55-year sentence

A Portland woman convicted of murder will spend more than half a century behind bars.

Jay Circuit Court Judge Brian Hutchison sentenced Esther J. Stephen to 55 years in prison for the Jan. 12, 2020, murder of 31-year-old Shea Briar.

“I respect the judge’s decision,” said Jay County prosecutor Wes Schemenaur, who argued for the maximum 65-year penalty. “And I think the judge is ultimately correct. The aggravating factors that I argued, they were aggravating factors that are listed in the statute but that’s not the exclusive list, but it’s the safest course, I think, probably for the court to stick with what’s in the statute.

“He’s probably correct, a 65-year sentence wouldn’t withstand appeal.”

Murder in Indiana carries a sentence of 45 to 65 years with an advisory sentence of 55 years.

Brandon Murphy, who represented Stephen after her initial defense attorney Jill Gonzalez died April 11, and Stephen will appeal the sentence.

Stephen, 30, with whom Briar shared a child, is the first convicted of murder in connection with Briar’s death. She was found guilty on March 19 after a five-day trial during which the jury of eight women and four men deliberated for nearly two and a half hours before coming to a unanimous verdict.

Shelby Hiestand, Portland, and Hannah Knapke, Fort Recovery, both 19, have also been charged with murder. Hiestand’s trial is scheduled to start Aug. 9, while Knapke is set to stand trial beginning Nov. 15.

In arguing for the maximum sentence, Schemenaur said the aggravating circumstances outweighed that of any potential mitigators. He said Briar’s murder was not a spur-of-the-moment decision and had been plotted for several weeks; Stephen, as a former coach and mentor who lured Hiestand and Knapke into the plot that was to her benefit; and Briar’s suffering was greater than necessary.

“I don’t want to imagine what went through his mind as he lay there knowing he was going to die,” he said.

Shortly before announcing the sentence, Hutchison said the fact Stephen had no prior contact with the court system was a strong mitigating factor, and another was the fact she is unlikely to commit another crime because Stephen was to spend at least 45 years in prison. But he also referenced what he saw as a lack of contrition for her actions.

“I have not seen the first bit of remorse out of you from the initial hearing until now,” he said. “The only emotion I’ve seen is fear.

“You planned this thing out. You recruited two young women to help. You lured Shea out … You denied the child an opportunity to learn about its father.”

Murphy called four witnesses to argue for a lesser sentence. They included Beth Stephen, Esther’s mother, and Murphy questioned each about Esther’s involvement with the community and church in an effort for a reduced sentence.

“This is a small town,” Hutchison said. “This has rocked the community … All this talk about church, but ‘Thou shall not kill.’

“You showed callous disregard for Shea Briar’s life.”

In the sentencing hearing that lasted nearly an hour, Schemenaur called four witnesses to the stand, including Briar’s mother, grandmother and aunt. Each of them read from a prepared statement.

“The pain of losing Shea is something I’ll never get over,” said Tiffany McLaughlin, Briar’s aunt. “I’ll never hear his goofy laugh. He was senselessly taken from us.”

Sharon Taylor, Briar’s grandmother who also testified during Stephen’s trial, held back tears as she read her statement.

“I will never again prepare Shea’s favorite meal,” she said. “I want to erase Jan. 12, 2020, from my memory. Jan. 12, 2020, will forever be my new reality.”

According to court documents, the three women picked Briar up at his Portland home with plans to “hang out” and proceeded to drive in Knapke’s vehicle to the county road 125 West bridge over Loblolly Creek, just south of county road 850 North. There, Stephen distracted Briar to allow Hiestand to retrieve a gun from the vehicle. Hiestand then shot Briar once in the back. Knapke was standing next to Hiestand at the time of the shooting.

Briar was found on the bridge about 2 a.m. Jan. 12 and died later the same day at Lutheran Hospital in Fort Wayne.

Hiestand and Knapke are being held in Jay County Jail pending their trials.