Neither Toni nor Hope knew the 12-year-old Shanda. The girls; however, went
on to her house and they talked Shanda into getting in the car with them. She
didn’t see Melinda, who was hiding under some blankets. After they had left her
father’s house, the girls began talking about Shanda and her new girlfriend,
Amanda. At this point, Melinda came out from under the blankets and held a
knife to Shanda’s throat. She told them they were going to “The Witch’s Castle,”
an abandoned stone house that was a popular hangout for teens. She also told
Shanda that nine witches had once lived there and the house had been burned by
the people in the town to drive the witches off.
They stopped several times along the way. At each stop, Shanda was “tied up,
threatened with death, cut on the legs, choked, and beaten with a metal rod”.
(Roylance, 1992) They eventually stopped at a gas station and filled a bottle with
gasoline. Although Rippey held Shanda down at one point, it was Laurie and
Melinda who did the beating. Laurie and Melinda claimed they were going to
burn Shanda, but Toni claimed she was dropped off before Shanda died.
This was later proved to be untrue; although it was determined that Toni stayed
in the car while the others set Shanda on fire. After the killing, the girls went to
McDonalds and ate breakfast, laughing about the fact that Shanda’s burnt body
looked like the sausages they were eating, Toni would eventually enter a plea
deal and plead guilty to a single count of criminal confinement.
The Aftermath
Indianapolis. She petitioned for early release in 2007, but it was denied. At this
moment, her earliest possible release date is November 2020. Laurie Tackett is
also in the Indiana Women’s Prison. She sees a possible release date of July
2021. Hope Rippey had her sentence reduced and was released in 2006. Toni
Lawrence served nine years of her sentence and was released from prison in
2000. Shanda’s father died from cancer and her mother lives in New Albany and
is an advocate for the victims of juvenile killers. (Cantrell, 2013)
Shanda’s mother and Melinda Loveless formed a connection years later and
started healing. Melinda would say of Jacques, "She helped me to heal, forgive
and grow, whether she wanted that or not. She did a good thing. And I thank her.
I can't thank her enough”. (Ryder, 2012)
Mary Flora Bell
One of England’s most notorious killers was Mary Flora Bell, age 11. In May
1968, she strangled 4-year-old Martin Brown in Scotswood, a suburb of
Newcastle upon Tyne. In July, she and a friend strangled and killed 3-year-old
Brian Howe.
The Murders
A psychiatrist testified that Mary had a psychopathic disorder and needed
treatment for it. Conversely, a detective chief inspector, who had interrogated
Mary stated she was "very cunning and insidious." Even before the murders she
had a history of abusing other children. In the summer of 1968, she’d pushed a
3-year-old boy off a roof. He was badly injured in the fall. Mary also squeezed
the throats of three 6-year-old girls the very next day.
She had tried to strangle her best friend’s brother, but his father was able to
make her stop. When he pried her fingers away, she reportedly stomped off,
claiming she was going to tell her father. (Wilson)
In her biography, Mary claimed to have been abused by her prostitute mother
and her mother’s boyfriends. From the time she was 9-years-old Mary claimed
her mother’s boyfriends were allowed to have “natural and unnatural” sexual
relations with her. (Wilson)
After strangling Brian, Mary carved an “M” into his stomach using a razor and
mutilated his penis. She also cut off parts of his hair. Still, both girls’
confessions contradicted one another so it remained unclear as to what, exactly,
happened during the murder.
After the murder of the second child, Mary and her friend broke into a nursery
school and vandalize it, leaving behind a message that they’d killed Brian. Police
saw this message but assumed it to be a prank.
The Aftermath
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