Hope Anna Rippey was born on June 9, 1976, in Madison, Indiana. Her father worked as an engineer at a power plant. In February 1984, when Hope was around seven years old, her parents divorced. Following the divorce, Hope moved with her mother and siblings to Quincy, Michigan, where they lived for three years. During this time, Hope described her family life as somewhat turbulent.

In 1987, Hope's parents resumed their relationship and moved back to Madison. This reunion allowed Hope to reconnect with her childhood friends, Laurie Tackett and Toni Lawrence. However, her parents were concerned about Hope spending time with Tackett, as they viewed her as a bad influence. As Hope entered her teenage years, she began to struggle with emotional issues. At the age of 15, she started to self-harm, which was also a common behavior among some of her friends.

On the night of January 10, 1992, Hope Rippey, along with her friends Laurie Tackett and Toni Lawrence, drove to the house of Melinda Loveless in New Albany, Indiana. They borrowed clothes from Loveless and she showed them a knife, claiming she intended to scare Shanda Sharer, a 12-year-old girl the group had planned to abduct. Loveless held a grudge against Sharer because she felt that Sharer had taken her girlfriend, Amanda Heavrin.

Rippey and Lawrence accompanied Loveless to Sharer’s home, pretending to be friends of Heavrin. When they arrived, they asked Sharer to join them at a place called "Witch's Castle." Despite Sharer’s reluctance, she eventually agreed and changed her clothes, then got into the car with them. Loveless hid in the backseat with the knife. When they were driving, Loveless suddenly revealed herself and threatened Sharer with the knife.

The group took Sharer to a dark, abandoned building in the woods. There, Loveless and Tackett restrained Sharer with rope and began to physically attack her. They punched her, repeatedly slammed her face, and attempted to cut her throat, but the knife was ineffective. The girls took turns stabbing Sharer and eventually strangled her until she lost consciousness. They then placed her in the trunk of their car, believing her to be dead.

Later, Sharer was heard screaming from the trunk, prompting Tackett to stab her again. They then went for a ride through the countryside. The girls decided to take Sharer to a remote location, where they wrapped her in a blanket, poured gasoline on her, and set her on fire. Afterward, they went to McDonald's for breakfast, where they joked about what they had done.

As the day unfolded, their actions led to the discovery of Sharer’s burned body by two brothers who were hunting. The police began investigating and soon linked the crime to Loveless, Tackett, Rippey, and Lawrence, who later confessed the events of that night. The investigation revealed the brutal nature of the murder, and all four girls were charged as adults.

Each of the girls accepted plea deals to avoid the death penalty. They were sentenced to varying lengths of time in prison, with Rippey receiving a 60-year sentence reduced to 35 years on appeal. Eventually, she was released on parole after serving 14 years. The case received widespread media attention due to its violent nature and the young age of the perpetrators.