| Murder of Shanda Sharer |
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| Location | Madison, Indiana, United States |
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| Coordinates | 38°53′56.7″N 85°19′10.2″W / 38.899083°N 85.319500°W / 38.899083; -85.319500 |
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| Date | January 11, 1992; 32 years ago (1992-01-11) |
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Attack type | Immolation, torture murder, stabbing, beating, ligature strangulation, sexual assault, kidnapping, arson |
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| Deaths | 1 |
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Injured | 0 |
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| Victims | Shanda Sharer |
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| Perpetrators | Melinda Loveless, Laurie Tackett, Hope Rippey and Toni Lawrence |
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On January 11, 1992, in Madison, Indiana, United States, 4 girls aged 15-17 named Melinda Loveless, Laurie Tackett, Hope Rippey and Toni Lawrence immolated, tortured, stabbed, beat, strangled, sexually abused and burned a 12-year-old girl named Shanda Sharer, who was Melinda's rival. They killed her because Shanda was dating Melinda's girlfriend.
Tackett and Loveless were sentenced to 60 years in the Indiana Women's Prison in Indianapolis. Tackett was released in 2018, and served probation for one year.[1] Loveless was released in September 2019. Rippey was sentenced to 60 years, with 10 years suspended for mitigating circumstances, plus 10 years of medium-supervision probation. On appeal, a judge reduced the sentence to 35 years. In exchange for her cooperation, Lawrence was allowed to plead guilty to one count of criminal confinement and was sentenced to a maximum of 20 years.
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