Indiana Woman Sentenced for Role in 2020 Jay County Bridge Killing

Conviction in Jay County Bridge Shooting

On the night of Saturday, Jan. 11, 2020, 31-year-old Shea Briar was shot on a rural bridge in Jay County, Indiana. He was found on the bridge with a bullet wound through his heart and was still alive when officers arrived. Dashcam video shows an officer identifying him by his wallet and asking what happened as Briar responded only with moans and groans. He was transported for medical treatment and died on the operating table. His body was discovered at approximately 1 a.m. on Jan. 12, 2020.

When Briar did not arrive at church in Jay County on Sunday morning, Jan. 12, 2020, Pastor Angela Smiley noticed his absence. She had last seen him the night before at a noodle dinner at the church, where they were among the last people to leave. Family members, including his aunt Tiffany McLaughlin and grandmother Sharon Taylor, later learned from law enforcement that Briar had been shot and did not survive.

Relationship and Custody Dispute

Briar, born in Indiana and raised in Hawaii, had moved back to Jay County after serving in the U.S. Navy. In 2018 he learned he was going to become a father with Esther Jane “E.J.” Stephen, a local high school softball coach and day care operator in Jay County. Their daughter was born in January 2019. The two later became engaged, but Stephen called off the wedding in September 2019.

After the breakup, Briar’s family members state that he had limited or no access to his daughter, and Briar retained a lawyer. In November 2019, he filed a court document seeking to establish paternity and to provide custody, support, and parenting time, and he requested that his daughter carry his last name. Two months later, before the case was heard in court, he was killed.

Investigation and Arrests

Detective Ben Schwartz of the Jay County Sheriff’s Office was one of the lead investigators. Phone records later showed that Stephen called Briar around midnight on Jan. 12, 2020, close to the time he was shot, although she initially told detectives that her last contact with him had been about a week earlier. During a second interview on Jan. 14, 2020, detectives confronted her with the phone records.

In that interview, Stephen described the hours leading up to the shooting. She said she dropped her daughter at the home of acquaintance Kristi Sibray in Jay County on Jan. 11, 2020, with 18-year-old Shelby Hiestand waiting in the car. Stephen said they then went to the Fairview United Methodist Church in Portland, Indiana, where the day care operated, and met 18-year-old Hannah Knapke. All three moved furniture at the day care.

Stephen told detectives that earlier that day she had picked up Hiestand’s rifle from Hiestand’s house. She said that in the day care parking lot, Hiestand took out the rifle and fired a round to see how loud it was. According to Stephen’s account to investigators, the three women then left in Knapke’s parents’ van with the rifle in the back, drove around while discussing whether to proceed with killing Briar, and Stephen called him and asked if he wanted to go for a ride. Stephen stated that they picked him up, that Hiestand drove, and that they went to the rural bridge where Briar was later found.

Stephen told detectives that she and Briar got out of the van at the bridge and that Hiestand shot him. She also admitted that after the shooting, she took Briar’s cell phone and threw it into the river near the bridge. She told investigators she did this because she was afraid he could use the phone to call 911 and confirmed to detectives that she believed he was still alive when she disposed of the phone.

Following these interviews, Stephen was arrested and charged with murder. Hiestand, questioned separately, admitted to pulling the trigger and was also arrested and charged with murder. Detectives later traveled to Iowa, where Knapke was attending college, and she admitted involvement in the events of that night. She was subsequently charged with murder as well.

Trials, Verdicts and Sentences

In March 2021, Stephen went on trial in Jay County for Briar’s murder. Prosecutors presented evidence including her recorded interrogation and the November 2019 paternity and custody filing by Briar. They argued that the killing was planned and that Stephen participated in obtaining and test-firing the rifle, luring Briar into the van, taking him to the bridge and disposing of his phone afterward.

Stephen testified in her own defense and told jurors she was shocked when Hiestand shot Briar. She acknowledged having discussed harming Briar but claimed many of those conversations were not serious. She also told the jury that she threw his phone in the river because she could not unlock it to call 911 and said her own phone was dead at the time. After about two and a half hours of deliberation, the jury found her guilty of murder. She was later sentenced to 55 years in prison, which prosecutors described as the recommended sentence for murder in Indiana.

In August 2021, Hiestand was tried separately in Jay County for murder. Prosecutors introduced a text message she sent to Stephen about a month before Briar’s death stating, “I’m killing that bastard with my own two hands.” They also presented her recorded statement to detectives in which she admitted firing the gun. The defense argued that the shooting was accidental and cited Hiestand’s claim that she “blacked out” and the gun went off. After a three-day trial, a jury convicted Hiestand of murder. At sentencing, she apologized directly to Briar’s family. She received a 55-year prison sentence.

In September 2021, Knapke reached a plea agreement with prosecutors. She pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in connection with Briar’s death. Under the terms of the agreement, she received a sentence that could allow her release as early as July 2026. At her sentencing hearing, she apologized to Briar’s relatives. Family members told the court that, in their view, although Knapke was not the mastermind or the shooter, she remained involved in the crime by participating in the events that led to Briar’s death.

Ongoing Impact on Family

Briar is buried next to the small white church in Jay County where he had been an active member and where he had planned to attend the morning he was reported missing. His gravestone includes the word “daddy,” referring to his role as father to his daughter with Stephen.

According to Briar’s family, his daughter is currently in the custody of Stephen’s family. Briar’s relatives are permitted to see the child once a month. Family members state that they continue to attend court proceedings and sentencing hearings related to the case and describe the convictions and sentences as important steps in securing justice for Briar.