 Skylar Nice was your typical teenage girl from Pennsylvania. She had a couple close friends that she depended on and didn't have any real struggles in her life outside of the typical teenage grievances of relationships and identity. But on June 5th, 2012, Skylar climbed out of her apartment window at midnight to head out on a late night adventure with two of her best friends. This was supposed to be a fun girl's night out, but Skylar would never make it home. Skylar Nice was a young girl who never really made any enemies. She was incredibly smart for her age, not just smart, but wise as well. She was an honor student at school, and all of her teachers knew that she had a very bright future ahead of her. She never got into much trouble and certainly never gained any unwanted attention from her peers. She was about as clean-cut and honest as a teenage girl could be. One of Skylar's favorite activities was reading. She could lose herself in a book for hours, only to snap out of it long past her bedtime, not even realizing she'd spent her whole afternoon in a fairy tale. Skylar was also deeply involved in the early days of social media, making a point to post her every last thought on Facebook and Twitter for the world to read. I'm sure most of us understand these days that making a habit of this is incredibly unhealthy. It's part of the reason I don't run any social media pages for this channel, but at the time, Skylar's parents were just happy that she was interacting with other kids her age, and from the outside, having a great time doing it. Skylar also had a job at Wendy's that she appears to have loved as she never missed a day of work no matter the cost. For a teenager to be so dedicated to a job at a fast food chain, it just further shows you that Skylar was a girl of character. Skylar was incredibly close to her friends Shilia and Rachel. The trio did everything together, it's actually difficult to find individual photos of each of them online, because in virtually every photo I can find, the three are together either hugging or posing for the camera. These three were the very definition of inseparable. The three also went to school together, attending University High School in Morgantown, West Virginia. Skylar had reportedly known Shilia since the two were just 8 years old, but Rachel would join the two during freshman year in high school, becoming an irreplaceable member of their friend group. According to Skylar's parents, Skylar wasn't just best friends with the two. In fact, she was more of a mentor than anything else. Unfortunately, both Shilia and Rachel had parents who had recently divorced, leaving both of the kids shaken and honestly probably a bit confused about where to go from here. Skylar was in a much different situation. She was an only child and her parents were very close with her, making sure she was making the best decisions for herself and passing on that wisdom to other… Making sure she was making the best decisions for herself and passing on the wisdom that they could offer. Skylar, in turn, would pass this wisdom on to her friends. Her mom recalled several occasions where Skylar could be overheard on the phone, giving great advice to her friends, scolding them if they did something she thought was dumb and helping them make good decisions in the wake of their father or mother's absence. Skylar's mother also says that Shilia became so close that she didn't even knock on their door when she came over. She just walked in and was treated like one of their daughters. The only rift in the relationship between Skylar and Shilia was that Shilia didn't come from a particularly religious family. Skylar, on the other hand, came from a Catholic household that was strong in their beliefs. To an extent, Skylar envied Shilia's freedom and ability to do virtually whatever she wanted. It was this very freedom that would ultimately lead to Skylar's downfall. By May of 2012, cracks had begun to form in the relationship between the three girls. This was proven by a tweet that Skylar posted, passive-aggressively calling someone close to her a rather hurtful name, adding that her friend thought she'd never find out about something but we don't know for sure what this something was. She followed this tweet up with another one a few days later, saying, too bad my friends are having lives without me. It seems pretty clear to assume that Shilia and Rachel may have been getting pretty close with one another behind Skylar's back and Skylar certainly wasn't happy about this and she began getting jealous. According to one of Skylar's classmates, Daniel, Skylar and Shilia had begun to fight non-stop over the last few months. He recalled a moment during sophomore year when Rachel was on her phone during class. Rachel leaned over to Daniel and said, listen to this. She put the phone against his ear and he could hear Skylar and Shilia arguing with each other. According to Daniel, Shilia knew that the two were about to get into an argument so she secretly called Rachel so that Rachel could listen as the two went at it. This would be the final argument the girls ever got into. Not because they made up and became friends again but because of something far worse. On July 6th, everything would change for Skylar's parents when they woke up to find that Skylar had gone missing. When she didn't show up for work later that day, her parents knew something was wrong. Their first thought was that she might have run away but when they learned that her phone charger, toothbrush, and bathroom supplies were all still in her room, they knew something was wrong and they reported their daughter missing immediately. CCTV footage would soon reveal that Skylar had snuck out of her apartment's bedroom window around midnight on July 5th. She was seen getting into a sedan but no one knew at the time who was driving the car. This would be the last time that Skylar was seen alive. Skylar's mom was naturally worried sick about her daughter. It seems that Shilia and Rachel caught wind of this so Shilia called Skylar's mother to tell her the story of the last time she had seen Skylar. According to Shilia, she had convinced Skylar to sneak out of the house so that the three could hang out that evening, driving around Star City and generally having a good time. Shilia confessed that the three were under the influence that evening but explained that the two had dropped Skylar off at the entrance of their street a few hours later because Skylar didn't want the sound of a car engine or headlights to wake up her parents. Shilia claims that she and Rachel picked up Skylar sometime around 11pm that night, assuring Skylar's mom that Skylar was dropped off just before midnight. But the CCTV footage from that evening proves that Skylar left the apartment at exactly 12.35pm and she would never return. Shilia would show up to Skylar's home in the following days to help search for Skylar and try to round up any clues or evidence but there was none to be found. Rachel was absent during this time because she'd been sent off to Catholic camp for the summer. It was around this time that rumors had begun to circulate around the school and local neighborhoods, suggesting that the girls had actually been to a party that night and that Skylar had overdosed. These rumors grew so concerning that the local police were forced to take them seriously, with one supposed witness telling a police officer that Skylar had overdosed and the party goers had panicked so they hid her body. The only problem with this story is that one detective had a gut feeling that this was nothing more than a lie. Now in reality, detectives can't use a gut feeling to pursue leads during an investigation, but this situation was a bit different. The investigator says that when she spoke with Shilia and Rachel about the evening of the supposed party, the two girls shared the exact same story. But not only were the details of the story the same, but their stories matched word for word, almost as if they had rehearsed the whole thing. The investigator says that every alarm in her brain was going off, telling her that these girls were not telling the truth. But without any evidence of foul play, police couldn't do anything other than continue with their investigation. When police began to dig into Skylar's social media history, they quickly uncovered that the afternoon before she vanished, she posted several derogatory marks about Shilia and Rachel. This made it quite clear to police that something was going on between these girls, and it seems incredibly unlikely that they had all happily attended a party together just a few hours later. But this is when one investigator had a great idea that may have just helped to blow the case wide open. Detective Chris Berry had an epiphany. He'd been in the police force for a number of years, and he recalled that many criminals will often brag about their crimes after the fact, hoping for clout or respect from their peers. Even though the police didn't have any hard evidence to prove that Shilia and Rachel were involved in Skylar's disappearance, he came up with a plan to try to lure the girls into confessing, that is, if they were in fact involved. He decided to create a fake online profile, disguising himself as a teenage boy who went to West Virginia University. He befriended both Shilia and Rachel on Facebook and Twitter, allowing investigators to have virtually limitless access to both of the suspect's social media accounts. It was a few weeks after this that detectives noticed a strange post that was made by Shilia. In the tweet, she said, no one on this earth can handle me and Rachel. If you think you can, you're wrong. While this post wasn't incriminating, it certainly raised a few eyebrows. Around this same time, though, police feared that their cover might soon get blown. There have been rumors circulating on social media claiming that Shilia and Rachel were behind Skylar's disappearance. In some instances, people had directly tweeted at the girls outright accusing the girls of taking Skylar's life. As days passed by, the two retreated from social media a bit, putting a huge damper on the probe that officers had been performing. But then, they struck gold. As they were searching through Shilia's social media accounts, they noticed a photo that caught them off guard. She had posted an image of her car, and the car bore a striking resemblance to the one that had been picking Skylar up that evening. Now, this may not sound like much of a breakthrough, considering that Shilia had already told Skylar's mother that the three had been out partying that night when Skylar vanished. But for investigators, this was now concrete, photographic proof that Shilia was the last person to have seen Skylar alive. Police now cross-referenced CCTV footage from all over town, searching for footage of Shilia's car near the locations where she claimed the three had been that evening. Turns out, they hadn't visited any of the locations they claimed they had. In fact, Shilia claimed that they'd been hanging out on the eastern side of the city that night, but CCTV footage placed them on the west side of town. While this certainly proved that the girls were lying, it still wasn't enough to lead to any charges being filed. But that's when the unthinkable happened, and one of the suspects opened up about what had really happened that night. On December 28th, 2012, a 911 call rang into the local station about a teenage girl who had seemingly lost her mind. The woman on the other end of the phone was explaining to the dispatcher that her daughter had suffered some sort of a breakdown. She explained that she'd become violent, was striking her parents, and running all throughout the neighborhood screaming. This caller was Patricia Schoff, Rachel's mother. In the call, Rachel can be heard in the background shouting for her mother to give her the phone, screaming, this is over repeatedly. When police arrived, Rachel had enough. She couldn't keep things a secret any longer and she was ready to talk. She opened up to investigators and confessed that she and Shilia had taken Skyler's life. In a twist, she explained that the two had been plotting the crime for more than a month before going through with it. Rachel explained that they were complaining to one another about Skyler while they were in science class one day. It was then that they proposed the idea of claiming Skyler's life. Rachel agreed to bring a shovel from her dad's house and Shilia agreed to seal two knives from her mother's kitchen. They both also brought along cleaning supplies and a change of clothes. The two then concocted a lie to convince Skyler to come hang out with them that evening, setting aside their differences and offering a truce. Once Skyler was in the car with them, they claimed that they wanted to find a spot out in the woods where they could smoke and hang out and Skyler was on board with this plan. All three headed off into a patch of woods. Skyler was taking the lead with Rachel and Shilia walking close behind her. Then without notice, the two pounced and began attacking Skyler. She broke free of the two at one point and tried to run away. But the girls eventually caught up and overpowered her, striking her time and time again. The only thing Skyler was able to ask her attackers before she lost her life was why. When the two girls were taken to trial, they were asked this exact question, why? According to Rachel, their motive was simple. They didn't like her. This was the only excuse she ever gave for their actions. Needless to say, both girls were charged with homicide. In court, Rachel pleaded guilty, hoping to be given a more lenient sentence for her participation in helping officers bring the case to a close. Thankfully, they weren't playing into her games and did their very best to have Rachel locked away for life. Unfortunately, this wasn't possible because Rachel was a minor at the time of the crime. Thankfully, officers won a bid to have her tried as an adult and she was eventually sentenced to 30 years in prison with the possibility of parole after 10 years, meaning she's eligible to apply for parole right now. In fact, on May 9th of 2023, her parole application was denied, meaning she'll be locked away in prison for at least a few more years. This brings us to Shelia, the alleged mastermind behind most of the plan. Shelia never admitted guilt and even entered a not guilty plea at her trial, despite the fact that her best friend had just confessed and implicated her in the crime. Shelia was tried as an adult as well, but she didn't cooperate with officers. They came down on her even harder than Rachel. In the end, Shelia was tried as an adult as well, but she won't be eligible for parole until sometime around 2028, though it seems safe to assume that she'll most likely never see the light of day again. Both of the girls are now in their 20s and they're being held at the Lakin Correctional Center in Mason County. Skyler's memory will not be soon forgotten, and thankfully, her case led to a major update in the procedure for missing teenagers in West Virginia. Before Skyler's disappearance, it was the state's policy that families needed to wait 48 hours before they could report a teenager missing. But in West Virginia, it's now the law that, when a teenager goes missing, an Amber Alert is issued immediately, provided that the child is believed to be in some sort of danger. When this bill was proposed to the West Virginia House of Delegates, the law was approved with a 98 to 0 vote, making it an unprecedented success. Skyler Nese lost her life for reasons that are almost unbelievable. It doesn't seem real how two teenage girls could dislike one of their peers so much that they're willing to take her life. After stories like this, I always try to find a silver lining, but there just isn't one in this scenario. Skyler had the rest of her life taken away from her because two selfish teenagers were so hotheaded that they couldn't put some dumb feud behind them. I just hope that in the next life, Skyler was able to find peace. Thanks for tuning in to another episode of True Crime Stories. If you want to see more true crime documentaries like this, be sure to hit the like button and subscribe. If you'd like to help support the channel, the best way you can do that is by leaving a comment below. Any comment at all. It helps out the channel way more than you may realize. If you want to help out financially, you can do that by clicking the blue join button below this video or by picking up a True Crime Stories mug from tieknots.com. But with that, my name is Ty Knots and I'll catch you guys in the next video.