She Was Lured to Her Death and Burned Alive at 12 — Because of a Jealous Teenage Love Triangle By Christina Coulter

Shanda Sharer was 12 years old when she was abducted, beaten, stabbed and burned alive. Indiana prosecutors said the four teenage girls who carried out the killing — aged 15 to 17 — were motivated by jealousy over Shana’s relationship with a girl they knew through school.

On the night of Jan. 10, 1992, Shanda was staying at her father’s home when two teenagers —15-year-olds Toni Lawrence and Hope Rippey — arrived at the front door and said they were taking her to see Amanda Heavrin, an older girl Shanda was dating. 

According to The Indianapolis Star, the girls instead drove her to a car where 16-year-old Melinda Loveless was hiding in the backseat with a knife. Loveless, who was also dating Amanda, had reportedly been threatening Shanda in the weeks prior. Seventeen-year-old Laurie Tackett was behind the wheel.

Instead of taking Shanda to see Amanda, the group drove to an abandoned property near Utica, Ind., known as the “Witch’s Castle.”

According to The Los Angeles Times, Shanda was bound with rope, taunted, and threatened with the knife. She was eventually forced into the trunk of the car. 

The group believed she had died during the assault, but when they later heard her crying from the trunk, Tackett and Loveless attacked her again.

In the early morning hours of Jan. 11, prosecutors said the girls drove Shanda to a remote location near Madison, Ind. There, according to the Star, they wrapped her in a blanket, poured gasoline over her body and set her on fire. A forensic pathologist later determined she was still alive when the fire was lit.

Later that morning, two hunters discovered her remains in a field off a gravel road. Police were unable to immediately identify her due to the severity of the burns. Her mother, Jacque Vaught, had reported her missing that morning when Shanda failed to return home — and dental records later confirmed the body was Shanda’s.

That same night, Lawrence and Rippey, accompanied by their parents, went to the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department and gave full statements. Within 48 hours, all four teens were in custody. According to the Star, each was charged as an adult.

All four eventually accepted plea agreements to avoid the death penalty. Loveless and Tackett pleaded guilty to murder, criminal confinement, and arson, and each received 60-year sentences. Rippey, who prosecutors said played a lesser role, received 60 years with 10 years suspended; her sentence was later reduced on appeal. Lawrence, who left before Shanda was set on fire and cooperated early with police, was sentenced to 20 years for criminal confinement.

All four have since been released. Lawrence was paroled in 2000. Rippey was released in 2006. Tackett served more than 25 years before her release in 2018. Loveless was released in 2019, after serving over 26 years. These release dates were confirmed in reporting by the Star, The Advocate, and WTHR.

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During sentencing, the court heard testimony about the defendants’ backgrounds. According to the L.A. Times, Tackett had been diagnosed with borderline personality disorder and had experienced hallucinations from a young age. Loveless testified that she had allegedly been sexually abused by her father, a claim also referenced in police and court records.

In the years after the murder, Shanda’s mother established a scholarship fund in her daughter’s name and participated in several interviews with local outlets. In 2012, WAVE 3 News reported that Jacque had donated a puppy to the Indiana Canine Assistance Network in Shanda’s memory. The dog was to be trained in a prison program that included Melinda Loveless among its participants.

The killing has since been the subject of numerous books and documentaries, as well as dramatizations in episodes of Law & Order: SVU and Cold Case. The case remains one of the most widely reported juvenile crimes in Indiana’s history and has been used in academic discussions about adolescent violence and group dynamics.

More than three decades later, the details of the case continue to be cited in conversations around juvenile justice, sentencing, and the long-term effects of trauma — both for victims’ families and perpetrators.