Electrical cording and medical tape bound their wrists and ankles. One of the men was holding a small knife and a hammer. The Tina was likely forced to witness the demise of her family. And what may be even more telling, is what he wrote in a letter to his then-wife Marilyn: "I've paid the price of your love & now I've bought it with four people's lives.". "I've paid the price of your love & now I've bought it with four people's lives," ABC10 reports the letter said. The former Sharp home was condemned and demolished in 2004. The discovery prompted a thorough examination of the area, revealing a jawbone and several other bones. The Sharp family had just moved in to cabin 28 the year before. 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. New Evidence Revives Plumas County Quadruple Murder Case. The Sacramento Bee, May 7, 2016.Metcalf, Victoria. She remarried and is still alive. [22][23], Sheila and the Seabolt family (with whom Sheila had spent the night in the neighboring home) heard no commotion during the night;[6] a couple living in nearby house #16 was awakened at 1:15 am by what sounded like muffled screaming. That wall panel was among those taken into evidence. Although the cabin Sharp rented from Mollath was run down, it provided her and her family with more room. Keddie Case Cabin 28. keddie28.com.Little, Jane Braxton. The three had been bound by medical and electrical tape and had either been viciously stabbed, strangled, or bludgeoned. Meanwhile, Sheriff Thomas had resigned from the investigation three months in and take a job instead at the Sacramento DOJ. [17] He later admitted to having briefly entered the home through the back door to see if anyone was still alive, potentially contaminating evidence in the process. Some sources claim that Boubede had a crush on Sue, who supposedly rejected him twice. The remains belonged to Tina Sharp. One reportedly had a mustache and long hair and the other was clean-shaven with short hair but both in glasses. Joe Turner is a freelance writer of crime with a passion for unsolved mysteries. However, it was simply too small for the family of six. [24] Marilyn claimed that on the evening of April 11, 1981, she had left Martin and Boubede at a local bar around 11:00 pm and returned home to go to sleep. [24] John Boubede, who allegedly had ties to organized crime in Chicago,[29] died there in 1988. Allegedly, a lot of potential evidence was collected at the scene but because this was pre-DNA testing, very little helpful information was found at this time. 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 seems possible that Marilyn learned about an affair between Marty and Sue. The Keddie Cabin murders was a case that involved a triple-slaying as well as a missing child whose Interesting history topics are just a click away. 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). [30] However, in the 2008 documentary, Sheriff Doug Thomas said he had personally interviewed Martin and that he had passed a polygraph examination. Seems like. Marilyn and Marty happened to be taking the same typewriting class that Sue was enrolled in. Authorities also interviewed Marty's close friend, John "Bo" Boubede, who lived with Marty and his wife, and was out with Marty on the night the murders occurred. Amid the attack, Tina came out of her room and was carried out of the house by one of the men, who came back inside the house without her. With new significant evidence emerging thanks to the meticulous work of the local authorities, the mystery of Cabin 28 could soon be solved. It has been 40 years since the most horrific crime in Plumas County history, the Keddie Murders. On the morning of April 11, 1981, 14-year-old Sheila Sharp returned from a neighbors house after a sleepover and stumbled upon the most disturbing and gruesome scene that she and the rest of Keddie, California, had ever seen. Authorities arrived at the scene shortly after 8 a.m. However, though the three boys initially claimed to have slept through the massacre, Rickey and Gregs friend Justin Smartt did later say that he saw Sue with two men in the house that night. John Boubede left Keddie after the murders and returned to Chicago, where he died in 1988. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Unfortunately, many hours passed since her disappearance, and the chance of anyone finding her nearby was slim. It has also been suggested that he was asked leading questions during hypnosis. However, she forgot to bring the clothes she planned to wear to church. Glenna Sue Sharp was a dark-haired, attractive single mother with five children. [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. UNSOLVED TRUE CRIME MURDER. What is known is that this 37-year-old crime is far from a cold case, as new evidence sheds light on what may have occurred at Cabin 28 in Keddie, California. Sue was gagged deeply with a bandana and her underwear. Was Justin forced to open the door for his parents that night? Sue had just divorced her husband and brought her children from Connecticut to Keddie in Northern California. Not only did Sheila Sharp make a traumatizing and gruesome discovery, but she also discovered her other siblings, Greg and Ricki, and their friend Justin Smartt, were unharmed in a spare bedroom. 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. On April 12, 1981, a group of 7 people went to sleep in Cabin 28 at the Keddie Resort Lodge in California. The murders took place in house No. WebIt has been 40 years since the tragedy took place in rural Plumas County. You May Also Like: Brutal Murders on Germanys Hinterkaifeck Farm. Nevertheless, authorities were determined to follow any possible leads. Then in April 2018, Gamberg matched the DNA from the murder scene to a known living suspect. Given the extent of the brutality of the Keddie cabin murders, there was plenty of evidence left behind. . WebA Daughter's 35-Year Fight For Justice: Sheila Sharp Longs to Know Who Murdered Her Family in Their Cabin Sheila Sharp who discovered the victims of the Keddie Cabin It would be another three years after the Keddie murders that Tina was found. One of the men had a hammer. Investigators believe he was cooperating with the Department of Justice as an informant. Between them lies the forgotten tape of the anonymous phone tip left in 1984, rediscovered in 2013. called the Sacramento Department of Justice. On her side, the mother of five was naked from the waist down, tightly gagged with a bandana and her own underwear secured with medical tape. Relatives of the victims and the public anxiously await the day when investigators bring justice to the killings of Sue, John, Tina, and Dana. Unfortunately, the town's attempt to reinvent itself fell short. Corona, Marcella. Gamberg sent the tape to other law enforcement agencies for analysis and possible leads. This might explain why the Sacramento DOJ sent two allegedly corrupt organized crime special agents instead of agents from the homicide department. His friend Dana was on the floor beside him on his stomach. There were some bloodstains on her bedding, which suggested that she might have been kidnapped from her bed after the murders. The murders at Keddie Cabin 28 appeared to be random acts of cruelty. [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. Oddly, John and Dana did not have any defensive wounds or blood under their bindings. There was no way to tell how the girl had passed, or even know for sure how long shed been dead. If you care to learn more, this site has the most information:http://www.keddie28.com, There is a 2 part documentary on this case, it is on YouTube. Sheriff Thomas called the Sacramento Department of Justice which then sent in two special agents from their organized crime unit not homicide, which struck many as odd. This call wasn't investigated initially as it was left in evidence for Detective Mike Gamberg to find. From the ground level in the back of the house, a flight of stairs led up to the main living area. The victims were beaten with 2 different sized hammers, and stabbed with a 7 inch butcher knife. Justin said he saw one of the men stab Sue Sharp. Gamberg and the owner ofKeddie28.com,who goes by the name DMAC, believe that Sue Sharp and Marty Smartt were having an affair. Historic Memories reports Keddie was once a bustling town with a busy railroad terminal. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. The six of them: 36-year-old Sue, her 15-year-old son John, 14-year-old daughter Sheila, 12-year-old daughter Tina, and 10-year-old Rick and 5-year-old Greg, were friendly with their nearby neighbors at the Keddie resort. 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 also provides an explanation as to why the two lead suspects were seemingly given a free pass and told to leave town by Sheriff Thomas. However neighbors do remember that the lights in cabin 28 were off all night long. Why is there an Elephant Buried Beneath the Vatican? [6] The house was much larger than the trailer, and had become available when Plumas County's then-sheriff, Sylvester Douglas Thomas, moved out. [6][10], Around 7:00 am[6][12] on the morning of April 12, Sheila returned to #28 and discovered the dead bodies of Sue, John, and Dana in the house's living room. Even sheriff Thomas completely upends Blaine's BS, because he saw Blaine pacing nervously outside 28 at 11:30 AM (when DT actually was arriving at the crime scene), and he asked Blaine many Qs where the answers made NO SENSE, and CONTRADICT the stories Blaine's told ever since: In reality, he didn't drive to Keddie or Further, the home did not indicate forced entry, though detectives did recover an unidentified fingerprint from a handrail on the back stairs. She was not born and raised in the small town of Keddie; Sue had been an outsider, a leech, a bad mother so she and her babies deserved what they got? Photos. [6] Upon discovering the scene, Sheila rushed back to the Seabolts' house, whereupon Jamie Seabolt retrieved Rick, Greg, and Justin through the bedroom window. They had apparently slept through the entire massacre which had unfolded mere feet from their beds. A man discovered a human skull in the adjoining Butte County, about 30 miles from Keddie, in Plumas County. 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. Probable murder weapons for the Keddie slaying discovered and submitted as evidence in 2016. WebThe Keddie Murders is an unsolved 1981 American quadruple murder that took place in Keddie, a former resort town in the foothills of Northern California's Sierra Nevada [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]. Composite sketch of the Keddie murder suspects. [13][14] All three had been bound with medical tape and electrical cords. In his dream, he had tried to stop the bleeding in Sues chest with towels, and he covered her with a blanket. Sheilas mother had been covered partially with a blanket though that had done little to hide her gruesome injuries. [19] John's throat was slashed. A few years later, Martys wife, Marilyn, said that she had found Tinas bloody jacket in their basement and had given it to the police during the earlier investigation. Marty had a friend, John Boubede, who had been living at Martys house. WATCH NEXT: Why has California had so many notorious serial killers? "I believe there are two individuals that are alive and accessories after the fact,"Detective Mike Gamberg saidin an April 2021 interview with ABC10. By such a cruel heinous act. Sue and John had suffered similar types of wounds. During his interrogation, Marty offered to the police that his hammer with a blue handle had gone missing. Dmac does not agree on this point. Several of the suspected murder weapons were found at the scene, including two knives and a hammer, which were covered in blood. Sues ex-husband was in the military when they divorced, and the Navy gave her $250 a month to start her new life. One of them was tall with blonde hair and a mustache, while the other was shorter, dark-haired, and clean-shaven. Was this why detectives never adequately investigated Boubede? WebKeddie28 reported Sharp immediately fled the cabin and ran to the neighbors for help. According to Historic Mysteries, Justin said Sue was talking to the men when John and Dana arrived home. RELATED: UNSOLVED CALIFORNIA: Investigating Northern California crimes that have turned cold. [24], Martin Smartt, a neighbor and main suspect, claimed that a claw hammer had inexplicably gone missing from his home. [15] Tina was absent from the home, while the three younger childrenRick, Greg, and Justinwere found physically unharmed in an adjacent bedroom. Still hard to believe that as close as the cabins were, nobody heard anything. [10], Justin gave conflicting stories of the evening, including that he had dreamed details of the murders, though he later claimed to have actually witnessed them. She would later learn the victims were her mother, Glenna "Sue" Sharp, her brother, John Sharp, and her brother's friend, Dana Wingate. Authorities interviewed neighbors and the boys who were inside the house when the attack occurred, but there were no eyewitnesses. Some investigators who picked up the case when it reopened in 2013 tie the slayings into an even larger plot. It was true that investigators failed to log numerous pieces of evidence and overlooked leads. Gamberg thinks that at the same time, Sue was counseling Marilyn to leave Marty. Boubede told authorities he was a former Chicago police officer and that Marilyn was his niece, which were both later revealed to be untrue. 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. Where is the Body of the Legendary King Gorm of Denmark? As soon as Sheila opened the front door she saw the grisly scene; the teen ran right back outside to call for help. All victims had suffered blunt-force trauma by hammer or hammers. Loved this. Various weapons were found at the scene, including a table knife, a butcher knife, and a bloody hammer. Sues neighbors lived in very close proximity, the cabins were not far apart at all yet nobody claimed to have heard a thing that night. In September 1980, Sharp found a larger home in the former resort town of Keddie, California. Martin Smartt died in 2006. Great! "[27] A grid pattern search of the area covering a 5-mile (8.0km) radius around the house was conducted with police canines, but the efforts were fruitless. This is another indicator that all the condemned buildings in Keddie were demolished at the same time, meaning 28 was not singled out for demolition by anyone. 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. As far as the person who gave John and Dana a ride home, Gamberg indicates that he identified a woman and has interviewed her. He lives in the West Midlands, UK with his wife and son. When it was eventually discovered that Tina Sharp was missing, the FBI arrived on the scene. And if I am remembering correctly the Meeks son and Shelia had screwed around, and that son was thought to be involved? [8], On April 11, 1981, around 11:30 am, Sue, Sheila, and Greg drove from the residence of their friends, the Meeks family, to pick up Rick, who was attending baseball tryouts at Gansner Field in Quincy. Which is never good because I get lost in it. [10] Tina, who had been watching television at the Seabolt residence, was told by Sheila that Sue wanted Tina home by 10 PM, so Tina returned to #28 around 9:55 pm. It's my strong sense that there's something about Tina that did not allow for her to be left there.". Had she known that something was wrong? Their throats were slashed, and they both had multiple stabbings and blunt force trauma to the head. A hammer and knife were recovered at the scene, believed to be murder weapons. Many people believe that the police were either incompetent or corrupt and covered up the crime for some reason. [19] John and Dana suffered blunt-force trauma to their heads caused by a hammer or hammers. The following fall, she moved to house #28 in the rural Sierra Nevada railroad town of Keddie. She helped Greg, Rick, and Justin escape through their bedroom window. Example video title will go here for this video. Then he moved to Oregon and died there in 2000 from cancer-related issues. The former Sharp home was condemned and demolished in 2004. She was also considered a great beauty, which was another strike against her. The anonymous counselor told him that in May 1981, Martin Smartt had confessed to killing Sue and Tina Sharp. However, they onlywent on a few dates, and the last time they saw each other was two days before she was killed. [15], Sue was discovered lying on her side near the living room sofa, nude from the waist down[19] and gagged with a blue bandana and her own underwear, which had been secured with tape. Previous Next. Multiple leads and suspects were examined in the intervening years, though no charges were filed. [24] Around 2:00 am on April 12, she stated she awoke to find the two burning an unknown item in the wood stove. It matched the description of the one Marty gave in his interrogation. Is this why detectives seemed to turn a blind eye to many clues and disregarded evidence? Photo: Plumas County Sheriffs Department. "Things came to an abrupt screeching halt. Her friends dad retrieved the three unharmed boys through their bedroom window so they would not have to see the scene. Remarkably, the tape of the anonymous tip regarding Tina was found sealed in case files, untouched by Plumas County Sheriffs Dept. In 2016, Gamberg located a hammer believed to be one of the murder weapons in a dried-up pond in Keddie. When Sheila returned home early the next morning to find her mother, brother, and his friend bloodied on the living room floor, she bolted back to her neighbors house. This letter was not treated as a confession nor was it followed up on at the time. Although Marilyn gave it to authorities, Historic Mysteries reports there is no record that the jacket was entered into evidence. Years, though no charges were filed was asked leading questions during hypnosis small... At Keddie cabin 28 could soon be solved webit has been 40 years since the horrific. 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