She wanted to block him from gaining custody or even visitation rights
In the quiet town of Hartselle, Alabama, a custody dispute crossed into irreversible darkness when a mother chose violence over the courts, hiring a man to permanently silence the father of her child. Jaclyn Skuce, 43, was sentenced to life without parole for orchestrating the 2020 murder of Anthony Sheppard — a man who never made it to his own custody hearing. Her conviction is a sobering testament to how the fear of losing a child can, in the most tragic of human failures, become the very force that destroys one.
- A father failed to appear at a custody hearing in July 2020 — and was found dead inside his home, shot multiple times, the doors broken open as if the violence had announced itself.
- Investigators uncovered a murder-for-hire scheme arranged over social media, with Jaclyn Skuce paying $30,000 to ensure Anthony Sheppard would never gain custody or even visitation rights with their child.
- Charged on three counts of capital murder — murder for hire, murder of a witness, and murder by shooting into an occupied dwelling — Skuce was found guilty on all counts by a jury.
- The hired killer, Logan Delp, was separately convicted in October 2025, and four individuals in total face capital murder charges, with two still awaiting trial.
- A prosecutor's measured words after sentencing cut to the heart of it: there are no winners here — only a child without a father, a family shattered, and a woman who will die in prison.
On a July morning in 2020, police in Hartselle, Alabama arrived for a routine welfare check after Anthony Sheppard failed to appear at a scheduled custody hearing. What they found was not a man who had simply forgotten — it was a crime scene. Sheppard lay dead inside his home, shot multiple times, the doors forced open.
The investigation revealed a calculated plan. Jaclyn Skuce, 43, of Madison, had arranged through social media to pay Logan Delp $30,000 to kill Sheppard. Her motive was stark: she wanted to prevent him from ever gaining custody or visitation rights with their child. Rather than navigate the courts, she chose to eliminate the dispute entirely.
Skuce was charged with capital murder on three counts — murder for hire, murder of a witness, and murder committed by shooting into an occupied dwelling. A jury convicted her on all three, and she was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
The case extended well beyond Skuce. Logan Delp was convicted of capital murder in October 2025. Four individuals in total have been charged in connection with Sheppard's death, with two still awaiting trial and one having already pleaded guilty.
Chief Assistant District Attorney Garrick Vickery offered no triumphant words after sentencing — only the acknowledgment that there were no winners, only consequences. Sheppard was taken from his family, and the conviction, he said, was accountability for that choice. What remains is a child without a father and a woman who will spend the rest of her life in prison for deciding that murder was preferable to shared custody.
On a July morning in 2020, police in Hartselle, Alabama arrived at a residence for what should have been a routine welfare check. Anthony Larry Sheppard had not shown up for a custody hearing that day, and his attorney had asked officers to make sure he was safe. What they found instead was a crime scene: the storm door shattered, the main door hanging open, and Sheppard inside, dead from multiple gunshot wounds.
The investigation that followed would reveal a deliberate plan to prevent him from ever seeing his child again. Jaclyn Skuce, 43, of Madison, had hired a man named Logan Delp to kill Sheppard. She had used social media to make the arrangement and offered to pay thirty thousand dollars for the murder. The motive was straightforward and brutal: she wanted to block him from gaining custody or even visitation rights with their child.
Skuce was charged with capital murder on three separate counts—murder for hire, murder of a witness, and murder committed by shooting into an occupied dwelling. A jury found her guilty on all three counts, and on Friday, she was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. She will spend the rest of her life in the Alabama Department of Corrections.
The case did not end with Skuce's conviction. Logan Delp, the man she hired to carry out the killing, was himself convicted of capital murder in October 2025. Two other defendants remain awaiting trial, and another has already pleaded guilty. Four people in total have been charged with capital murder in connection with Sheppard's death.
After the verdict, Chief Assistant District Attorney Garrick Vickery spoke to the weight of what had occurred. He acknowledged that there were no winners in a case like this—only loss and the consequences of a choice made in desperation or rage. He praised the jury for taking the time to reach the right decision, both for Sheppard's memory and for the integrity of the process itself. Vickery noted that Skuce had taken Sheppard away from his family, and that the conviction reflected accountability for that choice.
What remains is a child without a father, a family fractured by violence, and a woman who will spend her remaining years in prison for deciding that murder was preferable to sharing custody. The case stands as a stark reminder of how custody disputes, when they spiral into desperation, can end in irreversible tragedy.
Citações Notáveis
There are never any winners in a case like this. This jury was incredibly thorough and took their time to make sure they made the right decision, both for Mr. Sheppard and for the defendant.— Chief Assistant District Attorney Garrick Vickery
A Conversa do Hearth Outra perspectiva sobre a história
Why would someone resort to hiring a hitman over a custody dispute? Doesn't that seem like an extreme escalation?
It does, but custody battles can become all-consuming. When someone believes they're going to lose access to their child, the fear and desperation can override rational thinking. In this case, Skuce apparently decided that killing the father was preferable to sharing parental rights.
How did she even find someone to do this? That's not something you can just ask around about.
She used social media. That's the chilling part—she didn't need to know anyone in the criminal world. She could reach out anonymously online and find someone willing to commit murder for money. It made the unthinkable feel accessible.
And the man she hired, Logan Delp, he actually went through with it?
Yes. He killed Sheppard with multiple gunshot wounds. He was convicted of capital murder in October 2025, so he's also facing life in prison. The tragedy is that multiple people made choices that destroyed a child's life.
Are there other people involved?
Four defendants total have been charged with capital murder. Delp was convicted, one has pleaded guilty, and two are still awaiting trial. It suggests this wasn't a simple transaction between two people—there was a network of involvement.
What happens to the child now?
That's the question no one can answer. The child lost their father to murder and their mother to life imprisonment. The custody dispute that sparked all this is resolved in the worst possible way.