San Angelo lies deep in the heart of Texas and in the fall of 1987 two local high school students, sixteen-year-old Shane Stewart and eighteen-year-old Sally McNelly, were capturing each other’s hearts. It seemed a typical teenage romance until the early New Year, when their parents noticed pronounced changes in their children’s behavior. Shane was getting into fights while Sally was sneaking out of the house after her curfew. Both youths treated their parents with hostility and withdrew from their friends.

Shane and Sally moved in together for a time, but the romance soon fizzled and each left San Angelo. When they both returned home for the Fourth of July, the sparks between the teens appeared rekindled. The romance may have been renewed as the fireworks flew, but it was soon permanently squelched.

Shane and Sally were last seen enjoying the holiday festivities in the early morning hours of July 5, 1988. Their bodies were found near an area lake five months later. Both teens had been shot to death.

Friends believe Shane and Sally’s desire to get out of a satanic cult may have led to their murders.

Shane Stewart Sally McNelly

In March 1988, four months before Shane and Sally were murdered, Sally contacted the Tom Green County Sheriff’s Department. She told them that she and Shane, who were living together at the time, were trying to get away from a cult because members were involved in drug use, group sex, and criminal activity. She also gave the police a gun which she said had been given to her by a cult member who told her the weapon had been used in a murder/robbery. Police found the gun had been stolen but could not link it to any specific crime.

Six weeks later, Shane and Sally moved out of their apartment and went their separate ways. During the summer, however, the teens reunited to watch the annual Fourth of July festivities together at San Angelo’s Lake Nasworthy.

Reunited For The Holiday

Around 1:00 a.m. on July 5, after the fireworks show had concluded, fisherman Randall Littlefield saw Shane and Sally parked at Isabel Harte Park near the O.C. Fisher Lake, six miles away. As the two teens were stargazing, a pickup pulled beside them. Two young men exited the vehicle and an argument ensued. Randall heard Shane and Sally say something to the effect that they no longer wanted to be with them.

Believing they were kids partying, Randall thought nothing of the incident.

Randall Littlefield

The next morning, a ranger discovered Shane’s car, a 1980 Chevrolet Camaro, abandoned near Twin Buttes Lake, approximately seventeen miles south of O.C. Fisher Lake. The keys lay on the dashboard and a Whataburger receipt and food wrappers littered the front seat.

Shane’s Car is Found Abandoned

Finding no signs of a struggle, police theorized the young lovers had run off together until a grisly discovery was made four months later. On November 11, human bones were found near Twin Buttes Lake, where Shane’s car had been abandoned. They were identified as those of Sally. Three days, additional bones found were determined to be Shane’s. Both teens had been killed by shotgun blasts.

Shane And Sally Are Found Shot to Death

The remote area where Shane and Sally’s bodies were found led police to believe the killer was someone local, probably someone the teens knew. Friends told authorities the murders may have been related to cult activities, but the investigation stalled because possible witnesses were keeping quiet, likely fearing reprisals from cult members.

Searching For Clues

In 1994, six years after the murders, a DNA profile was produced from evidence found next to Shane’s abandoned car. Police have not stated the nature of the evidence, but a comparison with samples from the DNA National Database did not produce a match.

In July 2014, the remains of Shane Stewart and Sally McNelly were exhumed for further DNA study. Investigators have not commented on what was determined from the exhumations.

DNA Obtained, But No Match Yet

Upon being stopped for a traffic violation in June 2017, forty-six-year-old John Gilbreah was found in possession of drug paraphernalia, a loaded .38 caliber handgun, a camouflaged-color body armor vest, and marijuana. His girlfriend, Dorothy Sylliaasen, said he had more drugs at his home.

In addition to the narcotics found at Gilbreath’s residence, police found evidence potentially linking Gilbreath to Shane Stewart and Sally McNelly’s 1988 murders. Items found included three audio tapes with the writing “SS,” handwritten notes and ledgers mentioning both teens, a lock of hair, a fingernail, and other documents mentioning Shane and Sally.

John Gilbreath

In 2018, Gilbreath was convicted of marijuana and firearm possession and is currently incarcerated in federal prison.

Gilbreath Is Incarcerated

Gilbreath, seventeen-years-old at the time of Shane Stewart and Sally McNelly’s murders, and a former member of a cult, had been a person of interest from the onset, but, to date, he has not been charged with their murders.

Young Gilbreath

Investigators believe more than one person was involved in the murders of Shane Stewart and Sally McNelly. Another former cult member who now lives outside the United States was also investigated, but authorities have stated in recent years that they no longer believe the murders were directly related to cult activities.

A pickup was pulled over shortly after the murders. One of the occupants was carrying Sally’s driver’s license. He is also considered a person of interest, as is a male teen who had been in a physical altercation with Shane several days before they were last seen.

Were Multiple People Involved?

Shane Stewart and Sally McNelly were murdered in 1988, most likely shortly after they were last seen in the early morning hours of July 5. No one has been charged with the crimes.

If you have information relevant to their murders, please contact the Tom Green County, Texas, Sheriff’s Department at 325-655-8111 or Crime Stoppers at either sanangelocrimestoppers.com or (325) 658-HELP (4357).\

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/154368919/shane-paul-stewart\

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/154368988/sally-ann-mcnelly

Who Killed Shane And Sally?

SOURCES:

• KTSM News Channel 9 El Paso
• San Angelo Standard Times
• Tom Green County Sheriff’s Department
• USA Today
• Unsolved Mysteries