAKER_02 49:10

She did this whole life. I think I I think I nailed it. I think I I'm mad. I'm mad about this one. I'm mad.

SPEAKER_01 49:17

I'm fucking mad about it. So completely heartbroken by the murder of his daughter, Steve Scherer couldn't go on. He found his only escape in drinking and died of alcohol abuse in 2005 at the age of 53. Steve is buried next to his daughter at Big Spring Methodist Church Cemetery in Big Spring, Kentucky. Had her life not been so tragically taken, Shanda Scher would be 41 years old this June. Nicely done. I did so much digging. I really did. I uh and I was like, please be long enough.

SPEAKER_04 49:56

Well, damn, Tara. I didn't know what to expect. However, I wasn't expecting that. You did a really good job though, telling us that really fucking terrible, awful story.

SPEAKER_02 50:10

Dad, you did so good. You did so good. I hated it.

SPEAKER_04 50:14

Yeah. Thanks for joining us on this special guest episode.

SPEAKER_01 50:19

You'll definitely get a call back. How perfect. Well, thank you guys for having me. Like I said, I wanted to do the podcast with you guys ever since Gavin mentioned having one. So I'm really glad I finally got the opportunity. Like every week I'm in my bathroom, like doing my eyebrows, like maybe next week.

SPEAKER_02 50:40

So much suspense. Well, thank you for telling us about Shanda Shearer, that poor fucking girl. Oh my god, I'm still really mad about it, obviously. But if you guys enjoyed or absolutely hated the story like I did, stay tuned for next week's episode. It's our third installment of your guys' favorite murder fucking matcha.

SPEAKER_00 51:04

Woohoo! Also, if you're itching for extra content, please hop on over to our Patreon and subscribe to get access to sidecar episodes like pillow talk, ridiculous photos, and pretty soon full video episodes from start to finish, all the bullshit. I know we've been saying that, but it's actually gonna happen. I swear.

SPEAKER_02 51:26

And it's gonna be unedited, and you guys are either gonna love or hate it. But you know what? We are who we are. So yeah, I think you'll like it.

SPEAKER_00 51:35

We also want to thank our patrons for their patience. We will be dumping a metric shit ton of content here in the next two weeks after I am done raising hell in Spokane. Uh okay. Oh, and I oh, and um, I just want to give a shout-out to our newest um patron, my mom. Oh, that was your mom. That's Brandy Bear.

SPEAKER_04 52:00

Thanks, mom. Hello, thank you. Yeah, so we actually are in the process of teaching somebody how to edit. So hopefully they will be taking over all of our Patreon content. So that will be on their shoulders and no longer mine.

SPEAKER_00 52:19

We'll be able to get it out quicker for you guys.

SPEAKER_02 52:22

It'll be in this dog eat dog podcast world within the next year or two or five. We can do this full time for you guys. We would love that. So just keep on keeping on and supporting us because we love you all.

SPEAKER_04 52:37

If you have a case that you're just dying to hear us tell, or have any feedback, no matter how sweet or harsh, check out our website at nightcaptrucrime.com and click on the annoy us button.

SPEAKER_02 52:49

And if you like what you hear, please, please, please, rate and review us on Apple Podcasts. It's the easiest way you can help us top the charts and show us all the love because we love all you guys too. We love you. But on that note, we'll see you next week. Bye. God, I love you doing this so far.

SPEAKER_01 53:15

It is. It was a lot of fun.

SPEAKER_02 53:17

Thank you guys for having me. You did so good. I'm such a grumpy bitch. Well, you know what? It happens to the best of us. But thankfully, Tara wasn't a grumpy bitch. She was a freaking MVP. MVP. MVP. It's amazing. Tara, we love you. Please come back. You're no longer a nightcap booty call. You're gonna be somebody on standby.

SPEAKER_04 53:38

Girl, I was getting scared today. I was pretty fucking sure that like I was pregnant or some shit because man, was I late. All day today. I was a raging fucking cunt. And all I wanted to do was eat. And I had already eaten multiple times. But it's like everything at the grocery store drove me fucking nuts.

SPEAKER_02 54:03

No, say it. Tell it, tell us what you said to that lady and the grocery store that gave you the wrong card. Oh my fucking gosh.

SPEAKER_04 54:09

So I am trying to pull out money so I can pay rent at the studio. And uh I'm at the ATM machine, and the ATM machine keeps declining my card, telling me insufficient funds. And I'm like, that's not possible. I just got paid. And so, in order to access my bank app on my phone, I have to take my mask off. And so I lowered my mask for just a second, so my phone would recognize my face. And literally, this lady who is walking in the exit at Winco starts yelling at me to put my mask on. And what did you say, Gabby? What did you say? I told her to go get fucked. Because I really needed to eat the goddamn salad that was in my baggie.

SPEAKER_02 54:58

Get fucked, bitch!

SPEAKER_04 55:01

Fuck that bitch.

SPEAKER_02 55:04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 55:04

That's my little story with it, eh? Well, you know what? We're not perfect, but here we are.