Connor Crowe was a thirteen year old teen killer from West Virginia when he murdered his mother and sister. According to court documents Connor Crowe would open fire inside of the Weirton home killing his mother Melissa Rowland, 39, and his 15-year-old sister Madison. Connor Crowe would then run out of the home and attempted to blame the double murder on a stranger. Connor Crowe would be arrested and two years later would plead guilty to two counts of second degree murder. When he is sentenced later this year this teen killer faces between 20 to 80 years in prison however regardless of the sentence he will be eligible for parole after 15 years due to his age
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A West Virginia teenager has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the shootings of his mother and sister. More than two years later, prosecutors said they still don’t know why he did it.
Connor Crowe entered the plea Tuesday in Hancock County Circuit Court, where he waived his right to be tried in juvenile court or by a jury, The Weirton Daily Times reported.
Crowe was 13 in September 2020 when he killed his mother, Melissa Rowland, 39, and his 15-year-old sister Madison, and then ran out of the home, blaming the shootings on a stranger.
Prosecuting Attorney Steven Dragisich said gunshot residue was found on the youth and there was no evidence anyone had forced their way into the home or fled from it.
The prosecutor said he would seek the maximum 40-year sentence for each offense.
“I’m cognizant of the fact he was 13 years of age, but my job and my duty as the prosecutor of this county is to protect the public and hold people accountable for their actions,” Dragisich said afterward.
He told WTOV that no motive for the shootings has been given — “no terrific explanation, and I don’t think we’ll really understand why.”
Because Crowe was under 18 when the crime was committed, he could be eligible for parole after 15 years, the judge said.
A West Virginia teenager has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the shootings of his mother and sister. More than two years later, prosecutors said they still don’t know why he did it.
Connor Crowe entered the plea Tuesday in Hancock County Circuit Court, where he waived his right to be tried in juvenile court or by a jury, The Weirton Daily Times reported.
Crowe was 13 in September 2020 when he killed his mother, Melissa Rowland, 39, and his 15-year-old sister Madison, and then ran out of the home, blaming the shootings on a stranger.
Prosecuting Attorney Steven Dragisich said gunshot residue was found on the youth and there was no evidence anyone had forced their way into the home or fled from it.
The prosecutor said he would seek the maximum 40-year sentence for each offense.
“I’m cognizant of the fact he was 13 years of age, but my job and my duty as the prosecutor of this county is to protect the public and hold people accountable for their actions,” Dragisich said afterward.
He told WTOV that no motive for the shootings has been given — “no terrific explanation, and I don’t think we’ll really understand why.”
Because Crowe was under 18 when the crime was committed, he could be eligible for parole after 15 years, the judge said.
Joe Louis Esquivel has been charged with three murders with the murders of his coworkers in Maryland. According to police reports Joe Louis Esquivel, who is from West Virginia, would go to his workplace, Columbia Machine Inc, and would open fire killing three of his coworkers and firing at several more employees. Joe Louis Esquivel would be involved in a shootout with police when he was shot and then arrested. Joe Louis Esquivel is facing more than twenty charges related to the shooting including three counts of murder.
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Joe Louis Esquivel, 23, of Hedgesville, WV, has been charged in connection to the shooting at Columbia Machine, Inc. on Thursday.
The Washington County Sheriff’s Office says Esquivel faces multiple first-degree murder charges, several second-degree murder charges, assault charges, reckless engagement and a slew of other crimes
On Thursday, the gunman killed three people at a manufacturing facility in Smithsburg, Maryland, according to authorities.
The Washington County Sheriff’s Office confirmed deputies responded to the shooting at Columbia Machine in the 12900 block of Bikle Road, near Smithsburg High and Middle Schools, around 2:30 p.m. Thursday.
According to the Sheriff’s Office, deputies at the scene found four victims who had been shot. Three of the victims were pronounced dead at the scene, and the fourth victim was critically injured, but police did not give an update on that victim’s condition. Police said the three victims that died were shot inside the manufacturing facility, while the fourth victim was shot outside.
Police identified the victims who died as Mark Alan Frey, 50, Charles Edward Minnick Jr., 31, and Joshua Robert Wallace, 30. The victim who was hurt was identified as Brandon Chase Michael, 42.
Investigators said the suspect fled the scene prior to deputies arriving at the scene. Maryland State Troopers, who were also responding to the shooting, encountered Esquival vehicle in the area of Maplesville Road and Mount Aetna Road and began to chase the suspect. The Sheriff’s Office said the suspect and a MSP trooper exchanged gun fire, and both were injured during the shootings. The trooper and the suspect have both been taken to an area hospital for treatment. The trooper is expected to recover.
Esquivel and the victims were all employees of Columbia Machine. According to police, the suspect arrived for his normal work shift at the facility, and worked throughout the day, before exiting the building around 2:30 p.m. to get a gun from his car. He then reentered the building and opened fire on the facility’s employees.
Police said a semi-automatic handgun used in both shootings was recovered at the scene after the incidents. The exact caliber, make and model have not been released at this time. Additional firearms were recovered from the suspect’s home in West Virginia on Friday.
Esquivel is currently being held without bond at the Washington County Detention Center.
Jeffrey Hoskins has been found guilty in the choking murder of his six month old daughter. According to court documents Jeffrey Hoskins who is from West Virginia was found guilty of manslaughter, child abuse by a parent resulting in death, and strangulation in the death of six month old Riana Hoskins. Apparently Jeffrey Hoskins had attempted to strangle the little girl four times before he finally murdered the infant. When Riana Hoskins arrived at the hospital doctors believed she had suffered from shaken baby syndrome which led to the police investigation. Riana Hoskins was on life support for over a year before she finally passed. When sentenced Jeffrey Hoskins could face fifteen years to life.
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A father has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter following the death of his infant daughter.
Tuesday, Jeffrey Hoskins was also found guilty of child abuse causing death and strangulation following the death of his 6-month-old in October of 2018.
At the time of his arrest in 2018, Hoskins admitted to investigators that he strangled his daughter at their home in Ripley, West Virginia.
Due to legal challenges, deputies say the baby remained on life support for about 15 months following the incident at the home along Meadowlark Lane.
In 2018, Hoskins was arrest on a child abuse charge. He later posted bond and took off.
Law enforcement found Hoskins hiding in a home in Arnoldsburg, where he is originally from.
Officials report that during a court interview, Hoskins showed law enforcement how he strangled the baby by using a teddy bear.
The charge of involuntary manslaughter carries a one-year sentence, while child abuse by a parent causing death carries a sentence of 15 years to life. A strangulation charge can carry a one to five year sentence.
Hayden Dixon is a man from West Virginia who just received a life sentence for the murder of his girlfriend with an axe. According to court documents Hayden Dixon would murder 35-year-old Trinity McCallister by repeatedly striking her in the head with an axe and strangling her. Hayden Dixon was arrested and in September 2021 was found guilty by a jury for first degree murder. Now today Hayden Dixon was given a life sentence for the brutal murder.
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A man was sentenced to life in prison on February 18, 2022, for the 2019 murder of his then girlfriend, Trinity McCallister.
Hayden Dixon was convinced of the brutal murder of Trinity McAllister on September 23, 2021. According to court documents, Trinity McCallister was reported missing in November, 2019. Her body was found mutilated a day after she was reported missing at the home she shared with Dixon.
In addition to life without mercy for first-degree murder, Dixon will serve a consecutive sentence of 3-25 years for felony possession of a stolen vehicle, felony forgery, felony uttering, and misdemeanor giving false information to a Department of Public Safety.
“The brutality of this crime as the judge said, clearly shocked the conscience of this community,” said Fayette County Chief Assistant Prosecuting Attorney, Jennifer Crane.
Dixon’s defense requested last minute to dismiss the no mercy recommendation from the jury due to his age. Judge Ewing did not accept that motion.
“That night when you murdered Trinity McAllister, you showed her no mercy, not even an inkling of human dignity,” Judge Ewing said.
The family of McAllister addressed the court on the loss of their mother. Due to the age of her children, we did not record their impact statements. Crane said that while the court cannot bring Trinity back, the sentence served justice for her family and children.
“They’ve often wondered what’s happened to their mother,” Crane added. “I hope that somehow they can draw some strength from today, from seeing him go away and not being able to harm anyone else.”
Dixon was also allowed to address the court. His attorney read a one-sentence statement from him which said, “This is what drugs does to people.”
The defense left the courtroom immediately after sentencing and did not comment. They will have 30 days from the date of the sentencing to file to appeal
Rachel Shoaf and Shelia Eddy were sixteen when they murdered their friend Skylar Neese. According to court documents The two teen killers planned the murder of their friend, though the reason has never been clear, the two girls would pick up Skylar from her home and drive across the State line from West Virginia to Pennsylvania. Once at their destination the two girls would turn on Skylar and attack her with a series of weapons they had earlier packed into their vehicle. Skylar would be stabbed over fifty times.
Neese body would not be found for over two months until Shoaf would tell police that her and Eddy had talked about killing Skylar. Rachel would eventually lead authorities to the remains of Skylar. Rachel would plead guilty to second degree murder and be sentenced to thirty years in prison with parole possible after ten. Eddy would be sentenced to life in prison with parole possible after fifteen years
Shelia Eddy – Current Facility – LCC – Parole Eligibility 2028
Offender ID (OID) Number: 3573487
Name: Eddy, Shelia
Sex: Female
Birth Date: 9/28/1995
Height: 5′ 5″
Weight: 107 lbs.Race: White
Location: LCC
Intake Date: 2/7/2014 12:39:00 PM
Next Parole Hearing: 5/1/2028
Maximum Parole Discharge Date: Not Available
Projected Release Date: Not Available
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As high school sophomores, Skylar Neese, Shelia Eddy and Rachel Shoaf were inseparable.
Living in Morgantown, West Virginia, the then-16-year-olds were pretty and sociable, taking selfies and spending time together.
But everything changed on July 6, 2012, when Neese’s parents discovered she was missing. Six months later, Shoaf told authorities that she and Eddy had stabbed their best friend Neese to death.
At 16, Skyler Neese was thriving, according to her parents. She had a 4.0 grade point average, a part-time job at a fast food restaurant and an active social life.
She was Dave and Mary Neese’s only child.
“Skylar was a very bubbly person,” Dave Neese told ABC News’ “20/20.” “She was also very loyal to her friends, the people she thought was her friends.”
Skylar Neese met her best friend Shelia Eddy at age 8.
“She was like a part of our family. She really was,” Dave Neese said. “I mean, just like one of our kids.”
While entering her freshman year in high school in September 2010, Eddy met Rachel Shoaf. The next month, Eddy transferred to the same high school as Skylar Neese, and Shoaf also soon became friends with her. Before long the three teens began to argue among themselves.
On July 5, 2012, Skylar Neese went home after finishing a shift at work.
The next morning, her dad said he discovered that she didn’t sleep in her bed. He later found her window screen in her closet and a hidden bench that she could use to climb in and out of her window.
“Then I knew: she snuck out last night,” Dave Neese said. “And then, oh my god, she snuck out last night, and she’s not home.”
That same day, after Skylar Neese missed work for the first time ever, her parents called police to report her missing. Star City, West Virginia, police officer Bob McCauley responded to the 911 call and began investigating Skylar Neese’s disappearance.
Later that day, Sheila Eddy called Skylar Neese’s parents to tell them what had happened the night before.
“She proceeded to tell me that her, Skylar, and Rachel had snuck out the night before and that they had driven around Star City, were getting high, and that the two girls had dropped her back off at the house,” Mary Neese told “20/20.” “The story was they had dropped her off at the end of the road, because she didn’t want to wake us up sneaking back in.”
Eddy said she and Rachel Shoaf had picked up Skylar Neese at around 11 P.M. and dropped her back off at home before midnight.
On the Neese’s apartment’s surveillance camera, a car is seen pulling up to the apartment at 12:30 A.M.
At 12:35 A.M., the grainy video shows Skylar Neese sneaking out of her room and slipping into the car, which drives away.
“I was scared to death. I mean I didn’t know where my baby was. It was horrible,” said Dave Neese.
On July 7, 2012, Shelia Eddy and her mom helped Skylar Neese’s parents canvass the neighborhood looking for her, while Rachel Shoaf left for Catholic summer camp for two weeks.
Two days later, the public learned that Neese was missing through television, radio and internet coverage. As weeks passed, the investigation into Skylar Neese’s disappearance continued. Police believed the most likely scenario was that Neese went to a house party and overdosed.
Corporal Ronnie Gaskins told “20/20” he heard rumors that Neese had supposedly overdosed on heroin. “She died. People there panicked, and they disposed of the body,” said Gaskins.
Jessica Colebank, who was working on the case, found Shelia Eddy’s demeanor suspicious when she went to speak to her for the first time.
“Just complete blank on emotions and there was absolutely nothing. It was like iced over,” Colebank told “20/20.”
Colebank also thought Rachel Shoaf was very nervous when she first spoke to her.
“Their stories were verbatim, the same. No one’s story is exactly the same, unless it’s rehearsed,” Colebank said. “Everything in my gut was, ‘Sheila is acting wrong. Rachel is scared to death.’”
After viewing surveillance video and cell phone records that proved Shelia Eddy and Rachel Shoaf were lying about what happened the night they last saw Skylar Neese, police told Dave and Mary Neese that Eddy and Shoaf had a secret.
Dave and Mary Neese, classmates and even strangers put pressure on Eddy and Shoaf to tell the truth.
On Dec. 28, 2012, Rachel Shoaf had a nervous breakdown and was committed to a local psychiatric hospital, where she had no contact with Shelia Eddy.
After being discharged from the hospital on Jan. 3, 2013, Shoaf confessed to her attorney and police that she and Eddy stabbed Neese to death.
“We never encountered anything that led us to believe that these two girls conspired with one another to commit premeditated murder,” Corporal Ronnie Gaskin said.
The car that Skylar Neese was seen getting into was determined to be Shelia Eddy’s.
After her confession, Shoaf agreed to lead police to the site of the murder to try to find Skylar Neese’s body.
Shoaf talked with Eddy while wearing a microphone, but Eddy failed to incriminate herself.
With the discovery of Skylar Neese’s body and that the blood found on Eddy’s car was Skylar Neese’s, police had enough evidence to arrest Eddy and Shoaf.
“We asked Rachel, ‘Why did you guys kill Skylar?’ And her only answer to that was, ‘We just didn’t like her,’” State Police Corp. Ronnie Gaskin said.
Rachel Shoaf turned herself into authorities at the Monongalia County Circuit Court on May 1, 2013.
Shoaf, now 18, was transferred to criminal court in closed hearing and was charged as an adult. She pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and is incarcerated at the Northern Regional Juvenile Detention Center in Wheeling, West Virginia.
She faces 30 years in prison and will soon be transferred to adult prison.
Also on May 1, Shelia Eddy, now 18, was arrested in a restaurant parking lot.
She was charged as an adult, pleaded guilty and was sentenced as an adult to life in prison with the possibility of parole in 15 years.
“They’re both sickos, and they’re both exactly where they need to be: away from civilization, locked up like animals. Because that’s what they are, they’re animals,” said Dave Neese.
In memory of their daughter, Dave and Mary Neese helped pass Skylar’s Law in West Virginia. It requires Amber Alerts for all missing children, not only those believed to have been kidnapped.
To honor their daughter, Dave and Mary transformed the site of her murder into a memorial. Dave often makes the 20-mile drive.
“Something horrible happened here,” Dave Neese said. “But I wanted to take the horrible thing that happened here and try to turn it into something good — a place that people can come and remember Skylar and remember the good little girl that she was, and not the little beast that they treated her like.”
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Rachel Shoaf is currently incarcerated at the Lakin Correctional Center
Rachel Shoaf Release Date
Rachel Shoaf current release date is 2028
Shelia Eddy Now
Shelia Eddy is currently incarcerated at the Lakin Correctional Center
Shelia Eddy Release Date
Shelia Eddy is serving life however is eligible for parole in 2028
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Sixteen-year-old Skylar Neese never made it back home after she snuck out of her Star City, West Virginia, home after midnight on July 6, 2012, to meet up with her two friends, Rachel Shoaf and Sheila Eddy, both of whom were the same age.
After Neese went missing, her mother said Eddy told her that the three of them had been driving around town that night getting high before she and Shoaf had dropped Neese off at the end of the road from her apartment building so that Neese could sneak back in. The surveillance camera on Neese’s apartment building captured her sneaking out and getting into a car at around 12:30 a.m.
As the investigation into Neese’s disappearance continued, suspicion mounted that the girls were harboring a secret. A few months later, Shoaf suffered a nervous breakdown. Then, on Jan. 3, 2013, she confessed to her attorney and police that she had stabbed Neese to death with Eddy. She agreed to lead authorities to Neese’s remains, which were in a wooded area over the Pennsylvania state line, about 20 miles from Star City.
“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 a previous interview.
Neese’s parents told “20/20” that the three high school sophomores used to be inseparable. But in the days leading up to her death, Neese’s Twitter account, which was eventually deleted, showed that something had gone awry.
On July 4, 2012, two days before she was murdered, Neese tweeted, “It really doesn’t take much to p*** me off,” and, “Sick of being at f****** home. Thanks ‘friends,’ love hanging out with you all too.”
The day before she was killed, Neese tweeted, “you doing s*** like that is why I can NEVER completely trust you.”
Neese’s last tweet, sent out hours before she snuck out of her bedroom window, was a retweet from a friend who had posted, “All I do is hope.”
Prior to Shoaf’s confession and before the truth about Neese’s disappearance was revealed, Eddy remained active on Twitter, posting regularly about her thoughts and day-to-day activities as authorities searched for her “missing” friend. In hindsight of Neese’s murder, several tweets from Eddy seemed disturbing.
Eddy’s first tweet on July 7, 2012, the day after she and Shoaf killed Neese, was a message to a friend wishing her a happy birthday:
In the months that followed, Eddy regularly tweeted about watching TV, school, hating homework and other typical teenage things. She even tweeted about her and Shoaf’s close friendship, writing in one tweet, “no one on this earth can handle me and rachel if you think you can you’re wrong.”
Then, on Jan. 3, 2013, Shoaf confessed to stabbing Neese to death with Eddy and told authorities where they had left her body. Meanwhile, Eddy kept up appearances that everything was normal, tweeting about watching her favorite TV shows: “staying home on a Tuesday is the best cause law and order svu is on all day.”
On the morning of March 13, 2013, the U.S. Attorney’s Office publically announced that the human remains found in the wooded area in Brave, Pennsylvania, belonged to Skylar Neese. Eddy, still keeping up appearances, pretended to be devastated over the news that her friend had been found dead, tweeting, “Rest easy Skylar, you’ll ALWAYS be my best friend,” with a photo montage of her and Neese together, and the words “worst day of my whole life.”
During her January 2013 confession, Shoaf had told authorities she and Eddy had planned Neese’s murder while in science class together. The plan was to pick Neese up from her house at night and drive to a remote area to smoke marijuana. Once they were in the woods, Shoaf said the plan was to count to three, then stab Neese to death.
On March 30, 2013, Eddy tweeted “we really did go on three”
As the investigation continued, police determined that the car Neese had been seen getting into on surveillance footage was Eddy’s car and that blood found on the car belonged to Neese. On May 1, 2013, Eddy was arrested in a restaurant parking lot and Shoaf turned herself in to authorities. Both teens were charged with murder as adults.
Eddy pleaded guilty to first-degree murder for her role in the killing. On Jan. 24, 2014, roughly 18 months after Neese’s death, she was sentenced to life in prison.
Shoaf, who pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, was sentenced to 30 years in prison the following month.
Today, both women are 23 years old and remain incarcerated at the Lakin Correctional Center in West Virginia.
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