Kriti Mehrotra
It was in the early morning hours of January 12, 2020, when 31-year-old Shea Michael Briar was found barely breathing alongside a remote bridge road in rural Jay County, Indiana. As explored in CBS’ ’48 Hours: Coached to Kill,’ a passerby had dialed 911 upon seeing him lying bloody under the assumption he had gotten into an accident, only for the truth to be much darker. The father of one had actually been targeted, driving authorities to open a murder investigation when he sadly passed away not long after — it had already been too late to save him.
Shea Briar Died From a Single Gunshot Wound to His Back
Born on March 9, 1988, in Ball Memorial Hospital in Muncie, Indiana, Shea Michael Briar grew up in a single-parent household alongside his loving mother, Tracy Chalfant Briar. They later relocated to Kailua, Hawaii, where she found a life partner and he found a father figure in Robert Hoevel, just for them to then complete their family with his younger sister, Sydney Hoevel. The baseball, basketball, and bowling enthusiast ultimately graduated from the private co-educational high school called Academy of the Pacific in 2006 before enlisting in the Navy.
Shea’s initial 2-year training period was spent at the Great Lakes Naval Station in Chicago, Illinois, following which he chose to be with the Navy Military Police in San Antonio, Texas. He subsequently moved to the Bangor Base in Washington to serve as a Master at Arms, prior to transferring to the Canine Handling Unit and being deployed to Italy until his discharge in 2012. That’s when he returned to his home state of Indiana, where he joined the Fairview United Methodist Church alongside his grandparents, took on various odd jobs, and helped at the family farm.
Shea not only served as an officer/trustee for the American Legion Post but was also a heavy equipment operator for the County Departments, local construction businesses, and US Aggregates. He did all this while consciously making quality time for loved ones, especially his 1-year-old daughter, Adilyn, since his ex-fiancée, Esther Jane “EJ” Stephen, had primary custody. The Portland resident had no idea he would be forced to leave everyone behind on January 12, 2020, after he was shot in his midback and the bullet got lodged in his heart — he later died at the hospital.
Shea Briar’s Assailants Had Attempted to Poison Him Once Prior
Almost as soon as authorities arrived at the scene after a good samaritan’s 911 call, they realized the severity of the situation and called for an airlift to the nearby Lutheran Hospital. It was there that medical professionals discovered the gunshot wound in his back, but they could not save him despite their best efforts, as the bullet had pierced before gett ing stuck “in his heart.” The 31-year-old sadly passed away from his injuries, shaking the entire community to the core and inadvertently prompting a tipster to come forward with some significant details regarding his assailants.
A woman by the name of Kristi Sibray contacted detectives not long after a homicide investigation in connection with Shea’s murder was formally opened to assert she knew his killers. Identifying herself as a former police officer, she claimed she was an acquaintance of the high school softball coach and the victim’s 29-year-old ex-fiancée, Esther Jane “EJ” Stephen. She then declared that in the months prior to the incident, the latter had often come over to her place alongside her assistant coach, 18-year-old Shelby Hiestand, to complain about her ex.
Kristi stated EJ would confide in her about their breakup as well as how she was getting frustrated by Shea’s efforts to see their daughter more, for which he had even filed a court petition. As per her assertions, her friend even discussed ways in which she could get rid of her baby daddy for good, but she never took her seriously because she assumed it was just her venting. Her mindset was thus the same when the two women reportedly told her they had once allegedly “crushed some pills” in his tea in the hopes of making him ill enough to miss a custody hearing. However, everything changed when she heard the news of his murder because she realized they could have been sincere.
Investigations Revealed A Third Assailant in Shea Briar’s Homicide
While officials brought in both EJ and Shelby for questioning the day after Kristi’s call, they also continued their independent inquiries to ensure they left no stone unturned in this heinous case. Both women initially denied having any involvement, but they broke after some pressure and confessed to having driven Shea to the rural bridge road before the teenager pulled the trigger. They were subsequently arrested and charged with one count each of murder — it was on January 14, 2020, merely two days after the incident. They later pleaded not guilty in court.
In the days and weeks to pass by, though, detectives uncovered that another young woman by the name of Hannah Knapke was also involved in the orchestration of Shea’s murder. The 19-year-old was EJ and Shelby’s acquaintance from the local area, so she had ended up helping them secure the .22-caliber rifle murder weapon as well as its ammunition from the latter’s home. She later told officials she was the one who picked up the victim from his home and drove him to the bridge with her accomplices, following which EJ walked him out before Shelby pulled the trigger.
EJ Stephen and Shelby Hiestand Are Serving Their Sentence in a State Prison Today
When EJ stood trial for the charges against her in early 2021, she placed all the blame on her former assistant coach by claiming that Shelby was the only one who wanted to kill Shea. She tried to assert she didn’t have a motive at all, but prosecutors argued that she alone stood to gain something from her ex-fiancé’s death, as they had been engaged in a bitter custody battle recently. The state even presented evidence indicating she had recruited the two teenagers to help her do her bidding through trust, along with evidence showcasing careful premeditation in the entire ordeal.
As a result, in March 2021, EJ was found guilty before being sentenced to 55 years in state prison. Shelby faced the same fate following her trial in August 2021, since she was the one who pulled the trigger, meaning she too was handed down 55 years in prison. As for Hannah, she was allowed to plead guilty to the lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter, for which she was given 10 years in prison plus 7.5 years of probation in November 2021. Therefore, today, while 35-year-old EJ is serving her sentence at the maximum-security Rockville Correctional Facility, 24-year-old Shelby is incarcerated at the maximum-security Indiana Women’s Prison. Their respective projected release dates are March 24, 2061, and April 14, 2061. Coming to Hannah, the 24-year-old is serving her time at the minimum-security Madison Correctional Facility, where she is expected to remain until June 24, 2026.
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