Some evidence, such as a second bloody knife, turned up in a trash bin behind the Keddie general store. The next morning at around 7 am, Sheila returned home from her sleepover next door. Sheilas 12-year-old sister Tina was missing, while her two younger brothers, Rick and Greg, and their friend Justin were left unharmed during the violent ordeal. This murder is shrouded in mystery, leaving behind a messy and compelling trail of clues. 'People Magazine Investigates' Features Man's 24-Year Wrongful Prison Sentence: 'Never Thought It Could Happen', People Magazine Investigates Offers New Clues on Keddie Cabin Murders, Giving Survivor 'A Little More Hope', 'People Magazine Investigates After Show' : How Solving Keddie Murders Is 'Personal' for Investigators, Inside the Keddie Cabin Murders: Daughter Remembers Finding Mom and Brother Dead at Age 14, A Daughter's 35-Year Fight For Justice: Sheila Sharp Longs to Know Who Murdered Her Family in Their Cabin, Horror in the Woods: 'People Magazine Investigates' Looks at the Keddie Cabin Murders Cold Case, Inside the Search for the Keddie Cabin Killers 35 Years After a Family Was Slaughtered, WATCH: Heartbreak Leads to Hollywood Horror in Exclusive 'People Magazine Investigates' Clip, Behind the Murder of JonBent Ramsey, Featured on 'People Magazine Investigates'. Although Marilyn gave it to authorities, Historic Mysteries reports there is no record that the jacket was entered into evidence. The Keddie Murders Unresolved. With new significant evidence emerging thanks to the meticulous work of the local authorities, the mystery of Cabin 28 could soon be solved. Like her son, her throat had been cut. Were continuing with the investigation, and were doing interviews, and we have several persons of interest. To read the full article about the Keddie Cabin Murders please log in or join Stangeoutdoors by clicking here: The shocking unsolved Keddie Cabin murders Exclusive Members Only Area $15.99 One time Exclusive content for Members At Keddie Cabin, two victims were found tied to each other. Between them lies the forgotten tape of the anonymous phone tip left in 1984, rediscovered in 2013. called the Sacramento Department of Justice. Additionally, some sources say that on the hypnosis tapes, the police made suggestions to Justin during the session. In December 1983, detectives ruled out serial killers Henry Lee Lucas and Ottis Toole as potential suspects. [29], On March 24, 2016, a hammer matching the description of the hammer Martin claimed to have lost was discovered in a local pond[19] and taken into evidence by Plumas County Special Investigator Mike Gamberg. Marty had a friend, John Boubede, who had been living at Martys house. . Despite the multitude of evidence and a few suspects, no arrests took place. Authorities arrived at the scene shortly after 8 a.m. Historic Mysteries is an Amazon Associate and earns from qualifying purchases. Plumas County Sheriffs DepartmentA back view of cabin 28 where the family had lived for a year. Local investigators wrote it off as an upturned burial skull of a native american, but two months later, they got an anonymous call claiming that the skull belonged to Tina Sharp. Sue's two younger sons, Rick and Greg, as well as their friend Justin Smartt, were also in the house but were unharmed. The only thing authorities found that may reveal the identity of the killer, or killers, was DNA collected from a piece of medical tape used to bind the victims. Police arrived at around 8:00 am and began their investigation of the murders. Furthermore, it suggests an answer as to why this case was handled so sloppily, remains unsolved, and is seemingly not a priority to the Sacramento DOJ. As far as the person who gave John and Dana a ride home, Gamberg indicates that he identified a woman and has interviewed her. But curiously, instead of sending homicide detectives, they sent organized crime investigators to Keddie. But, some investigators believe that Marilyn was somehow complicit in the murders. [17], The murders of Sue, John, and Dana were notably vicious:[13] two bloodied knives and one hammer were found at the scene,[15][18] and one of the knives (a steak knife later determined to have been used in the murders) had been bent at roughly 30 degrees. The gruesome murder of a mother and three children 40 years ago continues to haunt investigators, who believe someone knows what happened, KXTV reports. They had apparently slept through the entire massacre which had unfolded mere feet from their beds. [24] Around 2:00 am on April 12, she stated she awoke to find the two burning an unknown item in the wood stove. [6] The house was much larger than the trailer, and had become available when Plumas County's then-sheriff, Sylvester Douglas Thomas, moved out. However, none of the evidence helped the investigators find the killers or determine how she died. Stranger still, in an adjoining bedroom the two youngest Sharp boys, Rickey and Greg, as well as their friend and neighbor, 12-year-old Justin Smartt were found unharmed. I became their mother, and its hard for me to step back and be a sister, cause thats what I am Im their sister, Im not their mother, and they need to make their own choices.. Multiple leads and suspects were examined in the intervening years, though no charges were filed. Police recieved an anonymous phone call suggesting the bones found at Camp 18 belonged to Tina Sharp. Sheila Sharp who discovered the victims of the Keddie Cabin 28 murders in 1981, when she was 14 hopes the cold case finally will be resolved By Jeff Truesdell Published on November 25, 2016. In the evening, the two girls went to the Seabolt family house next door in Cabin 27, just 15 feet away. Martin Smartt later told the police that he had a hammer that matched the one discovered and also that his hammer and gone missing shortly before the murders. She mentioned, however, that she doesnt talk to her brothers about it because she wants to protect them. Authorities arrived at the scene shortly after 8 a.m. [19] John's throat was slashed. On July 18, 1984, a lone gunman James Oliver Huberty entered a crowded McDonald's with a plan: "hunting for humans." He opened fire on the customers inside the fast-food chain, killing 21 and wounding 19 others. Tina was then allegedly taken out the cabins back door by one of the men. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. It's been forty years since the Kebbie Cabin Murders happened in a rural area of Plumas County. [24] John Boubede, who allegedly had ties to organized crime in Chicago,[29] died there in 1988. Until 3 years to the day after the horrific murders a man collecting cans stumbled upon a human skull in Butte County CA. Glenna Sue Sharp was a dark-haired, attractive single mother with five children. Various weapons were found at the scene, including a table knife, a butcher knife, and a bloody hammer. Keddie, a once-favored railroad stop for recreational tourists traveling from the San Francisco Bay area . It is true that longtime cold cases can find warmth even after several decades. [24][11] It was never explained why, with access to the Justice Department's and the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) top forensic artists, law enforcement chose to use an amateur who sometimes volunteered to help local police. (Whelan). [24] Shortly after announcing the discovery, the Butte County Sheriff's Office received an anonymous call that identified the remains as belonging to Tina, but the call was not documented in the case. "[29] In a 2016 interview, Gamberg stated that the letter was "overlooked" in the initial investigation and never admitted as evidence. [24] In his later account of events, told under hypnosis,[17] he claimed to have awoken to sounds coming from the living room while asleep in the bedroom with Rick and Greg. On April 11, 1981, Sheila Sharp, then 14, discovered three bloodied bodies inside her home in Keddie, California: her mother, Glenna "Sue" Sharp, her brother John Sharp and one of his friends, Dana Wingate. The weapons included a steak knife that came from Sues kitchen. However, investigators didnt address these statements, and the police did not arrest or interview Marty again. The murders had been notably violent. Further, the home did not indicate forced entry, though detectives did recover an unidentified fingerprint from a handrail on the back stairs. The killers had escaped. Although the cabin Sharp rented from Mollath was run down, it provided her and her family with more room. At least one other person was killed that night: her teenage brother's friend, whose body also was found by then 14-year-old Sheila on the living room floor of Cabin 28 in Keddie, California, on. [5] Upon arriving in California, she began renting a small trailer formerly occupied by her brother at the Claremont Trailer Village in Quincy. In 2016, a man sweeping around with a metal detector found a hammer in a dried-up pond near Keddies entrance. On the night of the Keddie cabin murders, Marilyn, Boubede (or Bo as they called him), and Marty had been out together at the local bar. Marilyn later said in a 2008 documentary that she believed Marty was the perpetrator and that he had even confessed in writing to her. However, she forgot to bring the clothes she planned to wear to church. The three had been bound by medical and electrical tape and had either been viciously stabbed, strangled, or bludgeoned. Sue and John had suffered similar types of wounds. Investigation Police arrived at around 8:00 am and began their investigation of the murders. with a handwritten letter sent to her and signed by her estranged husband. Later that year, a knife was recovered in a trashcan outside the Keddie General Store; authorities also believed this item to be linked to the crimes. In 2013, he located the recording of the anonymous 911 phone call that came in after Tinas remains surfaced. [27], On April 22, 1984, three years and eleven days after the murders, a bottle collector discovered the cranium portion of a human skull and part of a mandible at Camp Eighteen[17] near Feather Falls in neighboring Butte County,[28] roughly 100 miles (160km) from Keddie. Meanwhile, Sheriff Thomas had resigned from the investigation three months in and take a job instead at the Sacramento DOJ. There, she resided with her 15-year-old son, John (born November 16, 1965);[3] 14-year-old daughter Sheila; 12-year-old daughter Tina (born July 22, 1968);[7] and two younger sons, Rick (age 10) and Greg (age 5). Based on Justin's description of the attackers, detectives identified Martin "Marty" Smartt as one of the primary suspects in the cabin murders. Unfortunately, the town's attempt to reinvent itself fell short. Because she was a minor, the initial search for her involved the FBI, but, for some unknown reason, they quit investigating after about a month. His friend Dana was on the floor beside him on his stomach. [25] Both wore gold-framed sunglasses. In a letter, Marty purportedly said: Ive paid the price of your love and now that Ive bought it with four peoples lives, you tell me we are through. The town tried to reinvent itself by becoming a recreational camping and hiking resort area. [26], Tina's disappearance was initially investigated by the FBI as a possible abduction,[19] though it was reported on April 29, 1981, that the FBI had "backed off" the search as the California State Department of Justice was doing an "adequate job" and "made the FBI's presence unnecessary. Keddie is a tiny settlement in Plumas County on the outskirts of Quincy, California. Plumas County Sheriffs Department The Keddie family about four years before the murders. Working together the result was both fascinating and spooky. Plumas County Sheriffs OfficeComposite sketch of the Keddie murder suspects. You May Also Like: The Servant Girl Annihilators of Texas. As reported by ABC10, John Boubede died in 1988, and Martin Smartt died in 2006. He also exaggerated about how long he had lived in Keddie. Secondly but more importantly there is his reasoning process. Some neighbors near Cabin 28 reported that muffled screams or groans woke them up between 1:00 am and 2:00 am. The following fall, she moved to house #28 in the rural Sierra Nevada railroad town of Keddie. But Sheila credits the memory of her mothers compassion as a guide she has tried to follow. Their throats were slashed, and they both had multiple stabbings and blunt force trauma to the head. Determined to find more survivors, Jamie crept up the back stairs. With that, the remains of Tina Sharp had been found, which made the crimes committed on April 11 or 12, 1981, a quadruple homicide. The Keddie Murders: A cold case suddenly getting warm. keddie murders survivors. At least one other person was killed that night: her teenage brothers friend, whose body also was found by then 14-year-old Sheila on the living room floor of Cabin 28 in Keddie, California, on the morning of April 12, 1981. Welcome! Local authorities confirmed she was not known to law enforcement and did not have a criminal record. Joe Turner is a freelance writer of crime with a passion for unsolved mysteries. [6][16] Initial reports stated that the three young boys had slept through the incident, though this was later contradicted. He weaves magnificent soap-opera stories from threads of shredded documents and deems these stories the truth. When police interviewed the three young survivors who had been in the home all three said they had slept . Listen Now For our friends in the Deaf and Signing community, you can view an ASL version of this episode HERE. A domestic violence survivor herself, Sue reportedly advised Marilyn to leave her husband. In 2016, Gamberg met with a counselor at the Reno Veterans Administration. [28] Near the remains, detectives also discovered a blue nylon jacket, a blanket, a pair of Levi Strauss jeans with a missing back pocket, and an empty medical tape dispenser. Although Dana also suffered trauma to the head, she was strangled to death. The Butte County Sheriffs Department soon received an anonymous call asking, I was wondering if they thought of the murder up in Keddie up in Plumas County a couple years ago where a 12-year-old girl was never found?. It would be another three years after the Keddie murders that Tina was found. Mysteriously, the recording was at the bottom of an unopened evidence box. [24] About 4,000 man-hours were spent working the case,[24] which Thomas described as "frustrating". A butcher knife and claw hammer, both also bloodied, were side-by-side on a small wooden table near the entry into the kitchen. People Magazine Investigates continues with new episodes that air Mondays (10 p.m. The Keddie victims were bound with tape and electrical cords. WANTED: The Keddie Cabin Killer Episode Summary A family's brutal murder rocks a tiny California town and leaves behind too many unanswered questions. Richard (along with Mike Hamilton) is the person who spread the rumor around school (reported by Joey C) that Martin and Boubede killed Sue and the boys and "took" Tina. Gary Mollath, who owned one of the failed resorts, turned his cabins into long-term rental units for low-income families. A bent steak knife was on the floor. The victims were bound with electrical wire and medical tape. The mystery surrounding the unsolved Keddie Cabin Murders. New Evidence Revives Plumas County Quadruple Murder Case. The Sacramento Bee, May 7, 2016.Metcalf, Victoria. The survivor was noticed cowering in the back of an SUV parked in EQ (East Quincy) outside the apartment where the killers were staying. Historic Memories reports Keddie was once a bustling town with a busy railroad terminal. 117: Murdaugh's Maid's Son Testifes To The Millions Alex . This would account for Marilyn leaving her husband the day of the murder discovery. According to the story, Marty said he was angry that Sue had convinced Marilyn to leave him. Originally established as a stop along the railroad, the area was in the middle of a total transition when the Sharp . Rick and Greg claim they were asleep when the others were killed in the next room. Plumas County Sheriffs Office Cabin 28 at Keddie Resort, 1981. Tina, on the other hand, went home around 9:30 and planned to sleep in her own bed. 5 Things to Know about the Keddie Cabin Murders and the Hunt for the Killers, 'People Magazine Investigates' : Inside Decades-Old Disappearances of 5 People Along the Snake River. As a result, he couldnt allow her to live. [29] He later criticized the quality of the initial investigation, saying: "You could take someone just coming out of the academy and they'd have done a better job. You May Also Like: Brutal Murders on Germanys Hinterkaifeck Farm. Moreover, it appears that Marty had actually confessed to the murders to two different people. However, Tina was missing. Oct 15, 2021. The clues suggested that the perpetrators abducted her. The Keddie Murders, October 27, 2019. On the morning of April 11, 14-year-old Sheila Sharp stepped into Cabin 28 to a . A back view of cabin 28 where the family had lived for a year. He lives in the West Midlands, UK with his wife and son. It's debated whether it was the murders themselves that led to less interest in renting in the once-busy area, or if it was the allegedly poor management of the cabins themselves that led to fewer people being willing to live there. It would not have been accidentally misplaced." However, Historic Mysteries reports he was never arrested or charged in the murders. Boubede told authorities he was a former Chicago police officer and that Marilyn was his niece, which were both later revealed to be untrue. ABC10's Madison Wade spoke with. PEOPLE Magazine Investigates After Show: Survivor Sheila Sharp on the 1981 Keddie Cabin Murders of Her Family For 35 years, Sheila Sharp has tried to repress the memory of finding the. [29], In April 2018, Gamberg stated that DNA evidence recovered from a piece of tape at the crime scene matched that of a known living suspect.[19]. His handling of the case in retrospect would be considered disastrous at best and corrupt at worst. He also told investigators that his stepson, Justin, might have seen something on the night of the murder without the killer detecting the boy. Justin said that he was watching TV in the boys room before he fell asleep. [13][14] All three had been bound with medical tape and electrical cords. A recording of this call was found at the bottom of an evidence box at some point after 2013 by a deputy who was assigned the case. It was true that investigators failed to log numerous pieces of evidence and overlooked leads. [15] Tina was absent from the home, while the three younger childrenRick, Greg, and Justinwere found physically unharmed in an adjacent bedroom. The murders tooks place in Cabin 28 of the Keddie Resort. A daughter was kidnapped and her remains were later found. Additionally, he said that Marilyn was his niece, which was also false. On Saturday, April 11, 1981, Sheila Sharp spent the night with neighbors, as she planned to attend church with them the following morning. Investigators Allude to a Break in the Keddie Cabin Murders The 1981 murder of Sue, Johnny, Tina Sharp and Dana Wingate remains a mystery, but we may be seeing an arrest soon. "[24] In addition to interviewing the Smartts, detectives interviewed numerous other locals and neighbors; several, including members of the Seabolt family, recalled seeing a green van parked at the Sharps' house around 9:00 pm. What else do you want? ET) on Investigation Discovery, One of the main things I have a hard time with is getting close to people, for fear that somethings going to happen, Sheila says in an exclusive clip from the after show. Accept Read More, The Disappearance of the Five Sodder Children, Brutal Murders on Germanys Hinterkaifeck Farm, Burke and Hare: Merchants in the Cadaver Market, John Paul Gettys Ransom: When Money Trumps Family. All rights reserved. until 2013 when the case was reopened with new investigators Plumas Sheriff Greg Hagwood and Special Investigator Mike Gamberg. Lt. Don Stoy, were not initially able to discern an apparent motive. In July 1979, Glenna Susan "Sue" Sharp (ne Davis; born March 29, 1945 in Springfield, Massachusetts),[3] along with her five children, left her home in Connecticut after separating from her husband, James Sharp. The living room was in complete chaos, and Sue, John, and Johns friend, Dana, were dead on the floor. [24], The house in which the murders occurred was demolished in 2004. His throat had been slit. I think there was something about Tina that could not be left there to be discovered. Considering the level of violence that took place, this seems impossible. They had died . The murders at Keddie Cabin 28 appeared to be random acts of cruelty. Once a busy railroad terminal in the Sierra Nevada mountains, Keddie had lost much of its population after the railroad closed down. Sheila would spend the night at the Seabolts. Some sources claim that Boubede had a crush on Sue, who supposedly rejected him twice. Marilyn and Marty happened to be taking the same typewriting class that Sue was enrolled in. However, many of the residents left, and the town fell into disrepair when the railroad terminal was closed. It was evident that Sue had put up a fight during the attack, as she had defensive wounds on her arms. Forty years after the incident, the quadruple murder in the woods still baffles the nation. True Crime story of the Tiede family cabin murders. The murders took place in cabin 28, during the late evening of April 11, 1981 and/or early morning of the 12th. Sues ex-husband was in the military when they divorced, and the Navy gave her $250 a month to start her new life. Tina remained a missing person until April 1984, when her skull and several other bones were recovered at Camp Eighteen, California, near Feather Falls in Butte County. The night before the murders, Sheila had slept over a friends house down the street. (Metcalf: 2018). Investigators theorized that someone might have interrupted the murders taking place before the culprits had a chance to kill the younger children in their bedrooms. Some investigators who picked up the case when it reopened in 2013 tie the slayings into an even larger plot. On the floor lay her mother Glenna (Sue) Sharp36, her brother Johnny Sharp15, and Johns friend Dana Wingate17. However, it was simply too small for the family of six. The Sharp family had just moved in to cabin 28 the year before. In the rural town of Keddie, California, a mother and three children were attacked on Saturday, April 11, 1981. A fight ensued,[24] after which Tina entered the room and was taken out of the cabin's back door by one of the men. According to Historic Mysteries, John and Sue suffered blunt force trauma to the head and were stabbed multiple times. The sheriff at the time of the murders, Doug Thomas, and his deputy. Everyone called her Sue. When she opened the front door to the living room, she discovered a massacre. "I believe there are two individuals that are alive and accessories after the fact,"Detective Mike Gamberg saidin an April 2021 interview with ABC10. Although we have attempted to sort through it with due diligence, even the most credible sources do not agree on all the details. On April 12, 1981, the victims, Glenna Sharp, (known as Sue), her son John (age 15), and his friend, Dana Wingate (age 17), were discovered in cabin 28 by Sue's 14-year-old daughter, Shelia, who was coming home from a sleepover. 5 People Vanished Along the Snake River Beginning in 1979: Will Police Finally Catch a Serial Killer? More evidence uncovered in Keddie murders case. In his dreams, he saw two men in the front room of the cabin. Go to PEOPLE.com/PEN, or download the PEN app on Apple TV, Roku Players, Amazon Fire TV, Xumo, Chromecast, iOS and Android devices. Around 1:30 pm, Sue and her oldest daughter Sheila went to pick up John and Dana in Quincy. The discovery of Tinas remains raised even more questions than before. The results of the analyses and tests are unknown. Missing from the cabin was Sue's twelve-year-old daughter, Tina. How could murder with so much evidence remain unsolved? Plumas County Sheriff Greg Hagwood described what happened in Cabin 28 in 1981 . Great! Watch the People Magazine Investigates After Show, available now on the new People/Entertainment Weekly Network (PEN). The former Sharp home was condemned and demolished in 2004. Following his arrest in 1996, police looked at the . Due to the chaos, it took police quite a few hours before anyone realized that Tina was nowhere to be found. Keddie murders revisited part 1: New evidence discovered links living suspect to grisly scene - Plumas News The Sharp family's home shortly after the infamous murders took place in 1981. At the time John was 15, Sheila was 14, Tina,12, Rick, 10, and Greg was 5 years old. The discussion suddenly erupted into a violent attack. All had been beaten with a claw hammer and knifed. The Keddie Murders is an unsolved 1981 American quadruple murder that took place in Keddie, a former resort town in the foothills of California's Sierra Nevada. Marilyn also provided a letter she received from Marty, in which she said he confessed to the Keddie cabin murders. Tina is believed to have been present at the crime scene of the Keddie cabin murders. 5 Things to Know about the Keddie Cabin Murders and the New Hunt for the Killers. Geography [ edit] According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 0.6 square miles (1.6 km 2 ), all of it land. The two had only met weeks before the killings while Boubede was receiving treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder at the nearby Veterans Administration Hospital. Sue packed her children up and moved across the country from North Carolina to the Golden State. Probable murder weapons for the Keddie slaying discovered and submitted as evidence in 2016.