And wasnt Justin 12 when this happened? But because the aunt already had several children, the Sharp kids were eventually placed in foster care first together and later apart. Thomas, the retired sheriff, also said he first heard about the letter in 2016. "The fascinating aspect of that discovery is that the envelope had never been opened," Hagwood said. Hagwood personally knew them. The items inside were never entered into evidence a crucial part of the chain of evidence necessary in crime investigation. Also, a man recently discovered a steel blue claw-hammer using a metal detector that matched the description of one that Marty had told investigators he lost. The three were tied up, bludgeoned and stabbed to death. But the void has stayed with her. Justin Smartt Eason, 12, one of three boys left alive in a second bedroom, was allowed to spend the night. WANTED: The Keddie Cabin Killer Episode Summary A family's brutal murder rocks a tiny California town and leaves behind too many unanswered questions. Advertiser Disclosure: Backpackerverse.com is a free online resource that offers valuable content and comparison services to users. There are reports that Sue Sharp had been counseling Marilyn Smartt on her marriage. This includes the living room carpet, wallboard and other items marked with blood and other potential evidence. A vital thread, Gamberg said, is who knew about Tina's remains placed in an isolated wooded area in neighboring Butte County and who may have helped to put them there. It's been hard to cover up the emotions stirred by the 35-year-old mystery. Text is available under . Investigators now seek any biological material including skin, hair, blood and other bodily fluids at crime scenes, according to Randy James in a 2009 feature on DNA testing for TIME. "She would have done anything for them and probably spoiled them rotten.". Updated 2/11/2020 - Sue Sharp, her son John and his friend Dana were found in the Sharp family cabin beaten and strangled to death in the family room. The only way this decision by DOJ makes sense is in considering the background of one of the suspects. Perhaps one day they will finally confirm those suspicions but for now, the devastating case remains unsolved. The Scene Suggests More Than One Killer. Discover unique things to do, places to eat, and sights to see in the best destinations around the world with Bring Me! "I was told the suspects were told to get out of town, so to me that means it was covered up," Sharp said. In earlier years, before the Sharps moved in, he spent nights there with a friend and his family. ", "She did at least get to see her first grandchild born. Although he prefers not to share his identity, dmac has been heavily investigating the Keddie murders for many years. It was discovered later that 12-year-old Tina Sharp was missing. That includes the possible mishandling of evidence Hagwood and Gamberg were determined to find. When finding out about Sue's interference with his marriage, Marty reportedly went "ballistic" about it. "The most vivid image I have is of my brother laying there," she says. Gamberg thinks the tape was deliberately ignored when it arrived at the Plumas County Sheriffs Office. Defensive injuries would be discovered on her arms. Echoes Of Grisly Murders Will Find A Way To Haunt You At This Abandoned California Resort, True Horror: Beware Angry Spirits At This Richmond Swimming Pool, Paranormal Lies: Theyll Tell You Not to Be Afraid At This Berkeley Park, Your Truest Nightmare: Demons Crave Companionship At This Nortonville Hill, Supernatural Child Checks into the Yosemite View Lodge in El Portal. She describes it as "more or less a self-help book, kind of how I dealt with issues that have happened in my life.". Their bodies were found by Shiela Sharp, who, unlike the rest of her family, had slept at a friend's house next door. Just three years after reopening the case, Gamberg was talking to the media about new evidence that was recovered namely a hammer that matches one Smartt said went missing before the murders, and a hunting knife, recovered in Keddie. At the time, law enforcement felt that the murders were committed by "more than one person.". In the coming days, the hammer and knife will be scoured for any possible DNA evidence, and the tape will be examined by the FBI to see if there's a possible voice-match with anyone who has already been interviewed in connection with this case. It was discovered on the once cheerful, ivy patterned wallpaper and on some bedding in the bedroom Sheila and her sister, Tina, shared with their mother. To join the discussion, click the link below. Marilyn claimed to never receive the letter. We hold major institutions accountable and expose wrongdoing. Why was Marty's then-wife, Marilyn Musgrove, a key conspirator and fellow murderer, not arrested? I was a little freaked out, but curiosity won out at the end. As word spread through Keddie and the rest of Plumas County of the murders, its clearly a crime that not only affected Shelia Sharp and her remaining brothers and the boy who was spending the night, it deeply affected some members of the sheriffs office and the community, Gamberg said. Gamberg shared the contents of the tape with People magazine in 2016 when it featured the crime in two magazines and in a news documentary aired on CBS. When he opened the front door he saw the bodies on the green-carpeted floor, according to Gamberg. Sheriff Hagwood had this to say about the tape: The third development came from Gambert speaking to Marty's former therapist in Reno, Nevada. November 22, 2016. Teacher * Psychology * Unsolved Crime * Forensics * Mystery * Animal Lover * Fashion * Southern California. Severin John Bo Boubede, Smartts friend. And as a deputy he knew what was and wasnt happening with the case. The bottoms of Sues bare feet and the soles of one of the boys shoes were also covered in blood suggesting they were mobile and stepped in it at some point. It emerged that Marty was angry about Sue's interference in his troubled marriage. ", "I don't know," he said in 2016. The Keddie Cabin Murders: With Mike Ferguson, Mike Morford. It was an emotional experience, but it didnt reach its peak until after I got home. "Clearly by looking at the hammer you can tell that it's been at that location for a very, very long time," Hagwood said. You can find out more and change our default settings with Cookies Settings. I just stood there, staring at the spot when I thought I heard someone walking behind me, Kendall said. In 1981, the gruesome murder of four in Cabin 28 of the Keddie Resort in Northern California has long been unsolved.or has it?. According to records, RMX was seen in Keddie Sunday morning, including multiple times pacing at or walking by 28. The hammer, similar to one reported missing by Smartt, was dug up near the crime scene just last month. And there were few reassurances from the sheriffs office that they were doing everything possible to catch the killers. It's a case that involves a triple-slaying and a missing child whose remains. But it also recounts the killings and Sheila's theory that they were carried out by a neighbor, Marty Smartt, and his ex-con friend "Bo" Boubede, in part as revenge for Sheila's mom siding with Marty's wife in a marital dispute. I worked with them the entire summer before the murders," he said. I don't think either one of them were involved.". "I guess I don't want to relive that," she tells PEOPLE in this week's issue of the memory 35 years ago when, at age 14, she opened the front door of her family's northern California cabin to find their bloodied bodies on the living room floor. In the larger community of Quincy, with a population of just under 2,000, Sheriff Hagwood was a schoolmate of victims Johnny and Dana, and the summer before the murders they'd all worked together as teenagers on a painting crew. CALLER: And I was just 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? Why did a enforcer from the mob, 'Bo' Boubede, move in with Smartt just prior to the murders? Hagwood, in his third year of office, had many priorities to contend with inside his department and in the county. Authorities also interviewed Marty's ex-con friend "Bo" Boubede, who had moved in with Marty. And Ive seen speculation being treated as fact over the years, even when it can be discredited by the facts that get ignored. . In her book, Sheila wrote, "My mom's character has been subject to all manner of cruel supposition including accusations that she was a drug addict, drug dealer, prostitute, or at the very least an unfit mother.". Of course his DNA would be there! Deputy Hank Klement was the first to arrive on scene. An envelope with a cassette recording of a man telling a sheriff's dispatcher about a body that was found three years of the murders that could be one of the victims who was kidnapped from the murder scene. As I stood there, fighting to breathe, I couldnt help but think of Dana Wingate, and how she had been strangled to death in the house. Crim from the divisions organized crime unit not from homicide to investigate. What occurred next shocked the country: Four people were killed, three of which were found in Cabin 28. The second development was something else found in the same boxes of case files: the taped anonymous phone call that tipped off the location of Tina Sharp's remains. I wanted to protect my brothers from it. (Hester changed her name to Rhyanna Cerise McCormick before she died) also, do any of you know what the name of the surviving daughter is today? "It's my belief that there were more than two people who were involved in the totality of the crime--the disposal of the evidence and the abduction of the little girl," Hagwood said. DNA taken from a strip of white medical tape consistent with that used to bind the victims hands and ankles, and to cover the mouth of one victim, has revealed much as the Plumas County Sheriffs Office moves forward in its efforts to solve the quadruple murder case. Enter your email address to subscribe to Plumas News and receive notifications of new posts by email. With the killings of her family members, "I didn't have the big brother to look up to, and I lost my only sister, and we were close," Sheila says. 2. Among those questioned in the killings was Sue's neighbor Marty Smartt, who lived two cabins away with his wife (and Justin Smartt's mother), Marilyn. Sue's 12-year-old daughter Tina was taken from the cabin, but her decomposed remains wouldn't be found for another three years. The Crime Logs mission is bring awareness to crimes which are both solved and unsolved. It's not the only troubling aspect of the case to Hagwood. Others may look at it more accusinglyI don't put anything outside the realm of possibility.". Sheila ran screaming back to the neighboring cabin where she had spent the night. In the rural town of Keddie, California, a mother and three children were attacked on Saturday, April 11, 1981. Both left the area. What else do you want?". more. Detectives say they are closer than ever to solving the Keddie Murders case | Unsolved California 28,296 views Apr 30, 2021 It has been 40 years since the most horrific crime in Plumas County. I honestly believe that Marty Smartt and Bo Boubede had nothing to do with the Keddie Cabin 28 murders, and that it's awful convenient how they were fingered as suspects years after both of them were dead. His department was short of funding and he was short staffed. It sounded within two feet of me, but nobody was around. But that anonymous 911 caller said it was Tina's before the medical examiner confirmed it through dental records. Smartt would have been in his early 30s at the time of the Keddie murders. This was Cabin 27 where the Seabolt family lived. Gamberg is having professionals analyze the tape recording comparing that male voice to recorded voices of others identified as potential or known suspects. She has never surrendered her hope the case would be solved, if only to rescue her family's reputation and by extension her own. More than 35 years after a teenage girl came home to find her family brutally slain in their resort cabin, police say the cold case is heating up. But she doesn't get to the great-grandkids, she doesn't have that. 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. Although Sheila wouldnt realize it until later, the order of the bodies was her brother, John, who was closest to the front door. 2016 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. Sheriff Hagwood gave an update on the status of the case: Sheriff Hagwood had this to say in regards to Marty Smartt and Bo Boubede being the killers: Sheila Sharp, the surviving member of the Sharp family had this to say of Hagwood: As of now, nobody has been charged and Hagwood and Gamberg continue to dig deeper into what happened that tragic night. "Great! This murder is shrouded in mystery, leaving behind a messy and compelling trail of clues. S.C. When he was reinstated, Thomas kept him out of the investigation. Dana was found next on his stomach with his badly damaged head resting partially on a sofa pillow. A bent steak knife was found on the floor, and a bloody butcher knife and claw hammer were found on a small wooden table near the entryway to the kitchen. "If a case needs to be pinned there," Hagwood told PEOPLE at the time, "we'll pin it. It was 2013. "I want to remember the happy times," she says. In 2004 the now infamous Cabin 28 was condemned and demolished. The hope is coming from an unlikely sourceinformation from a family member of Boubede has led to a discovery investigators thought was long gone. Obsessed with travel? DNA deoxyribonucleic acid is now considered the most reliable physical evidence. great article! In a way, their work has only just begun. And there were only two suspects examined by the police Marty Smartt and his roommate Bo Boubede, who lived two cabins down from the Sharps. Along with special agents Crim and Bradley, Spiro Vasos, a finger print expert, and Bruce Palmer, an evidence expert, also arrived from DOJ. Another piece of perhaps vital evidence that Gamberg discovered was in an envelope that was never opened. On April 11, 1981, Sue's 14-year-old daughter, Sheila, spent the night at a friend's cabin, returning home to her own cabin the now infamous cabin number 28to discover her mom, one of her brothers (Johnny, 15) and his friend Dana Wingate (17) brutally murdered. Sheila's sister was missing her remains were found in the woods three years later. I could still see where the cabin itself once stood, but nature had started to take over the area once more. The three bodies on the floor had been bound, stabbed and beaten with a hammer. May 2, 2016 / 11:47 PM Investigators Have a Personal Stake in the Case, 5. I guess it was the mother in me trying to keep them safe.". Special investigator Mike Gamberg took us back to where that hammer was found near the crime scene and just a stone's throw away from the cabin where investigators strongly believe the killers were staying at the time of the murders. Broke my heart. Now, an Alleged Serial Killer Has Confessed, Police Say, Judge Orders Release of Adnan Syed as Murder Conviction of 'Serial' Subject Is Vacated. According to the crime scene report, the boys' bodies on the living room floor were bloodied around their heads and necks. On April 11, 1981, 36-year-old Glenna "Sue" Sharp, her 15-year-old son John, and his 17-year-old friend Dana Wingate were murdered in Cabin 28 at the Keddie Resort, in Keddie, California. The 1981 Keddie cabin murders of three family members and a teenage friend shook the small Sierra Nevada mountain communities of Keddie and Quincy in northern California, beginning a mystery that lingers decades later. After countless hours of digging, the clues in the cold case started heating up, and new light is emerging on the decades-old crime. Some even believed the furniture moved around by itself. All three victims at the crime scene had been bound with medical and . "She's a hard one to talk about," Sheila says. He was a sweetheart of a kid. And now two years after that, hes announced that theres more that links a living person or persons to the crime. Keddie Cabin Murders Solved? Since 2013, Gamberg has followed the evidence that should have been investigated 37 years earlier. / CBS Sacramento. Apparently Marty had confessed to the murders in a session. Identifiable footprints were not recovered inside. What Gamberg first encountered was the Keddie murders crime scene room. 5 People Vanished Along the Snake River Beginning in 1979: Will Police Finally Catch a Serial Killer? "Whoever did this and there was more than one person had to have blood all over them," said Doug Thomas, who was the Plumas County sheriff at the time of the murder and led the investigation. Blood wasnt confined to the floor and on or around the victims. Even though the tape was never voice-analyzed, the audio of that phone call is now being compared with audio of suspects to find a match. And the cops have DNA. The sheriff at the time of the murders, Doug Thomas, is accused of a cover-up in many online theories. Then he got fired. The call came just after someone discovered a skull and a few bones about 80 miles down the Feather River Canyon in a spot known as Camp 18 about 5 miles from Feather Falls. Gamberg also said that much of the physical evidence taken from Cabin 28 is still in storage. Marilyn, who later remarried, told PEOPLE at the time that she didn't recall receiving the letter. They said I said it was Johnny. They looked through every box in connection with the case and found a recording of a man believed to be one of the killers, or at the very least an accomplice. A GRAPHIC Look Back at the Keddie Murders On the morning of April 11, 1981, 14-year-old Sheila Sharp returned from a neighbor's house after a sleepover and stumbled upon the most disturbing and gruesome scene that she and the rest of Keddie, California, had ever seen. The Plumas County Sheriffs office that they were doing everything possible to the! 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