Toni Lawrence was born in Madison, Indiana, on February 14, 1976. Her father worked as a boilermaker. From a young age, she was very close friends with Hope Rippey. Unfortunately, her childhood faced significant challenges. At the age of 9, Toni was abused by a relative. Later, at 14, she was raped by a teenage boy. Following this trauma, the police only issued a restraining order against the boy, which did not bring her much comfort.

After the rape, Toni began to struggle with her mental health. She started attending counseling sessions but did not continue them for long. She became more promiscuous and started to self-harm. This struggle escalated, leading her to attempt suicide while she was in eighth grade. 

On the night of January 10, 1992, Toni Lawrence, along with her friends Hope Rippey and Laurie Tackett, drove to Melinda Loveless's house. They borrowed some clothes from Loveless, who then showed them a knife and stated that she intended to scare Shanda Sharer with it. Loveless disliked Sharer for dating her ex-girlfriend. Later that night, the girls drove to Shanda's house to lure her out.

They knocked on the door, and when Shanda came out, they told her they were friends of her acquaintance Amanda Heavrin and asked her to come with them to a place they called the Witch's Castle. Although Shanda hesitated at first, she agreed to go after changing her clothes. Once in the car, Loveless attacked Shanda, holding the knife to her throat and asking her about her relationship with Heavrin.

At the Witch's Castle, Shanda was taken inside, where she was tied up and taunted. Loveless and Tackett threatened her and started cutting off her jewelry. They made her strip to her underwear and began physically assaulting her. Loveless attempted to cut Shanda's throat but the knife was too dull. After a series of brutal attacks, they placed Shanda in the trunk of the car, believing her to be dead.

Later, they heard Shanda screaming from the trunk. Tackett, in a fit of rage, stabbed her again and involved the others in more violent acts. They drove around while continuing the abuse, and eventually returned to Tackett's home to clean up. After some time, they drove Shanda to a remote area where they attempted to dispose of her body.

In one final act, the girls wrapped Shanda in a blanket, doused her in gasoline, and set her on fire. They then went to a McDonald's for breakfast, where they jokingly talked about the crime they had just committed. Lawrence even made a phone call to a friend and told her about the murder.

The following morning, two brothers found Shanda's burned body on the side of the road. An investigation was quickly initiated, and Lawrence and Rippey, feeling guilty, went to the police and provided details about the crime. Loveless and Tackett were arrested soon after, and the evidence against them was gathered primarily from the statements made by Lawrence and Rippey.

All four girls were charged as adults and accepted plea deals to avoid harsher penalties. They faced various lengths of prison sentences, which were later carried out with varying terms of parole granted over the years.