How Two Best Friends Murdered Skylar Neese

Sixteen-year-old Skylar Neese climbed out of her bedroom window in Morgantown, West Virginia, on the night of July 6, 2012, stepped into a car with her two best friends, and was never seen alive again. What began as an apparent missing persons case unraveled into one of the most disturbing true crime stories in recent American history: a cold-blooded murder planned and carried out by two teenage girls against their own closest friend.

Now, the Disney+ documentary series Friends Like These: The Murder of Skylar Neese turns a fresh spotlight on the case — one that shocked an entire country and forced difficult questions about what can hide behind the surface of even the closest friendships.

An Ordinary Night That Ended in Tragedy

Skylar Neese appeared to be living a normal teenage life in Morgantown. She had a tight social circle and, like many her age, shared much of her life on social media. Nothing about that July evening gave any indication of what was coming — that the two friends she drove off with had already planned to take her life.

Her body was found months later near Horton, West Virginia, far from her home in Morgantown. The discovery confirmed that the killing was not a crime of impulse. It had been premeditated, and after carrying it out, the two girls returned to their everyday lives as though nothing had happened.

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The Lies That Fell Apart

In the months following Skylar's disappearance, her friends Shelia Eddy and Rachel Shoaf presented themselves publicly as worried, grieving companions. They joined search efforts, posted on social media, and kept up appearances. The police investigation stretched on — but in June 2013, the facade finally collapsed.

Rachel Shoaf agreed to give a statement and confessed her role in the murder. Her confession led to the arrest of both girls and set in motion a legal case that captured national attention. Both were ultimately sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole — among the harshest punishments available under the American justice system.

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A Documentary That Digs Deeper

Friends Like These is not the first production to examine the Skylar Neese case, but the Disney+ series promises to go further than the headlines. With a focus on the social dynamics within teenage friend groups and the betrayal that can lurk behind intimate relationships, the series is aimed at viewers who want more than a straightforward account of the facts.

In recent years, the true crime genre has increasingly moved toward asking bigger questions: Why does this happen? What do we miss? Who are the people behind these acts? That approach appears to shape this production as well. According to Disney+, the series explores the web of lies and betrayal that surrounded Skylar Neese in the months following her disappearance.

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A Case That Still Haunts

The Skylar Neese case touches on something deeply unsettling in our understanding of friendship and trust. The fact that the most dangerous place for a teenage girl turned out to be the car of her two closest friends has made this case a lasting reference point in discussions about social relationships, adolescent psychology, and the darkness that can hide beneath ordinary surfaces.

For true crime viewers with an interest in psychology of murder, Friends Like These offers a compelling reason to return to a case that, despite more than a decade having passed, has lost none of its power to shock and disturb.