Kriti Mehrotra
ABC’s ’20/20: The Perfect Liar’ is a two-hour broadcast that explores the story of a jailhouse snitch, Paul Skalnik, who managed to be released from behind bars for the several crimes he committed in exchange for offering testimonies in criminal cases. One of the people whom he testified against is James Dailey, a man that has been on Florida’s death row for over three decades in connection to the murder of 14-year-old Shelly Boggio.
Today, with James continuing to maintain his innocence, questions about the validity of Paul’s statements get raised. Shelly’s family almost find themselves stuck between not knowing what and who to believe. The most prominent people in Shelly’s family, in this case, are, of course, her biological sisters. Let’s find out more about them!
Who Are Shelly Boggio’s Sisters?
Shelly Boggio was one of three girls; she had a twin, Stacy Boggio, as well as another sister, Kalli Boggio. Back in 1984, the three of them, along with their father, Frank Boggio, moved to Kenneth City, Florida, from Battle Creek, Michigan, with nothing but the clothes on their backs to start a new life. However, not everything turned out to go their way.
A police officer told the Tampa Bay Times that the Boggio girls, barely teenagers, were already into smoking and partying and had no interest in going to school. Once, he added, he went to check in on them and found that they were only able to use the heat from their kitchen stove to stay warm. And as if that wasn’t enough, the night of May 5, 1985, arrived, when Shelly and Stacy’s hitchhiking in St. Petersburg turned into Shelly’s murder, which crumbled her whole family.
Where Are Shelly Boggio’s Sisters Now?
Stacy Boggio had left her sister behind that night, and the guilt of that ate her alive. In the years that passed, she continued living in Florida, got married, and even started a family of her own, but in 2006, she died of a drug overdose. “She kind of blamed herself for what happened,” Stacy’s son, Lance, said. “She always just kind of fought that battle of ‘what if I would’ve been there? Could I have stopped it?’ It really did a number on her, for sure.”
Lance further explained that his mother never got over Shelly’s death, and the guilt that she lived with even led her to write a letter to Jack Pearcy in prison. Stacy son claimed that Jack responded, but he could offer Stacy no consolation as he described that by being drunk and high on drugs, he was useless and could only watch as James Dailey allegedly killed Shelly.
Kalli, on the other hand, resides in St. Petersburg, Florida, and is still hoping to get her lost family some much-deserved peace and justice. She is tired of how long James Dailey has managed to evade his death penalty and plans on being there the day he is finally executed. She wants to read him a letter just before it happens to reiterate the consequences of his actions, explaining how, from the young life he took, he damaged her entire family beyond repair.
“Time has passed but I still feel the weight of Shelly’s murder,” Kalli wrote to First Coast News. “So much loss – father, sisters. So much pain because of James Dailey. Why does he get another day? … He received the death penalty from two different juries. The Boggios left have been waiting. It is time for justice.” (Featured Image Credit: Andrea Boggio / WZMM)
Read More: How Did Shelly Boggio Die?
