Investigators claim that she was having her own affair at the time. However, the perpetrators did not leave behind any of their own blood. [12] Tina's jacket, shoes and a toolbox containing various tools were missing from the house,[6] which showed no indication of forced entry. Neighbors said that for the most part, she kept to herself but the family was integrating well. Keddie is a small town in the Sierra Nevada mountains, located roughly halfway between Redding and Reno. Somehow, this erupted into a bout of violence between them, which resulted in the murders. 5 Things to Know about the Keddie Cabin Murders and the Hunt for the Killers, 'People Magazine Investigates' : Inside Decades-Old Disappearances of 5 People Along the Snake River. Sue's two younger sons, Rick and Greg, as well as their friend Justin Smartt, were also in the house but were unharmed. Although the cabin Sharp rented from Mollath was run down, it provided her and her family with more room. Sheila had spent that night at a sleepover next door. Welcome! As she opened the door, she discovered three bodies on the living room floor of the infamous Cabin 28. Some sources claim that Boubede had a crush on Sue, who supposedly rejected him twice. The statement from Martys letter, What else do you want?, sounds like Marty is asking,In addition to what you already asked for, what more do you want me to do? Keddie Murders Revisited Part 1: New Evidence Discovered Links Living Suspect to Grisly Scene, November 15, 2019.Whelan, Micheal. A fourth victim, a 12-year-old daughter, vanished in the night-her remains found years later and miles away. Is this why detectives seemed to turn a blind eye to many clues and disregarded evidence? On the morning of April 12, 1981 Sheila Sharp awoke from a neighbors sleep over and went next door to her house to drop off her blankets. The Keddie Murders Unresolved. Although Dana also suffered trauma to the head, she was strangled to death. 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. But, some investigators believe that Marilyn was somehow complicit in the murders. One of the psychics was a medium who could speak with the dead while the other used EVP. 117: Murdaugh's Maid's Son Testifes To The Millions Alex . Sue was gagged deeply with a bandana and her underwear. After his interrogation, Marty Smartt left Keddie and went to live in Reno for a time. [24] Plumas County Sheriff Sylvester Thomas, who presided over the case, later stated that Martin had provided "endless clues" in the case that seemed to "throw the suspicion away from him. They had planned to return home later that night. They also all sustained multiple stab wounds. Her brother, who would help her and the children start a new life, lived in Quincy, California, about 150 miles north of Sacramento. Marilyn and Marty happened to be taking the same typewriting class that Sue was enrolled in. Tips or information about the Keddie murders can be given anonymously by calling the Plumas County Sheriff's Office at 530-283-6360; the Secret Witness program at 775-322-4900; sending a text. city of adrian, mi treasurer . Plumas County Sheriffs OfficeComposite sketch of the Keddie murder suspects. The children were attending school in Quincy and were making friends. [3][4] She decided to relocate to northern California, where her brother Don was residing at the time. [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. [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. The cabins telephone had been left off the hook and all of the lights had been shut off as well as the drapes closed. It would also explain why the Smartt boy and the other Sharp boys in the adjoining room were spared. Her fate remained unknown until her skeletal remains turned up in the woods three years later, as recounted Monday night in an episode of PEOPLEs new true-crime series on Investigation Discovery, People Magazine Investigates. The murders tooks place in Cabin 28 of the Keddie Resort. Sues ex-husband was in the military when they divorced, and the Navy gave her $250 a month to start her new life. Sheila has spoken about the horrific incident in several interviews. Three of Sue's children were with her, Tina, 12; Ricky, 10; and Greg, 5. [10] Around this time, the two were seen in the city's downtown area. Further, it came to light that Marilyn Smartt, Martys wife and mother of Justin, had left her husband on the day of the murder discovery. [9][6] Two hours later, around 3:30 pm, John and Dana hitchhiked back to Quincy, where they may have had plans to visit friends. 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. All had been beaten with a claw hammer and knifed. According to the story, Marty said he was angry that Sue had convinced Marilyn to leave him. A fourth victim, Sheila's younger sister, was missing. Clipping from Reno Gazette-Journal, April 13, 2016.DMAC. Nonetheless, it raises many questions. If she did turn in a jacket, the police, once again, did not acknowledge it as evidence. Surely, no one expected it to be one of the most famous unsolved murder cases in history. Sue's two younger sons, Rick and Greg, as well as their friend Justin Smartt, were also in the house but were unharmed. Blood patterns indicated that her legs were initially splayed apart, but someone moved her and covered her body with a yellow blanket after the murder. Keddie had been a bustling resort town since its revival in 1978. A fourth victim, Sheilas younger sister, was missing. At least one other person was killed that night: her teenage brother's 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. 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. The three had been bound by medical and electrical tape and had either been viciously stabbed, strangled, or bludgeoned. What else do you want? When Martin discovered this, he enlisted Bo, his friend, and known mob enforcer who had lived with the Smartts a mere 10 days before the Keddie murders, to take Sue out of the picture. [26], Tina's disappearance was initially investigated by the FBI as a possible abduction,[19] though it was reported on April 29, 1981, that the FBI had "backed off" the search as the California State Department of Justice was doing an "adequate job" and "made the FBI's presence unnecessary. Justin reported then that John and Dana entered the home and argued with the men which resulted in a violent fight. Gamberg and the owner ofKeddie28.com,who goes by the name DMAC, believe that Sue Sharp and Marty Smartt were having an affair. When she opened the door, Sheila found the scene of a massacre. [6] Upon discovering the scene, Sheila rushed back to the Seabolts' house, whereupon Jamie Seabolt retrieved Rick, Greg, and Justin through the bedroom window. On . During his interrogation, Marty offered to the police that his hammer with a blue handle had gone missing. On the night of the Keddie cabin murders, Marilyn, Boubede (or Bo as they called him), and Marty had been out together at the local bar. Plumas County Sheriffs OfficeProbable murder weapons for the Keddie slaying discovered and submitted as evidence in 2016. In one of the bedrooms, authorities found Rick, Greg, and their friend Justin Eason Smartt, unharmed. Sheilas mother had been covered partially with a blanket though that had done little to hide her gruesome injuries. I think there was something about Tina that could not be left there to be discovered. Investigators initially thought it may belong to a Native American person. Stabbed. According to Historic Mysteries, John and Sue suffered blunt force trauma to the head and were stabbed multiple times. Always busy trying to better her situation, Sue took a typing class with financial aid. Some have speculated that Martin may have killed Sue for revenge, in the mistaken belief that she was responsible for breaking up his marriage. Although the counselor initially reported Martys statements to the police not long after the killings, the police did not log the information as evidence or follow up with this information. It would take the police hours to realize that a fourth victim, Tina, was missing. After learning about the Keddie cabin murders, read about another unsolved murder, the Lake Bodom homicides that continue to confound authorities. Episode Info His head was badly damaged as though bashed in with a blunt object and lay partially on a pillow. [21] Carla McMullen, a family acquaintance, later told detectives that Dana Wingate had recently stolen an unknown quantity of LSD from local drug dealers, though she was unable to provide proof of this claim. At Keddie Cabin, two victims were found tied to each other. Tina had briefly joined her sister at the neighbors before returning home to her mother, two younger brothers, and one of the neighbor boys, Justin Smartt. The sheriff at the time of the murders, Doug Thomas, and his deputy. The 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 mountains. [16] The remains were confirmed by a forensic pathologist to be those of Tina in June 1984. "[17] He allegedly told the counselor that Tina was killed to prevent her from identifying him, as she had "witnessed the whole thing. As reported by Keddie28, they initially rented a trailer home owned by Sharp's brother. People Magazine Investigates continues with new episodes that air Mondays (10 p.m. They were still asleep and seemingly unaware of what happened. Once a busy railroad terminal in the Sierra Nevada mountains, Keddie had lost much of its population after the railroad closed down. Based on Justin's description of the attackers, detectives identified Martin "Marty" Smartt as one of the primary suspects in the cabin murders. Although authorities believe they were both involved in the Keddie cabin murders, they think they may have had help. As she opened the door, she screamed as she discovered the bodies of her mother, Glenna "Sue" Sharp, older brother John Sharp . His throat had been slit. There were four victims: Sue Sharp, her son John, her daughter Tina, and John's friend Dana. This happened 41 years ago in Keddie, California. 28 of the Keddie Resort. Blood was all over the victims, the floors, walls, ceiling, both bedroom doors, and on the railing of the outside stairs. Everyone loves a good mystery.But what about those good unsolved mysteries that don't have that satisfying ending like Scooby-Doo pulling off the mask of the culprit and are just downright spooky? The date was April 11, 1981, when Cabin 28 saw the horrors that crowd it and to this day, the case remains cold. It was believed that Martin and Sue were having an affair and that Sue was supposedly counseling Marilyn to leave her husband, who she had said was abusive to her. Boubede told authorities he was a former Chicago police officer and that Marilyn was his niece, which were both later revealed to be untrue. Copyright 2016-2022 True Crime Magazine, A Look Inside Ted Bundys Isolation Cell at Dade County Jail, Meet the 13-Year-Old Boy Who Caught Richard Ramirez, A GRAPHIC Look Back At the Hillside Strangler Murders, Revisiting Ted Bundys Issaquah Dump Site, A GRAPHIC Look Back at Zodiac Killers Reign of Terror, A GRAPHIC Look Back At Richard Chases Reign of Terror, A GRAPHIC Look Back At Ted Bundys Execution, NSFW: The Blood-Soaked Trail of the Times Square Killer. It seems possible that Marilyn learned about an affair between Marty and Sue. 109 min listen. 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. 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. Last post Re: Keddie RR murder by Copybot.2 Fri Apr 08, 2022 9:18 pm; 1990 - 1999. 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. Around a month after the Keddie murders took place, the neighborhood friend, Justin, who was one of the survivors, told his therapist that he was having dreams about the murder. [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. Three of them were murdered that night, and one of the children remained missing until years later. [24] Investigating these sounds, he saw Sue with two men: one with a mustache and short hair, the other clean-shaven with long hair; both wore glasses. Circleville, Ohio - The Unsolved Mystery of the Circleville Letters by Every . If they suffered any injuries during the event, it wasnt serious, although they did leave some DNA on a piece of tape. The victims were Glenna Sharp, known as Sue, her son John (age fifteen), and his friend, Dana Wingate (aged seventeen). However, they onlywent on a few dates, and the last time they saw each other was two days before she was killed. 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. [29], In a 2008 documentary on the murders, Marilyn Smartt claimed that she suspected her husband Martin and his friend John "Bo" Boubede (erroneously reported as "John Boudee" by author Robert Scott)[a] were responsible for the murders. 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. It is true that longtime cold cases can find warmth even after several decades. Gamberg thinks that at the same time, Sue was counseling Marilyn to leave Marty. Unable to discern from where they were coming, they went back to bed. Three dead: Sue (36), John (15), and John's friend, Dana Wingate (17). Immediately, the two lead suspects were Justin Smartts father and the Sharps neighbors, Martin Smartt and his houseguest, ex-convict John Bo Boudebe who was known to have connections to organized crime in the area. Due to the chaos, it took police quite a few hours before anyone realized that Tina was nowhere to be found. The murders had been notably violent. [24], The house in which the murders occurred was demolished in 2004. How could murder with so much evidence remain unsolved? Where is the Body of the Legendary King Gorm of Denmark. ET) on Investigation Discovery. She mentioned, however, that she doesnt talk to her brothers about it because she wants to protect them. The population was 66 at the 2010 census. 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. KEDDIE (CBS13) - The stretch of I-70 in the Feather River Canyon appears to be one of the most peaceful settings in Plumas County, but three decades ago, a monster invaded the town of Keddie.. KEDDIE (CBS13) Investigators believe they may have found one of the weapons used in a 35-year-old murder mystery. [24] Around 2:00 am on April 12, she stated she awoke to find the two burning an unknown item in the wood stove. 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. In 2013, he located the recording of the anonymous 911 phone call that came in after Tinas remains surfaced. First, they approached the site of Cabin 28, which at this point had been torn down. Electrical cording and medical tape bound their wrists and ankles. 12-year-old Tina Sharp is missing. Gary Mollath, who owned one of the failed resorts, turned his cabins into long-term rental units for low-income families. Were continuing with the investigation, and were doing interviews, and we have several persons of interest. Justin said that he was watching TV in the boys room before he fell asleep. Police were called to the scene at around 8:05 that morning, having been alerted by the Seabolt family . On Saturday, April 11, 1981, Sheila Sharp spent the night with neighbors, as she planned to attend church with them the following morning. Martin Smartt later told the police that he had a hammer that matched the one discovered and also that his hammer and gone missing shortly before the murders. [24], Martin Smartt, a neighbor and main suspect, claimed that a claw hammer had inexplicably gone missing from his home. Justin said both men were wearing glasses. Investigators were called about an hour after Sheila had discovered her slain family. The murders took place in house No. As reported by Keddie28, she returned to her family's cabin, which was only 15 feet away, at approximately 7:45 Sunday morning to get her outfit. The former Sharp home was condemned and demolished in 2004. 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. The Keddie victims were bound with tape and electrical cords. While under hypnosis, he described the killers as a tall man with blond hair and a mustache and a short man, who was clean-shaven with dark hair. Martin was a known drug dealer and Bo was connected to Chicago crime syndicates with financial interests in drug distribution. While the Seabolts tried to calm the distraught girl, their teenage son, Jamie Seabolt, went to Cabin 28 to see if anyone was still alive. 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. The artist won the Doug Moran in 2011 for his portrait of Baz Luhrmann, and he has won the Archibald people's choice four times - once, in 2013, for another portrait of Keddie. 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. Keddie Murder Victims (Clockwise): Sue Sharp, John Sharp, Dana Wingate, and Tina Sharp. It was Sharps mother, Sue, brother John and his friend Dana, laying in a pool of blood, bound with medical tape and appliance wire. This was a couple years ago. On the morning of April 11, 14-year-old Sheila Sharp stepped into Cabin 28 to a . I was told the suspects were told to get out of town, so to me, that means it was covered up, Sheila Sharp told CBS Sacramento in 2016. Tina was then allegedly taken out the cabins back door by one of the men. Relatives of the victims and the public anxiously await the day when investigators bring justice to the killings of Sue, John, Tina, and Dana. [6][16] Initial reports stated that the three young boys had slept through the incident, though this was later contradicted. With that, the remains of Tina Sharp had been found, which made the crimes committed on April 11 or 12, 1981, a quadruple homicide. On April 11, 1981, Sheila Sharp, then 14, discovered three bloodied bodies inside her home in Keddie, California: her mother, Glenna "Sue" Sharp, her brother John Sharp and one of his friends, Dana Wingate. Keddie Murders Revisited Following the Clues, May 3, 2018.Metcalf, Victoria. Trampling through dead leaves, they stepped inside the perimeter of where the cabin once sat. The entire site has since been abandoned. [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. "[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]. A neighborhood boy, Justin Eason, would spend the night with Sues two youngest sons that evening. Their throats were slashed, and they both had multiple stabbings and blunt force trauma to the head. On the night of April 11, 1981, four people were brutally murdered in Cabin 28 of the Keddie resort in Northern California. Young John was closest to the front door, face-up, his hands blood-covered and bound with medical tape. In addition to confirming Sue, John, and Dana were dead, the officers concluded they were murdered. Justin said he saw one of the men stab Sue Sharp. More evidence uncovered in Keddie murders case. The murders took place in cabin 28, during the late evening of April 11, 1981 and/or early morning of the 12th. The town was later promoted as a resort town, with opportunities for camping, hiking, and other recreation. 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. Although Marilyn gave it to authorities, Historic Mysteries reports there is no record that the jacket was entered into evidence. 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. [19] Autopsies[21] determined that Sue and John died from the knife wounds and blunt-force trauma, and Dana died by asphyxiation. The Keddie Cabin murders was a case that involved a triple-slaying as well as a missing child whose remains were later discovered. To read the full article about the Keddie Cabin Murders please log in or join Stangeoutdoors by clicking here: The shocking unsolved Keddie Cabin murders Exclusive Members Only Area $15.99 One time Exclusive content for Members Near the remains detectives also found a childs blanket, a blue nylon jacket, a pair of jeans with a missing back pocket, and an empty surgical tape dispenser. Then at 3:30 pm, the two teenagers headed out again. All rights reserved. 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. But Sheila credits the memory of her mothers compassion as a guide she has tried to follow. The living room was in complete chaos, and Sue, John, and Johns friend, Dana, were dead on the floor. Glenna Sue Sharp was a dark-haired, attractive single mother with five children. The former Sharp home was condemned and demolished in 2004. The three boys in the house, Rick, Greg, and their friend, Justin, were all safe in the bedroom. 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. Cabin 28 and others in the small Keddie community were allowed to deteriorate in the years following the Keddie murders. He also told authorities he had a hammer, which went missing around the same time the murder occurred. 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. John Boubede left Keddie after the murders and returned to Chicago, where he died in 1988. Local authorities confirmed she was not known to law enforcement and did not have a criminal record. Plumas County Sheriffs DepartmentA back view of cabin 28 where the family had lived for a year. It matched the description of the one Marty gave in his interrogation. Was it possible that he either witnessed the murders or awoke at some point during the night but had blocked it out? On the other hand, his reason for killing Tina was that she had seen everything. Sheila Sharp who discovered the victims of the Keddie Cabin 28 murders in 1981, when she was 14 hopes the cold case finally will be resolved By Jeff Truesdell Published on November 25, 2016. Tina, on the other hand, went home around 9:30 and planned to sleep in her own bed. WANTED: The Keddie Cabin Killer Episode Summary A family's brutal murder rocks a tiny California town and leaves behind too many unanswered questions. It's a case that involves a triple-slaying and a missing child whose remains. What the 14-year-old girl discovered inside the modest four-room cabin instantly became one of the most macabre scenes in modern American crime history and has come to be known as the gruesome Keddie murders. Then, see if you can solve any of these six inexplicable, unsolved murders. The murders took place in cabin 28, during the late evening of April 11, 1981 and/or early morning of the 12th. Keddie28reported Sue Sharp began dating a man named Dareyl approximately one week before she was killed. The first member of LE to arrive, shortly after 8 am, was PCSO Deputy Hank Klement, who did a quick search of the cabin, confirming the murders. Sitting down with PEOPLE Senior Editor Alicia Dennis for the People Magazine Investigates After Show that followed the broadcast, Sheila talks about the additional burdens she carries because of the grisly discovery and the uncertainty of who was responsible. [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]. They had apparently slept through the entire massacre which had unfolded mere feet from their beds. Although the identity of the murderer is still a mystery, new information has surfaced in the last decade and could help to solve the Keddie cabin murders. Keddie, California.Sue Sharp, her teenage son John, and his friend Dana Wingate are found brutally murdered in the Sharp family's cabin at Keddie Resort in the Sierra Nevada. Richard (along with Mike Hamilton) is the person who spread the rumor around school (reported by Joey C) that Martin and Boubede killed Sue and the boys and "took" Tina. A back view of cabin 28 where the family had lived for a year. . On the floor lay her mother Glenna (Sue) Sharp36, her brother Johnny Sharp15, and Johns friend Dana Wingate17. Watch the People Magazine Investigates After Show, available now on the new People/Entertainment Weekly Network (PEN). Keddie, a once-favored railroad stop for recreational tourists traveling from the San Francisco Bay area . In press releases accompanying the sketches, the suspects were described as being in their late 20s to early 30s; one stood between 5feet 11inches (1.80m) to 6feet 2inches (1.88m) tall with dark-blonde hair, and the other between 5feet 6inches (1.68m) and 5feet 10inches (1.78m) with black, greased hair. However, Tina was missing. All That's Interesting is a Brooklyn-based digital publisher that seeks out stories that illuminate the past, present, and future. Additionally, the same gun matched the impressions that the butt of the gun left on Sues head. [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. [19] John and Dana suffered blunt-force trauma to their heads caused by a hammer or hammers. Dana had multiple head injuries and had been manually strangled to death. Four people were killed in a small California resort town, including Sue Sharp, her son John, daughter Tina, and John's friend Dana. The prevalence of blood suggested to investigators that the victims had been moved and rearranged from the positions in which they were murdered. However, none of the evidence helped the investigators find the killers or determine how she died. The murders at Keddie Cabin 28 appeared to be random acts of cruelty. It was true that investigators failed to log numerous pieces of evidence and overlooked leads. which Jamie had already done by entering through the cabin's back door to check for any survivors. One of the men had a hammer. On April 11, 1981, Glenna "Sue" Sharp, a 36-year-old mother of five children, settled down for the night at Cabin 28, in Keddie, a small community surrounded by mountains in Northern California. "[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. The new investigators and people online who re-investigated the Keddie Murders have done a very good job digging up some new evidence and analyzing the small amount available.