Members of that family, along with Sheila Sharp, 14, claimed they didnt hear a sound from the Sharps house that night. 2021. As of November 2016, it was being tested for DNA or blood residue as a possible additional murder weapon. "I have always talked about the situation," Sheila says. She was spending the night at a friend's house on the night of the murders and came home to find the bodies. According to the crime scene report, the boys' bodies on the living room floor were bloodied around their heads and necks. In many ways there was even less trust following the deaths. If someone confessed in 1981 why is it still unsolved? Plumas County Sheriff Greg Hagwood described what happened in Cabin 28 in 1981, where single mother of five Glenna Sue sharp was murdered with her teenage son John and his friend Dana Wingate. In the rural town of Keddie, California, a mother and three children were attacked on Saturday, April 11, 1981. What Gamberg first encountered was the Keddie murders crime scene room. "It struck this community harder than anything," he said of the killings. What else do you want?". In 1981, the gruesome murder of four in Cabin 28 of the Keddie Resort in Northern California has long been unsolvedor has it? Brenda Brown, Ryan Becker, 2020 "Murder in California: Serial Killers and Unsolved Murders", Marques Vickers, 2019; References This page was last edited on 1 March 2023, at 06:27 (UTC). It's a believe long-shared by the victims' family. The theories allege that he was a close friend to Marty Smartt at the time. Although two of the main suspects, Smartt and Boubede are dead, they were alive at the time of Tina Sharps discovery. They said I said it was Johnny. This was Cabin 27 where the Seabolt family lived. According to Gamberg, right after the murders, Sheriff Doug Thomas contacted the DOJ in Sacramento. The Keddie Murders Revisited Plumas County Sheriff's Office Probable murder weapons for the Keddie slaying discovered and submitted as evidence in 2016. But for some, Keddie is synonymous with murder and despair. 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. Sue Sharp was found lying very close to the sofa. Victims,. The Keddie Cabin Murders took place on April 12, 1981; Sue Sharp, two of her children, and her son's friend lost their lives. The evidence proves Dana and John died as true heroes, running to the defense of Sue and Tina. Keddie murders: Keddie: 1981-04-11: 4: . November 22, 2016. Now She's Speaking Out, Lone Survivor of 1984 Colorado Hammer Killer Attack Misses the Family He Stole: 'Inside I Cry Every Day', investigators were able to analyze identifiable DNA. The DNA matched that of a then-living suspect. The hammer, similar to one reported missing by Smartt, was dug up near the crime scene just last month. ", "But then it's also, I think, made me stronger," she says, "because I've had to look out for my two younger brothers. All three victims at the crime scene had been bound with medical and . What has made this case particularly hard to organize is that the original case history log who did what and on what date is gone. They're the ones that have kept me going. You can find out more and change our default settings with Cookies Settings. There was evidence that went unnoticed and people of interest who may not have been vetted properly. She describes it as "more or less a self-help book, kind of how I dealt with issues that have happened in my life.". "She would have done anything for them and probably spoiled them rotten.". The anonymous caller said he was watching the news about the discovery at Feather Falls down Highway 70 from Keddie. A psychic online claims she visited the house and could hear the screams of the victims. But I don't remember that. He lived there with his mother and stepfather, Marilyn and Martin Marty Smartt, and his brother. Kindness May Have Ultimately Been Her Downfall, Lone Survivor of 1984 Colorado Hammer Killer Attack Misses the Family He Stole: 'Inside I Cry Every Day', Inside the Investigation That Found Holly Marie Clouse 40 Years After She Vanished and Parents Were Murdered, Fla. 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He was lying face up with his blood-covered hands bound together securely with medical tape. ", "I have a measure of confidence that we've identified some of them and we're gonna be--we're gonna be coming," he said. Go to PEOPLE.com/PEN, or download the app for Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Xumo, Chromecast, Xfinity, iOS and Android devices. Gamberg further tracked down a therapist in Reno, Nev., to whom Marty allegedly confessed after the killings and who told Gamberg he was shocked to learn that investigators at the time didn't use that confession to solve the crimes. Click here to get breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases in the True Crime Newsletter. The FBI was also involved because it was believed that Tina Sharp was abducted. His home was just a short distance away in Cabin 26. S.C. ", "I don't know," he said in 2016. Anyone who has any information on the Keddie murders is asked to call the Keddie murders hotline at 283-6360. . The Scene Suggests More Than One Killer. 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 said, "I've paid the price for your love and now that I've bought it with four peoples lives, you tell me we are through? 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. But because the aunt already had several children, the Sharp kids were eventually placed in foster care first together and later apart. After countless hours of digging, the clues in the cold case started heating up, and new light is emerging on the decades-old crime. Smartt died in 2006. Our Forum holds the facts of the case. RELATED VIDEO: Exclusive Look at People Magazine Investigates the Keddie Murders. 2023 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. 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. "I struggle with that. "Clearly by looking at the hammer you can tell that it's been at that location for a very, very long time," Hagwood said. They had died. Marilyn claimed to never receive the letter. And I have every confidence that they either participated after the fact or they have first-hand information. Sue's two younger sons, Rick and Greg, as well as their friend Justin Smartt, were also in the house but were unharmed. "The alleged killers who lived here did they have any problems with law enforcement prior? As Marty said in his 1981 confession, they were just collateral damage. Keddie28 reported Sharp immediately fled the cabin and ran to the neighbors for help. Hagwood would graduate from California State University, Sacramento with a degree in criminal justice. As she got older and contemplated a career in law enforcement, she became more interested in the case. Why was Marty Smartt, the main suspect, the drug-running local sheriff's close friend? And I have every confidence that they either participated after the fact or they have first-hand information Its obviously a worthwhile pursuit. A fourth victim, Tina, was missing. 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. On April 12, 1981, 14-year-old Sheila Sharp was returning from a sleepover when she discovered three dead bodies in her family's cabin at the Keddie Resort: her 36-year-old single mother, Sue; her brother Johnny, 15; and Johnny's friend Dana Wingate, 17. There have been a lot of rumors floating around and unfortunately people are considering them as the truth, instead of checking and doing the research. Why was Marty's then-wife, Marilyn Musgrove, a key conspirator and fellow murderer, not arrested? Justin Smartt Eason, 12, one of three boys left alive in a second bedroom, was allowed to spend the night. "Dana was at my house the day before the homicide," he said. "I actually put in my mind that I'll probably go to my gravethat it will never be solvedand then when all this is coming out--it brought up the hope again," she said. He became a deputy in his hometown in 1988. Reporting on what you care about. All rights reserved, Privacy Policy|Online Content Agreement, The Sacramento Bee: Mother, 2 Teen-Agers Slain in Plumas Hamlet, The San Francisco Examiner: Three brutal murders, missing girl mystify Plumas County, by Steven Capps, The Lompoc Record: 3 murders puzzle authorities, by UPI, The San Francisco Examiner: Sierra resort is rocked by nightmare murders in cabin, by Steven A. Capps, Oroville Mercury Register: Autopsies Are Scheduled in Plumas Triple Murder, by Associated Press, Oroville Mercury Register: Autopsies Show 3 Died From Blows to Head, by Associated Press, The Sacramento Bee: Motive For Triple Slaying A Puzzle, by Walt Wiley, Reno Gazette-Journal: Plumas triple murder investigation continues, Feather River Bulletin: Triple slaying in Keddie, by Marv Snow and Dave Moller, The Sacramento Bee: Triple-Slaying Probe Looks For Missing Girl, by Walt Wiley, The Chico Enterprise-Record (Chico, CA): Report on Killings Awaited, The San Francisco Examiner: Dog teams searching for girl believed slain, by Associated Press, The Sacramento Bee: Searches End For 12-Year-Old Missing After Murders Of 3 Others, Feather River Bulletin: Tina Sharp still missing, by Dave Moller, Feather River Bulletin: Tina Sharp feared dead, The Sacramento Bee: Investigators Frustrated In Search For Triple Killer, by Walt Wiley, Feather River Bulletin: Murder autopsies reveal no drugs, Feather River Bulletin: Sheriff seeks pair for questioning in Keddie murder investigation, The Sacramento Bee: New Sheriff Takes Problems In Stride, by Walt Wiley, Feather River Bulletin: Sheriff asks deer hunters for help in Keddie case, Feather River Bulletin: Human skull found, Feather River Bulletin: Murder probe continuing, by Dave Moller, Feather River Bulletin: Two ruled out in Keddie case, Oroville Mercury Register: Missing Girls Bones Identified, The Sacramento Bee: Bones found are those of girl linked to slayings, by Steve Gibson & Tom Guarino, The Chico Enterprise-Record: Girl, 12, apparent 4, The Sacramento Bee: Triple slaying still haunts resort after 3 years, by Ken Payton, Feather River Bulletin: Fourth victim found in slaying, by Dave Moller, Feather River Bulletin: Murder, by Curt Asher, Feather River Bulletin: Search for Keddie killers continues six years later, by Curt Asher, Feather River Bulletin: 1981 mass murder shocks county; case still unsolved, Feather River Bulletin: 13-year old Keddie murders still plague sheriff, by Cynthia Pack, Feather River Bulletin: Keddie: Many changes during past century, by Randy Walker, The Sacramento Bee: Drifter now a suspect in four Plumas slayings, by Jane Braxton Little, Westwood Pine Press: Former Plumas man admits murders, gets two life terms, by Dave Keller, Feather River Bulletin: The Keddie murders: 20 years later, investigation goes on, by Dave Keller, Westwood Pine Press: Memorial held for Tina Sharp, by Victoria Metcalf, Westwood Pine Press: Keddie Murders remembered, by Victoria Metcalf, Reno Gazette-Journal: Investigator closer to solving 1981 Keddie murders, by Marcella Corona, The Sacramento Bee: 81 Keddie murder case rekindled in Plumas, by Jane Braxton Little, KOLO8: The Keddie Murders: Potential evidence continues to surface, by Ed Pearce, People: 5 Things to Know about the Keddie Cabin Murders and the New Hunt for the Killers, by Jeff Truesdell, People: A Daughters 35-Year Fight For Justice: Sheila Sharp Longs to Know Who Murdered Her Family in Their Cabin, by Jeff Truesdell, Identification Discovery: People Investigates, Cabin 28: Horror in the woods, Yahoo News: Inside the Search for the Keddie Cabin Killers 35 Years After a Family Was Slaughtered, by Jeff Truesdell, Plumas News: Keddie murders revisited part 1: New evidence discovered links living suspect to grisly scene, by Victoria Metcalf, Plumas News: Keddie murders revisited part 2: Following the clues, by Staff, Plumas News: Keddie murders revisited part 3: Hypnosis, counselors revelations, mob connections, by Victoria Metcalf, ABC 10: Murder in Cabin 28: Why detectives say they are closer than ever to solving the Keddie Murders case | Unsolved California, by Madison Wade, YouTube: Keddie Murders: Cabin 28- The Keddie Murders, Pt I (2005), Uploaded by keddie28, YouTube Keddie Murders: Cabin 28- The Keddie Murders, Pt II, Uploaded by keddie28. , ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases in the true crime.! 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