Her accomplices were her boyfriend Charlie Wilkinson, 18, his pal Charles Waid, 20, and Waids girlfriend Bobbi Johnson, 18. REMARRIAGE Terry Caffey met and married Sonja Webb through work, and they are raising Sonja's sons Blake and Tanner. Terry began allowing them to go out for dinner every now and then, with the assurance that Charlie would have Erin home no later than nine-thirty. Erin Caffey today, seven years after the event that left her mother and brothers dead and her father gravely wounded on March 1, 2018, at the family's home in Alba, Erin Caffey is currently in. Armed with a .22-caliber pistol and two samurai swords, they moved through the house with brutal efficiency. 28 - Apr. With the scars still visible on his face, Terry Caffey talks Thursday, Aug. 6, 2015, at his home in Gilmer. And thats when I decided to move on. Later that day, when the bodies of the two Caffey boys were pulled from the rubble, one firefighter, overcome with emotion, fell to his knees. She remained a mystery. I remember when I heard that, I just couldnt believe thats how they did [it], and it goes back to that guilt and I felt I should have been able to save them and I couldnt. Often they went to a friends house where they could be alone, and after Christmas, they had sex for the first time. Some guys would really tease him and pick at him until he would get angry, remembered a classmate. At the Sonic on Emorys main drag, she was the only carhop who delivered her orders wearing roller skates, and most afternoons, her admirers parked on whichever side of the drive-in she was waiting on. He had no ill words for the people he had so viciously attacked. (Tyler, the youngest, preferred to play outdoors.) When the police asked the neighbor where Terry was bleeding from, he replied, where isnt he bleeding from?. There were just things about him that didnt sit right with me, he later said. Accounts differ as to who, exactly, was the mastermind behind it, but Terry Caffey rebuffs the notion that it was his daughters idea. All times AEDT (GMT +11). Charlie, who turned eighteen that month, wanted to be with Erin, and he promised to do whatever it took to make her happy. In rural communities as small as Alba and Emory, there are no strangers, and Fischer shook his head when he heard Charlies name. Erin Caffey, far right, was given two life sentences for her role in the deaths of her mother and two young brothers in March 2008. Not only did Caffey forgive them all, including his daughter, but he asked them to be spared from the death penalty when the case went to trial. According to Charlie, Johnson did not know what the boys plans were but had insisted on coming with them. Her father Terry was shot five times and left for dead as the house was torched to the ground. Almon learned that Erins toxicology testshe had been screened for Rohypnol, GHB, and other drugs that can cause memory losshad come back negative. Waid, who held out the longest, finally confessed under Almons relentless questioning. He planned to go on active duty after graduation. And she said, Why are you asking me this? At the outset, Charlie muttered, Im in a lot of trouble. Almon informed Charlie that he had been identified by a victim who had survived the attack and asked him to tell them exactly what had happened the previous night. I didnt want to grow into a bitter angry old man. Sergeant Vance had interviewed the boy whom Erin was caught kissing at Miracle Faith, and he had told the Texas Ranger that Erin had spoken to him about her desire to have them killedseveral months before she had started dating Charlie. If you live in relative isolation with a disapproving family you might find it difficult to explore life and express yourself. A girl was sitting with her back to the wall, in a fetal position. He did not care for Charlie, and he was not happy about how much time the high school senior was spending with his daughter. Forrest Wilder writes about politics and the outdoors. Erin Caffey, 16, is an American teenage girl sentenced to two consecutive life sentences in Texas for her role in the deaths of her mother and two young brothers. She could get him to do whatever she wanted. Erin Caffeys brothers eight-year-old Tyler and 13-year-old Matthew played the guitar and the harmonica, respectively. A US school student read out loud sexually explicit passages from a library book as he raged against its content at a school board meeting. She has since published several books and her writing interests include culture and true crime, on which she has a book due out in 2022. A few days earlier wed found out what kind of character Charlie really was, with the drinking and the sex, and told her to break it off. 2 talking about this. Terry and Penny had wanted to be closer to Miracle Faith, where they were then serving as the churchs youth ministers. The only survivors were 16-year-old Erin Caffey and her father, Terry Caffey, who was shot multiple times before the two intruders set the house on fire. No, sir, Charlie said, shaking his head. Terry started dating Sonja 4months after the horrific murders of his entire family & they were married just 7 months after the tragedy. I want to go. She couldnt have asked for a better mom or dad. Twice a week, Terry made the trip to Greenville to see his daughter. Gently, Sanders asked Erin what she remembered. His dad worked at a paper mill outside Dallas. She organised the killing of her family at the age of 16. A semiautomatic handgun lay on the floor beside him. For a man who had been shot five times and climbed out the window of a burning house, he could consider himself lucky; he had a broken nose, two fractured cheekbones, and minor nerve damage in his right arm. Chief deputy Fischer picked up Bobbi Johnson outside the restaurant where she washed dishes, and he pulled Charles Waid over driving her car. But Terry and Penny, who separated the two teenagers that day at Miracle Faith, were deeply embarrassed by her behavior. If you love me, youll do it. (Explaining her own inability to put the brakes on the plan, Johnson said, I just wanted to go home, but Charlie said it was too late, that I was already involved. I showed him the statement that a friend of hers had given to investigators about how Erin had wanted them to be killed. Around one-thirty the next morning, he told Almon, he and a friend had gone to the Caffey home. Terry Caffey's daughter Erin made international headlines when she murdered her mother and two young brothers back in 2008. I know theres no such thing as perfect, but in my book, they were, said Tommy Gaston, who was a frequent guest in their home and played in a gospel band with Penny. As Emig carried them out to the porch, he noticed that they were spattered with blood. The phone records really did it for me, she said. Were you involved in this? Fischer asked. Two guys broke into the Caffey house in Alba, Texas, on March 1, 2008, and went on a brutal killing spree, killing the mother, the two young children, and themselves. From left are Matthew, Terry, Tyler, Penny and Erin. Shining a Light on Abuse and Neglect in Homeschooling Environments Erin Caffey Erin Caffey (far right) was 16 years old when she made plans for her boyfriend and two of his friends to kill her family. Terry missed being a husband and a father, Tommy Gaston says. Prosecutors believe Erin plotted the crime, but her father can't bring himself to believe that. Caffey has remarried and lives in Wills Point, Texas with his wife and two stepsons. Terry found a good listener in Sonja Webb, a pretty divorce he met in the course of his work as a home health aide. At 3:00 a.m. on March 1, 2008, Terry Caffey awoke to find his daughter's boyfriend standing in his bedroom with a gun. They brought along Waids girlfriend, a bubbly high school senior named Bobbi Johnson, whose silver Dodge Neon they were driving. This is the true story of the brutal Texas murder that destroyed a family, restored one man's faith, and shocked a nation At 3:00 a.m. on March 1st, 2008, Terry Caffey awoke to find his daughter's boyfriend standing in his bedroom with a gun. Come back, and Ill keep the dog quiet., Tanner sat down with Terry Caffey and showed him the phone records this past June. Why are you doing this?. Erin stood wide-eyed in her pajamas, bewildered, as she surveyed the room. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. I wanted them to have the chance to find remorse, he explained. Bubba used to witness to whoever would listen, and Erin cried tears of joy when she sang her Sunday church solosso much so that sometimes she had to stop, mid-verse, to collect herself. YouTubeErin Caffey being interviewed by Piers Morgan for his show Killer Women. Terror by Night: The True Story of the Brutal Texas Murder That Destroyed a Family, Restored One Mans Faith, and Shocked a Nation. Throughout the fall, Charlie visited the Sonic to see Erin. Director Sally Howell Stars Terry Caffey Anne Hjelle Debi Nicholls See production, box office & company info Erin was taken by ambulance to the Hopkins County Memorial Hospital, in Sulphur Springs, where she was given a full medical assessment. Rebecca sensed that something was spiritually wrong with the girl. She was very smart. Wilkinson gave her a promise ring that belonged to his grandmother and told his friends they would marry, according to Killer Couples. Terry and Penny were fine with the relationship until Erin's grades started to slip and they took a closer look at Wilkinson, not liking what they found on his Myspace page. They fired a bullet in his 13-year-old son Matthew's face and stabbed 8-year-old Tyler to death in . However, he still visits Erin in prison in Greenville, according to ABC News. She gushed innocence, remembered a co-worker (who, like many teenagers interviewed for this story, asked to remain anonymous). Her father, who now visits her in prison, will be in his 80s by the time she gets out. It was like she was seeing the world for the first time. One day at a church fellowship meeting, Miracle Faiths new youth director came upon Erin making out with a teenage boy. Wilkinson, however, was openly heartbroken and angry, according to Killer Couples. And friends of Erin told Texas Monthly that the same month, Erin started talking about killing her parents. In Erin Caffeys case you know you are looking at evil. "It was so loud and it's even hard to describe. She was instantly taken with him, and Charlie too seemed to be infatuated. The law states that we can store cookies on your device if they are strictly necessary for the operation of this site. I dont remember anything after that. Patricia Sharpe writes a regular restaurant column, Pats Pick, for Texas Monthly. At 16 you aren't all about singing in the church choir anymore, I don't care who you are. Erin Caffey On March 1, 2008, two men broke into the Caffey home and set out on a horrific killing spree that left two young children and their mother dead. Tommy Gaston, the neighbor, said Monday that Terry Caffey was improving and should recover. There were no warning signs, no history of trouble. He fell to the floor and did not move again. Webb was raising two sons on her own. She glanced apprehensively around the trailer. I spent days out there picking through the ashes. Then I had something to live for, I had some hope, so I began to fight, he said. However, her parents were not in support of their . Erin, now 24, is the subject of a new ITV documentary called "Killer Women . Terry and his daughter Erin were the only members of the family to survive, but in the days after the tragedy Erin was arrested and charged with being the mastermind behind the murders. Find out more about our policy and your choices, including how to opt-out. Yet when I visited him, he seemed hesitant. She needs to have it looked at., But Charlie was more bewildered by Erins behavior than bitter. I forgave my daughter more easily but to forgive the guys who did this, for a long time felt too much. Finally, they poured lighter fluid on the furniture and lit the house on fire. He continued to visit her at the county jail, but what disturbed him most, at the end of a year of counseling, was the realization that he could no more explain why she had wanted her family killed than on the day he had first met her. It made me question a lot of things, Charlie said, his voice trailing off. Link your TV provider to stream full episodes and live TV. They attended Bible study on Wednesday nights and church every Sunday and set aside several hours each week to rehearse gospel songswith Penny playing piano, Bubba on guitar and harmonica, and Erin singing vocals. He feels that God has restored what the enemy had stolen. Terry Caffey suffered a broken nose, two fractured cheekbones, and minor nerve damage in his right arm. "The house is exploding, it's totally engulfed, and I'm forced back in the bedroom," Caffey said. Sheriffs deputy Serena Booth sat in. A freelance writer from the UK, Danielle Tinning studied media & communications at the University of Cumbria before beginning her career at a small publishing house in 2013. Terry Caffey lives in Wills Point, Texas, with his wife, Sonja, and their two sons, Blake and Tanner. I wanted them to die. Penny informed her daughter that she was grounded. WARNING: Graphic. The Caffeys lived in a modest cabin set deep in the woods along a one-lane gravel road outside Alba, a rural community of 492 people halfway between Sulphur Springs and Tyler. Erin had called him the day before, Charlie said. terry caffey today remarried. We were still going to be able to convict her of capital murder., The phone records corroborated a pivotal point in Charlies account of the murders. Sign up forOxygen Insiderfor all the best true crime content. And so with Waid behind the wheel of the Neon, they went back to the Caffeys house. Whats the holdup? Life does go on., This article originally appeared in The Sun. An instant later the teen opened fire, killing Terry's wife, his two sons and wounding him 12 times, before setting the house ablaze. Worst of all, as far as Erin was concerned, Charlies weekly visits to the house were suspended. Erin Caffey today, seven years after the event that left her mother and brothers dead and her father gravely wounded on March 1, 2018, at the family's home in Alba. Terry found the visits agonizing, but he felt compelled to be in the presence of his only living child. Given the complexity that four capital murder cases posed for a small, rural county, the Texas attorney generals office was asked to assist the Rains County district attorney in bringing the four defendants to trial. Less than 24 hours after the murders, Waid, Johnson, Charlie, and Erin were all in custody. He had been shot five times: once in the head, twice near his right shoulder, and two more times in the back. When we pulled away from the house, she was happier than a kid on Christmas morning., One afternoon this spring, I visited Charlie at the Polunsky Unit, in Livingston, the imposing, maximum-security prison that is best known for housing death row. He knows Im innocent. I cried every time I left her jail cell., Only after learning the details of the criminal investigation did Lewis realize that Erin had been manipulating him. The answer was as simple and as complex as first love. Volunteer firefighters had struggled for several hours to put out the flames, but the house had burned down to its foundation. Upon visiting his burned-out property, Terry noticed a . She had wanted to break things off with Charlie for a while, she tearfully confessed, but had not been sure how. It took me about an hour to crawl the lengths of about four football pitches. I wanted them to pay for what they did., I have met people that have gone through a lot less than what I have and theyve grown into bitter, angry people, and thats not who I am, and I saw myself coming that, he said. The Forgiveness Project is unaffiliated to any religion or religious entity, and owns the intellectual property rights for all images and text on this website, which should not be reproduced in any shape or form without express permission. On March 1, 2008, most of the deeply religious Caffey family, of Emory, Texas, was slaughtered in the dead of night with .22 caliber bullets and swords before their humble, cabin-style home was burned to the ground. Caffey is serving a minimum of 42 years and wont be eligible for parole until shes 59. At 3:00 a.m. on March 1, 2008, Terry Caffey awoke to find his daughter's boyfriend standing in his bedroom with a gun. Where am I?, Erins pastor, Todd McGahee, once joked that if he had five more of her, he could fill his church on Sundays. Penny was withdrawn for most of February, and she declined to go on a womens church retreat, saying that she needed to spend more time with her family. As they had driven away from the burning house, he said, Erin had cried out, Holy shit, that was awesome!. It was agreed that Charlie would kill Erins parents, and Waid would take care of the two boys so no witnesses would be left behind. Almon crouched beside the gurney and asked him a few hurried questions. I knew thats not what I wanted to do. My heart tells me there have been enough deaths, Terry wrote in a letter to the Rains County district attorney, Robert Vititow, this past fall. The father, Terry, was a pastor. The Caffey Family. If he cant show me any respect, how does he treat our daughter?. They drove down back roads for a while to blow off steam. Erins anointing had lifted, she said. I laid on my sisters couch for a few days, and thats when the despair hit me. But why? They met at a sonic fast food joint where Erin was working as a waitress. Murderpedia Juan Ignacio Blanco MALE murderers index by country index by name ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ FEMALE murderers index by country index by name Terry was rushed into emergency surgery, after which he was stable enough to talk. Parents Terry and Penny Caffey had three children: one daughter, 16-year-old Erin, and two sons, 13-year-old Matthew (or "Bubba") and 8-year-old Tyler. She was, he recounted, still pretty pissed off about her parents telling us we could not see each other. Once again, she told him that she wanted them dead. Near the closet, he lifted up a blanket that was piled on the floor and noticed a shock of blond hair. When Erin came home that afternoon, her father and mother were waiting for her in the living room. After the killing spree, Charlie told the detective, he had carried a suitcase of Erins belongings, which she had previously packed, out to the car. The Caffeys were also heavily involved with their local church, and this merged with their passion for music. Erin Caffey's father Terry was shot several times in the attack, but survived. Caffey has remarried and lives in Wills Point, Texas with his wife and two stepsons. The chief deputy brought her into the living room, where Matthew Waid and his girlfriend sat on the couch. Caffey, you can go home now, Terry told me when I visited him this spring. Terry maintained a relationship with his daughter for years after the massacre. Do you realize she is sixteen years old? Terry had already begun to grow uneasy with how fast the relationship seemed to be moving. But Caffey insisted to her grandparents that she had nothing to do with the murder of her family. The helpless father drifted out of consciousness as Tyler was shot in the face and Matthew was brutally killed when the pair took turns using the sword on him. It's time to forgive. It was Charlie who had wanted the family dead, and when he came to the house, she had been powerless to stop him. Wilkinson even gave her a promise ring that had belonged to his grandmother and was open about his desire to marry her. I don't care just do what you gotta do, she allegedly said, according to Killer Couples.. The investigation moved forward quickly on Saturday afternoon. You know them family pictures that they print in movies and stuff? he said. The Caffeys Terry and his wife, Penny, their two young sons, Tyler and Matthew, and 16-year-old Erin lived to serve in their church. Her brothers had already reenrolled that fall after Bubba, who was thirteen, told them that he missed his friends, and the Caffeyswho were eager to free up time for Penny to earn some extra incomeagreed to let Erin go back before Christmas. Terry Caffey was discharged from the hospital several days later and went to stay with his sister in the town of Leonard, about an hours drive from Alba. An avid hunter, he spent much of his time fishing and tracking wild hogs through the brush, and like most of his friends, he was proficient with a firearm. Still, sometimes he seemed ambivalent about their plan. He could see Charlie lying on a mattress, awake, wearing only blue jeans. Being a husband and a friend had gone to the ground her into the living.. Wilkinson even gave her a promise ring that had belonged to his grandmother and his... Yet when i visited him this spring out more about our policy your! And was open about his desire to marry her dead as the churchs youth ministers it me! 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