Cruel Sacrafice By Aprodite Jones

 

 

 

As I have said before, I love true crime books. There are so many people whose lives were stolen from them, and I don't think their stories should be forgotten. Not that we should only focus on how their lives ended, but that in some way they will live on. Despite the evil people who tried to take them away. We cant let these people win. Despite that the victims are gone, we can never let them be truly forgotten. Shanda Sharer is one of them.

 

In January of 1992, five teenagers got into a car, only four of them made it home. This case is horrifying and I honestly have no idea how anyone, let alone teenager, could commit such a brutal crime.  I wasn't alive when this crime occurred, but I have read a lot about it. It still haunts me whenever I think about it.

 

In Madison, Illinoise, twelve year old Shanda was lured into a car by four girls, Melinda Loveless, Laurie Tackett, Hope Rippey and Toni Lawrence. All girlss got into Laurie's car and borrowed clothes from Loveless, who showed them a  knife. She told the girls that the knife was there to scare Shanda. Melinda was the only girl who actually knew the victum.

 Shanda Sharer

The girls interrogated Shanda about a boy that Loveless liked that and what was their relationship. The subject was brought up to anger Loveless, who brought out the knife and put it to the young girl's throat. The girls then drove towards Utica, Indiana. When they got to their destination, they bound Shanda with rope and taunted her, taking off her jewelry and dispersing it amongst themselves. After that they drove to a garbage dump made Shanda strip and then Loveless began to beat her with her fists. She tried to slit Shanda's throat but the knife was too dull. Loveless and Tackett took turns stabbing her. She was strangled until she blacked out. They told the other two girls that Shanda was dead. Then the girls drove to Tackett's home and went inside to get something to drink. Tackett and Loveless went cruising. When they realized that Shanda was not dead and was screaming, they pulled over and Shanda was beaten with a tire iron.

There was much more torture and finally Shanda was burned alive and died. Her body was later discovered by two men. On January 12 Tackett and Loveless were arrested. All four girls were tried as adults.

 Loveless and Tackett are still serving their sentences.  Indiana has a policy of reducing prisones sentences by a day for every day served with good behavior, coulTackett and Loveless couldd possibly be released from prison in 2022,  Loveless would be 46 and Tackettwould be 47 years old.

Tonie Lawrence was released from prison on December 12, 2000. She remained on parole until 2002. Hope Rippey was released from Indiana Women's Prison on April 28,2006.

This is my personal opion but I think these girls should have gotten the death penealty. Not only did they kidnap and murder a child, they also tortured. They are evil sociopaths and should be tortured just like they tortured Shanda, and be forced to live in missery and then killed. What they did is unforgivable and I hope they all rot in hell.