Three

I grew up in Morgantown, WV and have resided here for the majority of my life. From the day the Neese family discovered that their only child never came home through the most recent parole hearing for Rachel Shoaf, I have diligently followed this case. I have had the privilege to meet several of the noteworthy individuals in this narrative. During the early days of speculation and gossip on the Rumor Mill board, many conjectures and theories ran rampant. Everyone had an opinion. Yet the police, FBI, Mary and Dave remained silent. Until they were unable to remain silent any further. Fractures began to occur in the stories and lives of two that Skylar’s parents could never have imagined. Mary took to social media in an attempt to put pressure on two who deviously claimed to be Skylar’s closest allies. Mary’s campaign of guilt and shame directed towards the vile duo worked. Never doubt the strength and conviction of a mothers love. Shoaf broke and broke deeply. Subsequently, even though Eddy would claim she was not guilty, the evidence would prove otherwise. The malicious two believed that they finished Skylar’s story on that hot July night in 2012 because they “didn’t want to be friends with her anymore.” Yet, they did not triumph, Skylar Neeses story lives on. She will continue to touch and change the lives of all who know her story. I recognize this because I am one. As are you.

Young people need much more education about acceptance and processing their emotions. The brains of teenagers are not fully formed and they should not act on emotion because it could ruin their life.

This podcast provides an in depth look at a case that is plagued with questions, and allows for various perspectives on what happened that led to the murder of a teenage girl. However, there are some issues: most importantly, the perspective of one of the killers’ close family friends allowed for victim blaming. This podcast aired, quote, “if she [skylar, the victim] was really having all those problems with the girls… why would she go with them?” Why is the podcast seeking to elevate the voice of someone who would blame Skylar for her demise? Additionally, some of the people interviewed did not offer anything of note (for example, the neighbor of Rachel). The podcast could have been shorter and more interesting by eliminating these. My final comment is that there was a lot of turning up and turning down my volume to try and understand what was being said. We have the technology and most of these were recent interviews so I’m not sure why so much of the recording was unclear.

The music in the background was strange. It didn’t match up with the dialogue or the storyline. It made the podcast seem like a Charlie Brown movie and not based on real events.