Naman Shrestha
The episode titled ‘Wrong Turns’ of NBC’s ‘Dateline’ focuses on the gruesome murder of Justin Hilbert and Bailey Sharp, both separated by a few weeks in the summer of 2016. While the investigators searched for the killer of the former, they suspected that there might be a connection between the killer of Bailey and Justin. With the help of interviews with the victims’ families and friends, the episode provides a detailed account of the murder cases and the investigation that followed.
Bailey Sharp Was Found Dead by Multiple Witnesses Near a Riverside Park in 2016
On May 19, 1993, in Carrollton, Texas, Bailey Colleen Sharp entered the life of her parents, Ericka Sharp and Jeff Sharp, and became a source of their happiness over the years. Raised in a small town near Seattle, she was the oldest of her two siblings who was passionate about soccer and had aspirations to become a counselor. However, as she grew up, she suffered from various health issues, such as depression, anxiety, lupus, and fibromyalgia. When she was forced to quit playing soccer in high school, she used drugs and alcohol as an escape from her painful reality.
Things started getting worse for her from there on as she would overdose on drugs and get admitted to hospitals. She also stayed in a rehabilitation center in California in order to get out of the pattern of drugs. When all else failed, Bailey was sent to Texas, where she stayed with her grandparents, away from the drug connections she had back home. After showing signs of improvement, she relocated to Riverside, California in 2016, where she met an active military member named Jared Gordon Bischoff. Quickly forming a deep connection with each other, they began dating. Before she could reach her full potential and achieve her dreams, the bright young girl met her untimely and tragic demise.
Around 5:15 pm on July 10, 2016, the police received a call from a Riverside park where 23-year-old Bailey was seen collapsing unconscious on the ground in a pool of her own blood. The police officers rushed to the scene of the crime, near the intersection of Calmhill Drive and California Avenue in Riverside, and found Bailey lying unconscious with over 20 stab wounds. Immediately, she was taken to the Riverside Community Hospital in hopes of saving her. Unfortunately, about an hour later, she succumbed to her injuries at the hospital. This led to the launch of a murder investigation as the detectives went looking for the perpetrator right away.
The Killer Led the Police on a Long, High-Speed Chase Before Surrendering
Upon questioning the witnesses at the scene, the police learned that it was likely that Bailey Sharp and her boyfriend, Jared Bischoff, got into a heated argument at Challen Park. During the fight, the latter allegedly put her in a chokehold at first and attempted to drag her into his car. When he couldn’t, he pulled out a knife and stabbed her multiple times before fleeing the scene. After looking for the 25-year-old suspect for several hours since the fateful evening, they finally located him around 4:45 am the following morning. But when the authorities tried to pull over his white Kia on Interstate 805 in the Clairemont area, he refused to stop and led them on a chase for hours.
During the chase, Jared sped along Interstate 5 before leading them to State Route 78, where the authorities set up spike strips in vain, and Interstate 15. He then drove onto State Route 91 before turning onto surface streets in Riverside. After about two hours of hot pursuit, Jared pulled over in Riverside near the intersection of Rubidoux and Grand avenues and surrendered without incident. He was arrested and charged with attempted kidnapping and the murder of his girlfriend, Bailey Sharp. Besides that, the navy sailor also faced charges for leading officers on a pursuit and the possession of methamphetamine.
At the time of his arrest, he was also linked with the murder of Justin Hilbert, the fiance of his ex-wife, Tonya Reppe. As it turned out, Jared had decided to kill his ex-wife, Tonya Reppe, after finding out that she was engaged to Justin and shared a child with him. He included his girlfriend, Bailey, and another associate named Danny Serrano, offering them a portion of the money he would receive from the insurance policy on his ex-wife. After killing Justin, the plan was to have Bailey lure Tonya out of her house to murder her too, but she failed in doing so, meaning the second half of their conspiracy didn’t pan out. Bailey was never charged in connection to Justin’s death because she had also been killed by the time the truth came to light. Therefore, not only was Jared and Danny convicted and sentenced for Justin’s murder but Jared was also found guilty of stabbing Bailey Sharp over 20 times until she bled to death. Thus, he received a life imprisonment sentence for his crimes without the possibility of parole.
Read More: Where is Justin Hilbert’s Family Now?
