Every death is tragic, but when life is cut short at a young age, it’s made even worse. Hulu is revisiting one of the most haunting cases of the social media era. The streaming service announced a new three-part documentary series, “Friends Like These: The Murder of Skylar Neese,” which is set to premiere this March.
If you’re a true crime fan, you likely know the name Skylar Neese—the West Virginia teen whose 2012 disappearance exposed a betrayal so cold it still feels unbelievable.
A Deadly “Best Friend” Trio
Skylar Neese was just 16 when she vanished from her bedroom in the middle of the night. For months, her community searched for her, led in part by her two best friends, Shelia Eddy and Rachel Shoaf. The girls even helped Skylar’s parents distribute missing-person flyers.
But as the digital trail grew warmer, the truth came out: those same “best friends” had lured Skylar into the woods and stabbed her to death. When investigators finally asked for a motive, the response was chillingly simple: “We just didn’t like her anymore.”
What to Expect from the Docuseries
This isn’t just a recap of the headlines. Directed by Clair Titley (The Contestant), the series uses a mix of Digital Footprints to explore the social media posts and tweets that concealed the killers’ guilt in real time. The series aims to give her a voice by delving into Skyler’s personal journals and messages. The docuseries also features conversations with those who lived through the turmoil.
The series aims to explore the “fragility of friendship” in the age of the internet and how a typical teenage rebellion spiraled into a calculated, premeditated murder.
The Production Team
The series comes from Dorothy Street Pictures, with a high-profile team behind it, including BAFTA-winning producer Josie Besbrode and executive producers Melanie Archer, Rebecca Burrell, and Julia Nottingham.
Whether you followed the case in 2012 or are just discovering it now, Friends Like These appears to be a heartbreaking look at trust, loyalty, and the dark side of growing up online. Tune in for the premiere on March 6 on Hulu and Disney+ in the U.S., and on Disney+ internationally.
