Shane Paul Stewart

Shane Paul Stewart was a 16-year-old from San Angelo, Texas, who was dating 18-year-old Sally Ann McNelly in the summer of 1988. Shane, a white male, and Sally had been in an on-and-off relationship since meeting in high school the previous year but had recently reconciled. He was a beloved son who, on his last night, gave his father a hug and promised to be home by his 11 p.m. curfew.

On the evening of July 4, 1988, Shane and Sally drove to Lake Nasworthy to watch the annual Independence Day fireworks display. They were last seen near the lake just before midnight. When neither of them returned home, their families reported them missing. The following day, Shane’s prized Chevrolet Camaro was found abandoned near the reservoir. The teenagers, however, were nowhere to be found. The search for the young couple stretched on for months, leaving their families in anguish.

The painful wait for answers ended in November 1988. On November 11, hunters discovered Sally's remains in a remote pasture near the Twin Buttes Reservoir, about twenty miles from where the Camaro had been left. Three days later, on November 14, Shane’s body was found in the same area. Autopsies determined that both teenagers had been killed by shotgun blasts to the head. The brutality of the crime sent a shockwave through the San Angelo community.

The double homicide investigation was complicated by widespread rumors that the murders were connected to a local Satanic cult. This theory became a focal point during the "Satanic panic" phenomenon that swept the nation in the 1980s, and the case received national media coverage, including a feature on the television show "Unsolved Mysteries." According to some reports, Sally had been involved with a cult, and Shane was trying to help her leave it. Detectives, however, remained skeptical of the occult connection, and for nearly three decades, the case grew cold with no arrests made.

A significant break came in June 2017. The Tom Green County Sheriff's Office, acting on a tip, conducted a traffic stop on a 47-year-old San Angelo man named John Cyrus Gilbreath. A search of his home uncovered disturbing items that investigators believed were connected to the 1988 murders. Authorities found personal writings that specifically mentioned Shane and Sally's names in the context of murder, three audiotapes labeled "SS," a lock of hair, a fingernail, and biological material believed to be blood. Gilbreath, who had long been on the investigators' radar, was officially named a person of interest in the long-unsolved double homicide.

Following these discoveries, Gilbreath was arrested on unrelated federal charges and remained in prison. Investigators continued to build their case, suspecting that more than one person was involved in the killings. However, before any murder charges could be filed, John Gilbreath died in a Texas federal prison medical center on December 18, 2023, at the age of 54. His death from metastatic cancer was confirmed by the Bureau of Prisons. While he was the primary suspect, his death closed a major chapter in the investigation without a trial or a conviction.

Shane's father, Marshall Stewart, kept his son's Camaro for years until the memories became too painful. In a video, he expressed his hope that the killers would one day "get right with themselves and get right with God." As of December 2023, the murders of Shane Stewart and Sally McNelly remain officially unsolved. The Texas Department of Public Safety continues to seek information, and Texas Crime Stoppers offers a cash reward of up to $3,000 for tips that lead to the arrest of anyone responsible. Tipsters can call the hotline at 1-800-252-TIPS (8477).