Marty Smartt's letter was an early re-discovery. Hagwood personally knew them. The one he missed or more accurately wasnt allowed to cover was the Keddie murder case, he said recently. 2. Some even believed the furniture moved around by itself. How This Serial Killer Was Brought Down By The Same App He Used To Hunt For Victims Jade Townsend The case that took 44 years to be solved: Arlis Perry Fatim Hemraj Mom Attends Birthday Party, Finds Daughter Who Died in House Fire as a Baby Jayden Yugie This Gold-Digger Turned Grave-Digger Lured Men to thier Deaths Help Status Writers Blog Careers His ankles were firmly tied with electrical cord that linked him to John whose ankles were also bound. He wonders if DOJ protected him. 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. There are people locally who know more than theyve said, and I believe weve identified some of them, and we know who they are, and we know where they are. And both Hagwood and Gamberg can pinpoint their errors and omissions. He became a deputy in his hometown in 1988. She was spending the night at a friend's house on the night of the murders and came home to find the bodies. She was also tightly gagged. ", "I would like my kids and grandkids to know that she was a very caring and kind person," Sheila says of Sue. It was just left scattered. And a crime that was committed so many years earlier doesnt have the priority recent crimes receive, he said. 2016 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. People: 5 Things to Know about the Keddie Cabin Murders and the New Hunt for the Killers. Hagwood commented on the theory of it being a cover-up: "It has brought to light some amazing timelines, histories, and what some may call 'coincidence.' It's a case that involves a triple-slaying and a missing child whose remains. According to Gamberg, right after the murders, Sheriff Doug Thomas contacted the DOJ in Sacramento. Note the sign on the front tree proclaims this was a home where a mom and her five children lived. They said I said it was Johnny. According to records, RMX was seen in Keddie Sunday morning, including multiple times pacing at or walking by 28. Its almost time for the wearin of the green, and the Catholic Church in Quincy is celebrating with a St. All had been bound and suffered extreme violence. Relief is something Sheila Sharp has been searching for since that dark day in April 1981. The following participated in the planning and/or execution of these murders: Sheila Sharp, Glenna Meeks, Marilyn and Marty Smartt, Bo Boubede, Dee Jay Lake, Wade and Richard Meeks, John Blaine Greubert, Tony Garedakis. DNA deoxyribonucleic acid is now considered the most reliable physical evidence. In many ways there was even less trust following the deaths. A few Keddie residents believe that when Cabin 28 still existed, it became haunted after the Sharp murders. The Crime Logs mission is bring awareness to crimes which are both solved and unsolved. With nothing in those first weeks that tied them to the crime, Thomas said, neither were charged. Why was Marty's then-wife, Marilyn Musgrove, a key conspirator and fellow murderer, not arrested? The DNA matched that of a then-living suspect. Gamberg also knew the two boys. Thats probably when she was covered. Why were corrupt DOJ BOCCA agents immediately assigned to this rural case? For some reason, the DOJ had an interest in Boubede, according to Gamberg. He was their coach in martial arts and other activities. Discover unique things to do, places to eat, and sights to see in the best destinations around the world with Bring Me! May 2, 2016 / 11:47 PM ", "She did at least get to see her first grandchild born. The area probably wouldnt have seemed creepy to an uneducated bystander, she said. About the Cabin 28 Keddie Murders Case: The morning of April 12, 1981, Glenna Sue Sharp and her kids, Tina and John, and John's friend, Dana Wingate, were brutally murdered inside house #28 in Keddie, California. Truly a case of wrong place, wrong time. 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. The discovery came three years after Tinas disappearance by a man out hunting bottles. "I knew the two boys who were murdered. When he was reinstated, Thomas kept him out of the investigation. "There are things that were done--but I think most importantly there are things that were not done that are hard to explain," he said. Sue's 12-year-old daughter Tina was taken from the cabin, but her decomposed remains wouldn't be found for another three years. While the crime was being reported, Jamie Seabolt, Sheila Sharp and possibly Zonita Seabolt helped the three young boys out a side bedroom window of the cabin. Gamberg still had strong opinions about what had and hadnt happened 32 years earlier. When he opened the front door he saw the bodies on the green-carpeted floor, according to Gamberg. That and his personal connections led Hagwood to resurrect the case; to provide the resources and time needed to solve it. After countless hours of digging, the clues in the cold case started heating up, and new light is emerging on the decades-old crime. 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. 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. 2023 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The three were tied up, bludgeoned and stabbed to death. in 1990. Cabin 28 at the Keddie Resort, where the 1981 murders occurred. The hammer, similar to one reported missing by Smartt, was dug up near the crime scene just last month. Keddie murders: Keddie: 1981-04-11: 4: . While two of the lead suspects Martin Smartt and his friend John Boubede are now dead, others are alive and have been identified, said Hagwood recently. "It could be next month, it could be next year but really the focus in our priority is getting the truthgetting the answers.". ", "But then it's also, I think, made me stronger," she says, "because I've had to look out for my two younger brothers. 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. In one of the bedrooms, authorities found Rick, Greg, and their friend Justin Eason Smartt, unharmed. Its here he would roll up his sleeves and begin going through the evidence. Although two of the main suspects, Smartt and Boubede are dead, they were alive at the time of Tina Sharps discovery. 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. Its suspected that someone brought a hammer, the one recovered in a nearby pond in 2016, as well as using a hammer and knives found in the home. "It could have been that I blocked it out, and the shock of it all, too.". He was also familiar with Cabin 28 in Keddie. Gamberg is no stranger to homicide cases. Justin Smartt Eason, 12, one of three boys left alive in a second bedroom, was allowed to spend the night. After I got older, you call the sheriff's department every once in a while, and you hear, 'No new leads, nothing's going on. As police continued to search for Tina, other officers brought in multiple suspects. I taught Dana Wingate that year at the highschool. It contained a tape recording of an anonymous caller to Butte County dispatch. Its known that John Sharp, and his friend Dana were in Quincy and caught a ride home sometime between 10 p.m. and 1 a.m., Gamberg said. Keddie Cabin Murders Solved? Sheila Sharp has purposefully pushed the horrific images out of her mind. Our Forum holds the facts of the case. Authorities also interviewed Marty's ex-con friend "Bo" Boubede, who had moved in with Marty. "It's my feeling that either he [the caller] was told or he was involved in some way," Gamberg said. Investigators: People Can Confirm the Killers' Identities, Chris Watts Is Sending 'Racy' Letters to Multiple Women from His Prison Cell: Sources, JonBent Ramsey's Murder to Be Investigated by Cold Case Team in New Probe Into Unsolved Killing, Serial Killers' Kids who Turned in Their Parents or Spoke Out About Growing Up with Them, 2 People Arrested After the Search for a Missing Child Leads to Discovery of Human Remains, Pride of Her Family': Aspiring Radiology Technician Is Fatally Shot During Confrontation on Road, Texas Family of 4 Was Massacred at Home in 2014 and Suspect Was Just Arrested Getting Off Plane, 4 Women Were Strangled to Death in Mo. ', In 2012, Sheila wrote a book with her husband, Richard Whittle: How to Survive Your Visit to Earth. But knowing the details, the minutiae of the crimeit was not a pleasant place to be. says Sheila, now a 50-year-old mother of three and grandmother of two. There are reports that Sue Sharp had been counseling Marilyn Smartt on her marriage. I didn't think it was fair that they would have to go through it I didn't think it would be good. 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.". 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. As she got older and contemplated a career in law enforcement, she became more interested in the case. The FBI was also involved because it was believed that Tina Sharp was abducted. Some of the evidence was ignored. 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. Blood spatters were found on the floor and ceiling suggesting the kind of forced used. In earlier years, before the Sharps moved in, he spent nights there with a friend and his family. WANTED: The Keddie Cabin Killer Episode Summary A family's brutal murder rocks a tiny California town and leaves behind too many unanswered questions. Theyd never felt the need to do that prior to the murders. That said, he understands that some of the individuals who had the experience to work the crime scene and follow the leads werent allowed to do their jobs in 1981. And as a deputy he knew what was and wasnt happening with the case. The date was April 11, 1981, when Cabin 28 saw the horrors that crowd it and to this day, the case remains cold. Copyright information and disclaimer here. Apparently, as the suspects bludgeoned and stabbed their victims to death, none of the suspects were injured or left their own blood at the scene. Of Marty and Boubede, he said, "The only thing I knew is, they hung out together. In 2004 the now infamous Cabin 28 was condemned and demolished. 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). * Stream our true crime show, People Magazine Investigates on Investigation Discovery, which includes an episode on the Keddie cabin murders. The problem there is that its become disorganized. Blood was also found on the living room ceiling and furniture. 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. Sue Sharp had envisioned a new life when she moved near her brother, Don, from Connecticut to northern California with her five kids in the late 1970s. Sue was covered by a yellow blanket; her hands and feet were bound by electrical wiring. great article! New evidence has surfaced in the infamous 37-year-old Keddie murders case. But both Marty Smartt and "Bo" Boubede are now dead, questioned by law enforcement after the killings but never charged. * Watch our new true crime show, People Magazine Investigates, which continues with an episode on the Keddie cabin murders on Monday at 10 p.m. Click here to get breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases in the True Crime Newsletter. It emerged that Marty was angry about Sue's interference in his troubled marriage. Obsessed with travel? He was also familiar with Cabin 28 in Keddie. Apparently Marty had confessed to the murders in a session. But for some, Keddie is synonymous with murder and despair. Amazingly, Sheila's two little brothers, Greg and Rick, then 5 and 10, were asleep and unharmed in an adjacent bedroom, along with a friend. The girl's skull was found in the woods three years later, some 50 miles away in another county. Also, the murders had nothing to do with Dana, or John, or Tina. Sheila tells PEOPLE that Sue would have been 71 this year, at the end of March. "I didn't know what I was supposed to do," she says. "I thought the adults would do something. That tape, too, was turned over for voice comparisons with audio of earlier suspects. 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. This just seems like a rehash of an old article. Then he got fired. The morning of April 12, 1981, Glenna Sue Sharp and her kids, Tina and John, and John's friend, Dana Wingate, were brutally murdered inside house #28 in Keddie, California. I just stood there, staring at the spot when I thought I heard someone walking behind me, Kendall said. Sheriff's investigators say they submitted more. Something for everyone interested in hair, makeup, style, and body positivity. However, she did recognize her ex-husband's handwriting. 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. There was evidence that went unnoticed and people of interest who may not have been vetted properly. The hope is the new evidence will lead to new arrests. Although still open, it wasnt a priority. 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. Adding to the mystery: Sheila's younger brothers Greg and Rick, ages 5 and 10 at the time, were asleep and unharmed in an adjacent bedroom of the cabin, along with a friend, Justin Smartt. The items inside were never entered into evidence a crucial part of the chain of evidence necessary in crime investigation. 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. From 1974 until his retirement in 1994, he worked all but one of Plumas Countys cases. Text is available under . Another piece of perhaps vital evidence that Gamberg discovered was in an envelope that was never opened. I could ask a hundred people what started this and Id probably get the same rehashed rumors from most of them. I felt this strong pressure on my throat. Plumas County Sheriff Greg Hagwood described what happened in Cabin 28 in. We still have to live on without our loved ones. What was ignored was an alleged admission of guilty by one of the suspects. 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