Indiana woman gets 55 years in prison

PORTLAND, Ind. - The second woman convicted for the murder of Shea Briar, a 31-year-old from Portland, Indiana, was sentenced to 55 years in prison Friday after tearfully apologizing to Briar's family.

Shelby Hiestand of Portland, Indiana, is a former Fort Recovery assistant softball coach who was convicted in August after a jury found her guilty of unclassified felony murder. The charge held the potential of a 45- to 65-year prison sentence. Fifty five years is the advised sentence, according to Jay County Circuit Court Judge Brian Hutchison.

The advisory sentence is a guideline in Indiana that a judge can use as a starting point, and add or lessen time depending on aggravating or mitigating circumstances.

After hearing arguments from both the prosecution and defense Friday and acknowledging the existence of both aggravating and mitigating factors, Hutchison said he felt the advised penalty of 55 years in prison was appropriate.

Hiestand was young at the time of the crime, Hutchison acknowledged. She was 18 years old at the time of her arrest in January 2020. Until her arrest, she had no criminal or juvenile record and had a good record of employment. However, Hutchison rejected the notion that Hiestand had been groomed, an assertion made by both Hiestand's defense and a character witness made on her behalf, stating there was no evidence of such.

John Quirk, Hiestand's lead defense attorney, asked Hutchison to give the minimum prison sentence permitted by law. He asserted his client was at low risk for reoffending and that Hiestand had been groomed for years by Esther Stephen, another Portland, Indiana, woman and former Fort Recovery head softball coach who was sentenced to 55 years in prison earlier this year for her role in Briar's murder.

At the time of the murder, Stephen and Briar had a child together and they had been arguing over custody and Briar wanting to change the child's last name to his.

Jackie Bryan, who knew Hiestand for years, told the court that Hiestand had always been shy, socially awkward and tried too hard to please those she thought of as friends. When this all began, Hiestand was a child, as she met Stephen at the age of 13, Bryan said, and was barely 18 at the time of the murder. If Hiestand didn't do as she was asked, her "friend" would disappear for months, Bryan said.

Bryan said that while she didn't condone what happened, she felt there were mitigating factors to be taken into account, and called Hiestand an inherently good person who was another casualty of a selfish, manipulative person.

Jay County Prosecutor Wes Schemenaur pushed for the maximum sentence of 65 years, pointing to the "cold-blooded" nature of Hiestand's actions. Briar was shot in the back and didn't experience a quick death, being left to die in the cold and the dark, he continued. Briar survived being shot for hours before succumbing, as shown during the trial by police dashcam footage.

"He suffered, and he suffered tremendously," Schemenaur said.

Three members of Briar's family spoke Friday, also asking that Hiestand receive the maximum sentence. Hiestand began to cry as Briar's grandmother, Sharon Taylor, emotionally recounted a passage from the bible and spoke directly to Hiestand of how she murdered him, leaving him to struggle alone in the cold.

Tracy Hoevel, Briar's mother, said her family had been through hell since his murder, yet after sitting through two trials, she knew now that her nightmares were dreams compared to what her son had suffered in his final moments.

"You took a huge piece of my heart," Hoevel tearfully said to Hiestand.

Hiestand addressed the courtroom, saying that not a day had gone by that she hadn't regretted what she'd done. While she was sure the family thought she hated Briar, that wasn't true, she said - "It's hard to say you hate someone that you don't know."

Looking back, she said there were many red flags during her relationship with Stephen, and she was unsure how she had been so blind. Still, she had done something she couldn't take back, and while she didn't know if she deserved forgiveness, she apologized for her actions.

Hutchison agreed with the prosecution that Hiestand's actions had been "cold-blooded," and noted that until her sentencing on Friday, he had seen almost no remorse from Hiestand. Additionally, he said he felt she did not fully comprehend the impact her actions had on others.

Hannah Knapke, a former Fort Recovery High School student and softball player who'd known Hiestand and Knapke as coaches, is also being charged in connection with Briar's death.

Both Hiestand and Stephen had reported using Knapke's vehicle to transport Briar to the bridge on which he was killed because their own vehicles would've been too noticeable, and Knapke was reportedly in the vehicle with them when Briar was shot. Her trial is scheduled to begin Nov. 15.