Jason Shackleford (left, via Lancaster County District Attorney’s Office) received a life prison sentence for the rape and murder of his girlfriend’s 12-year-old daughter, Elaina Smith (right, via obituary). He stuffed her body in a freezer at their home in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, in February 2023.

A man will spend the rest of his days behind bars after he admitted to raping and killing his girlfriend’s 12-year-old daughter in what prosecutors called “one of the most vile, heinous” crimes they’ve ever seen.

Jason Shackelford, 40, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder, rape of a child, two counts of rape, three counts of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, four counts of sexual assault and strangulation. He murdered Elaina Smith, a girl remembered for her love of animals and her curious spirit, at their Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, home in February 2023. Shackelford received an additional life sentence for raping an adult woman.

Lancaster County Judge Jeffery Wright on Friday accepted the guilty pleas and sentenced Shackelford to life in prison.

“I’m a lifelong Lancaster County resident,” Lancaster County Assistant District Attorney Fritz Haverstick said during the proceeding. “This is one of the most vile, heinous crimes we’ve ever seen here. I hope he thinks about Elaina’s face every day for the rest of his life and he’s tortured by it.”