Do you know who murdered Sally McNelly and Shane Stewart in 1988? Sally Ann McNelly was an 18-year-old woman with plans to join the U.S. Navy after graduation. Born in Ballinger, Texas, she was remembered by her mother, Patricia, as a person who tried hard to please people and would do anything for a friend. Her mother said that because she had Sally when she was very young, they grew up together, sharing a bond that was more like sisters than mother and daughter. Sally, a Caucasian female, was in a relationship with 16-year-old Shane Stewart, and the two were high school sweethearts in their hometown of San Angelo, Texas.
On the evening of July 4, 1988, Sally and Shane, who had recently reconciled after a breakup, went to watch the annual Independence Day fireworks display at Lake Nasworthy. It was the last time they were seen alive. Around midnight, a fisherman at O.C. Fisher Lake, miles away, spotted the couple and later recalled hearing them argue, saying they "didn't want to be with them people no more."
The next morning, a ranger found Shane's abandoned Chevrolet Camaro. The keys were on the dashboard, and fast-food wrappers were on the seat, but there was no sign of the teenagers or a struggle. Their families reported them missing on July 7.
The search for Sally and Shane ended in tragedy over four months later. On November 11, 1988, hunters discovered Sally’s skeletal remains in a remote pasture near Twin Buttes Reservoir, about 17 miles from where they were last seen. Three days later, on November 14, Shane's remains were found in the same vicinity. Autopsies determined that both teenagers had been killed by shotgun wounds, and their deaths were ruled homicides by the Tom Green County Sheriff's Office, which led the investigation.
In the months and years that followed, the investigation was complicated by widespread rumors linking the couple to a local satanic cult. These rumors gained traction as the "Satanic Panic" swept the nation. Friends reported that Sally had attended parties involving occult activities, and months before their deaths, the couple had given a gun to police, claiming a cult member told them it had been used in a murder-robbery. Police determined the gun had been stolen. Despite the intense speculation, the case grew cold, leaving the families of Sally and Shane without answers for decades.
A significant development occurred nearly 29 years later. In June 2017, San Angelo police arrested a local man, John Cyrus Gilbreath, then 47, on unrelated drug and weapons charges. A subsequent search of his home, based on a tip that he was a drug dealer, uncovered a collection of disturbing items. According to court documents, investigators found handwritten notes and ledgers that mentioned Sally and Shane, three audio tapes with "SS" written on them, and biological materials, including hair, blood, and fingernails.
Following these discoveries, the Tom Green County Sheriff's Office named Gilbreath a person of interest in the 1988 double homicide. He was charged with unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon, possession of body armor, and drug possession, but was later released on bail. Despite the potential evidence found at his home, John Gilbreath was never charged in connection with the murders of Sally McNelly and Shane Stewart.
As of July 2023, the case officially remains unsolved. The Texas Rangers and the Tom Green County Sheriff's Office continue to investigate, periodically asking the public for help on anniversaries of the crime. The families of Sally McNelly and Shane Stewart are still waiting for justice. Anyone with information is encouraged to contact the Tom Green County Sheriff's Office at 325-655-8111 or the Texas Rangers' Cold Case website. 
