2 Teen-Age Girls Plead Guilty in Torture Slaying

Two teen-age girls charged in the torture slaying of a 12-year-old playmate agreed last week to plead guilty to murder in return for the prosecutor’s promise not to seek the death penalty, according to court papers.

Mary Laurine (Laurie) Tackett and Melinda D. Loveless, both 17, signed plea agreements that were filed in Jefferson Circuit Court. A formal plea hearing was scheduled for Oct. 6.

The two are among four girls arrested in the January slaying of Shanda Rene Sharer of Jeffersonville. She had been molested, beaten and burned alive. Investigators believe jealousy was the motive.

Toni Lawrence, 16, pleaded guilty over the summer to one count of criminal confinement resulting in serious bodily injury, and was expected to be the state’s star witness against her friends.

Hope A. Rippey, also 16, has not entered into any plea agreement. She faces many felony charges, including murder and child molestation.

Under the agreement reached Monday, Tackett and Loveless would plead guilty to charges of murder, arson and criminal confinement resulting in serious bodily injury.