His handling of the case in retrospect would be considered disastrous at best and corrupt at worst. 109 min listen. KEDDIE (CBS13) Investigators believe they may have found one of the weapons used in a 35-year-old murder mystery. 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?. Sue was gagged deeply with a bandana and her underwear. August 30 1984 Paradise Rapist. The strangest thing is that there is no apparent motive. On April 11, 1981, Sue and the kids were in and out of Cabin 28 throughout the day. From the front door, their small wooden cabin opened to the living room. Sue had spent the later afternoon with Sheila and Tina. Sharp's neighbors described her as a "loner," who only made one close friend in the community. A fourth victim, Sheila's younger sister, was missing. In 2016, a hammer, which could have been the one Smartt reportedly said he lost, was found in a pond near where the Keddie cabin once stood. All That's Interesting is a Brooklyn-based digital publisher that seeks out stories that illuminate the past, present, and future. You May Also Like: The Disappearance of the Five Sodder Children. When it was eventually discovered that Tina Sharp was missing, the FBI arrived on the scene. [6] The house's telephone had been taken off the hook and the cord cut from the outlet, and the drapes were closed. One theory is that they really wanted people to notice them. Whoever attacked them bound them with medical tape. The former Sharp home was condemned and demolished in 2004. "[17], Martin Smartt died of cancer in Portland, Oregon, in June 2000. The Keddie murders are an unsolved quadruple homicide which took place over the night of April 1112, 1981, in Keddie, California, United States. Secondly but more importantly there is his reasoning process. Several of the suspected murder weapons were found at the scene, including two knives and a hammer, which were covered in blood. Stabbed. All three returned home later, but Marty and Bo went out again. Gamberg also stated that at that time, six potential suspects were being examined. The sheriff at the time of the murders, Doug Thomas, and his deputy. | Privacy Policy | Contact Us | DMCA Notice, This website uses cookies to improve your experience. They had died . Nevertheless, authorities were determined to follow any possible leads. [3][4] She decided to relocate to northern California, where her brother Don was residing at the time. 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. KEDDIE, Calif. It has been 40 years since what is known as the Keddie Murders took place in rural Plumas County. 28 of the Keddie Resort. [6][16] Initial reports stated that the three young boys had slept through the incident, though this was later contradicted. 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Inside Cabin 28 were the bodies of her mother, Glenna Sue Sharp, her teenage brother John, and his high school friend, Dana Wingate. Great! The weapons included a steak knife that came from Sues kitchen. Surely, no one expected it to be one of the most famous unsolved murder cases in history. It matched the description of the one Marty gave in his interrogation. In the rural town of Keddie, California, a mother and three children were attacked on Saturday, April 11, 1981. Around 1:30 pm, Sue and her oldest daughter Sheila went to pick up John and Dana in Quincy. 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. A fourth victim, Sheilas younger sister, was missing. [24], According to a 2016 article published by The Sacramento Bee, Martin had left Keddie and driven to Reno, Nevada, shortly after the murders; from there, he sent a letter to Marilyn ruminating on personal struggles in their marriage, which he concluded with: "I've paid the price of your love & now I've bought it with four people's lives. Dana also had severe head injuries, but he had also been strangled. Former Plumas County Sheriff Greg Hagwood said he believes Tina is "central to why" the family was killed. 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. However, an anonymous call to the Sheriffs office reported the remains as belonging to Tina Sharp. In his dream, he had tried to stop the bleeding in Sues chest with towels, and he covered her with a blanket. Sue's two younger sons, Rick and Greg, as well as their friend Justin Smartt, were also in the house but were unharmed. Plumas County Sheriffs OfficeComposite sketch of the Keddie murder suspects. As a result, he couldnt allow her to live. There were some bloodstains on her bedding, which suggested that she might have been kidnapped from her bed after the murders. In 2016, Gamberg met with a counselor at the Reno Veterans Administration. A mom, son, and son's best friend were found murdered. It's my strong sense that there's something about Tina that did not allow for her to be left there.". 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. 117: Murdaugh's Maid's Son Testifes To The Millions Alex . Some have speculated that Martin may have killed Sue for revenge, in the mistaken belief that she was responsible for breaking up his marriage. Determined to find more survivors, Jamie crept up the back stairs. 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. 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. The town was later promoted as a resort town, with opportunities for camping, hiking, and other recreation. The family had been living in relative poverty in a town of 66 people. [12] Tina's jacket, shoes and a toolbox containing various tools were missing from the house,[6] which showed no indication of forced entry. [24], Martin Smartt, a neighbor and main suspect, claimed that a claw hammer had inexplicably gone missing from his home. 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. John and his 17-year-old friend Dana had hitchhiked to a nearby town of Quincy for a party and returned sometime later that evening. If she did turn in a jacket, the police, once again, did not acknowledge it as evidence. ABC10's Madison Wade spoke with. The police never admitted this letter as evidence. Lt. Don Stoy, were not initially able to discern an apparent motive. Gamberg sent the tape to other law enforcement agencies for analysis and possible leads. [15] Tina was absent from the home, while the three younger childrenRick, Greg, and Justinwere found physically unharmed in an adjacent bedroom. The anonymous counselor told him that in May 1981, Martin Smartt had confessed to killing Sue and Tina Sharp. Although the story is intriguing, Justin may have gotten information about the case from the media during the four weeks since the murders. When they returned to the bar much later, they were wearing suits, as if they had spent the evening at a business meeting. Two months later, a forensic analysis of the teeth confirmed that they were indeed Tinas remains. 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. 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. Probable murder weapons for the Keddie slaying discovered and submitted as evidence in 2016. Gamberg was a young deputy when the Keddie cabin murders occurred. However, Tina was missing. Historic Mysteries provides captivating articles on archaeology, history, and unexplained mysteries. Marilyn and Marty happened to be taking the same typewriting class that Sue was enrolled in. Smartt moved to Reno, Nevada, shortly after the conclusion of his police interview and was also never arrested or charged in the Keddie cabin murders. The State Tries to Seal the Deal in Murdaugh Trial Closing Arguments by Surviving the Survivor. 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. She was naked from the waist down, but there was no sign of sexual assault. This may be the reason the Department of Justice in Sacramento stepped into the Keddie case early. There, they visited their friends and watched TV. According to the story, Marty said he was angry that Sue had convinced Marilyn to leave him. Victims,. . Investigators claim that she was having her own affair at the time. True Crime story of the Tiede family cabin murders. Historic Mysteries reports neighbors heard "muffled screams or groans," sometime between 1 a.m. and 2 a.m., but they did not realize anyone was in danger and simply went back to sleep. Some evidence, such as a second bloody knife, turned up in a trash bin behind the Keddie general store. He is the author of a series of published mystery novels and holds a degree in criminal psychology. She was very caring, and thats how Ive always been.. True Crime April 12, 1981. Keddie Murder Victims (Clockwise): Sue Sharp, John Sharp, Dana Wingate, and Tina Sharp. As reported by Timber Creek Talon, Marty also purportedly confessed to the murders during a therapy session. He had been manually strangled. Keddie Cabin 28 Police Documents Keddie Cabin 28 Crime Scene Photos Things People Have Said Over the Years The Keddie Cabin 28 Investigation Suspect: Martin Smartt Other Possible Keddie Suspects General Hal Snook Welcome! 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. On the night of April 11, 1981, three peoplea mother, her adolescent son, and the son's friendwere bludgeoned to death in a California cabin, all while children slept soundly in an adjacent room. Eliminated as a suspect, despite actually confessing to the Keddie murders, was Robert Joseph Silveria Jr., the so-called "Boxcar Killer". A back view of cabin 28 where the family had lived for a year. Sue Sharps surviving children left California to live with an aunt. Unfortunately, they couldnt determine where the sounds came from and went back to sleep. Unfortunately, many hours passed since her disappearance, and the chance of anyone finding her nearby was slim. 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. The murders took place in cabin 28, during the late evening of April 11, 1981 and/or early morning of the 12th. Justin recalled that both men wore glasses and that the two older boys, John and Dana, came home while Sue was talking to the men. Keddie Cabin 28: What Happened? At Keddie Cabin, two victims were found tied to each other. Plumas County Sheriffs OfficeProbable murder weapons for the Keddie slaying discovered and submitted as evidence in 2016. Although the cabin Sharp rented from Mollath was run down, it provided her and her family with more room. During his interrogation, Marty offered to the police that his hammer with a blue handle had gone missing. Its my belief that there were more than two people who were involved in the totality of the crimethe disposal of the evidence and the abduction of the little girl, Hagwood said. Police arrived at around 8:00 am and began their investigation of the murders. The plastic piece that the police found in Cabin 28 matched up to a Daisy 880 BB gun. They also found a bloody fingerprint on the handrail leading down from the back door. Tina is believed to have been present at the crime scene of the Keddie cabin murders. The bodies of Sue, John, and Dana were found on the morning of April 12 by Sue's 14-year-old daughter, Sheila, who had been sleeping at a friend's house. As reported by Keddie28, they initially rented a trailer home owned by Sharp's brother. . Three dead: Sue (36), John (15), and John's friend, Dana Wingate (17). One of the psychics was a medium who could speak with the dead while the other used EVP. [19] She had been stabbed in the chest,[20] her throat was stabbed horizontally, the wound going through her larynx and nicking her spine, and on the side of her head was an imprint matching the butt of a Daisy 880 Powerline BB/pellet rifle. First, they approached the site of Cabin 28, which at this point had been torn down. "Keddie murders", Wikipedia "The Martin Smartt 'love letters'", kmik, The Great Zodiac Killer Hoax of 1986 . "[19] A counselor whom Martin regularly visited also alleged that he had admitted to the murders of Sue and Tina, but claimed, "I didn't have anything to do with [the boys]. But curiously, instead of sending homicide detectives, they sent organized crime investigators to Keddie. In addition to confirming Sue, John, and Dana were dead, the officers concluded they were murdered. On the after show, Dennis asks Sheila how the crime affected her surviving younger siblings, and about the role Sheila played as their protector in later years. Following his arrest in 1996, police looked at the . Neighbors said that for the most part, she kept to herself but the family was integrating well. He lives in the West Midlands, UK with his wife and son. Joe Turner is a freelance writer of crime with a passion for unsolved mysteries. Inside The Unsolved Shooting Of Brooklyn's Hip-Hop King. In 2016, Gamberg located a hammer believed to be one of the murder weapons in a dried-up pond in Keddie. The Sharp family had just moved in to cabin 28 the year before. John, 15, was the oldest boy, while the oldest girl was Sheila, 14; Tina was 12; and the two younger boys were Rick, 10, and Greg, 5. Meanwhile, Sheriff Thomas had resigned from the investigation three months in and take a job instead at the Sacramento DOJ. As reported by Historic Mysteries, Smartt was Justin's stepfather. A person matching the description Justin gave became a primary suspect in the investigation Justins stepfather, Martin Smartt, also known as Marty. Marty, his wife Marilyn, and Marilyns two sons lived in Cabin 26 near the Sharps house just across the lane. The victims were bound with electrical wire and medical tape. He weaves magnificent soap-opera stories from threads of shredded documents and deems these stories the truth. On April 12th, 1981, 14-year-old Sheila Sharp returned to her family cabin, Cabin 28 of the Keddie Resort Keddie, California after a sleep-over with a friend who lived in the same resort as her own families cabin. Authorities interviewed neighbors and the boys who were inside the house when the attack occurred, but there were no eyewitnesses. It is true that longtime cold cases can find warmth even after several decades. 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. with a handwritten letter sent to her and signed by her estranged husband. In 1981 in Cabin 28 of the Keddie Resort, California, three members of the Sharp family, as well as one of their family friends, were bludgeoned to death with hammers, with one repeatedly stabbed. Based on Justin's description of the attackers, detectives identified Martin "Marty" Smartt as one of the primary suspects in the cabin murders. On the night of April 11, 1981, four people were brutally murdered in Cabin 28 of the Keddie resort in Northern California. 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. keddie murders survivorscumberland police department officers. Gamberg is on a special mission to solve the 37-year-old murder case, where four people were brutally murdered, and probably all within the tiny railroad town and former resort community called Keddie. While he was supposedly collecting cans, a human skull and mandible turned up. Were they protecting their informant? They lived in a trailer park for a short time, but then Sue decided to move just five miles from Quincy into the mountains to a place known as the Keddie Resort. "I believe there are two individuals that are alive and accessories after the fact,"Detective Mike Gamberg saidin an April 2021 interview with ABC10. Various weapons were found at the scene, including a table knife, a butcher knife, and a bloody hammer. You May Also Like: Brutal Murders on Germanys Hinterkaifeck Farm. Great! This might explain why the Sacramento DOJ sent two allegedly corrupt organized crime special agents instead of agents from the homicide department. 5 People Vanished Along the Snake River Beginning in 1979: Will Police Finally Catch a Serial Killer? [25], Rumors regarding the crimes being ritualistic or motivated by drug trafficking were dismissed by Plumas County Sheriff Doug Thomas, who stated in the week following the murders that no drug paraphernalia or illegal drugs were found in the home. "I've paid the price of your love & now I've bought it with four people's lives," ABC10 reports the letter said. On the morning of April 11, 14-year-old Sheila Sharp stepped into Cabin 28 to a . Later, it came to light that Marty was a personal friend of the local county sheriff, Doug Thomas, at the time of the crime. It would take the police hours to realize that a fourth victim, Tina, was missing. [25] Both wore gold-framed sunglasses. 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. People Magazine Investigates continues with new episodes that air Mondays (10 p.m. Investigation Police arrived at around 8:00 am and began their investigation of the murders.