He led Charlie outside in handcuffs and sat him on the porch; he read the teenager his Miranda rights and told him that he was being taken in for questioning. I couldnt have got up if Id wanted to. Terry, who shares a warm relationship with his stepsons, says that, like Job, he has been doubly blessed for never faltering in his faith in God. I forgave my daughter more easily but to forgive the guys who did this, for a long time felt too much. 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. They also had two sons: Matthew, known as Bubba, who was in the seventh grade, and Tyler, a fourth-grader. Slowly, though, he began to parcel out information. The hardest thing [was] to hear that. She seemed confused, repeatedly telling the officers that she was fourteen years old. I had it made.. Chip Gaines Bought Larry McMurtrys Historic Texas Bookstore. A semiautomatic handgun lay on the floor beside him. That comported completely with what Charlie told us, which was that she kept calling and saying, Where are yall? The pair then headed upstairs to where Tyler and Matthew were hiding. One was shot in the face and the second was killed with a sword, according to Texas Monthly. Let me see your hands, repeated the chief deputy. I dont remember anything after that. He was totally in love with her and considered her his soul mate, Dion Kipp Jr., a friend of Charlies, later told investigators. His daughter looked fragile and anxious in her orange prison jumpsuit, and at the end of every visit, he made sure to tell her that he loved her. If I was sitting on my jury, I would have stuck the needle in my arm, he told me. The Caffeys were also heavily involved with their local church, and this merged with their passion for music. Here was someone who had dreamed up a scheme to murder her family and manipulated people into carrying out her plan. 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. There were just things about him that didnt sit right with me, he later said. 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. I want us to walk away, arm in arm, and never look back," Caffey said. Knowing everything he knew, I asked him, did he still love her? He pushed the hair aside to get a better look and watched, dumbfounded, as two eyes opened. Waid, who held out the longest, finally confessed under Almons relentless questioning. Charlie Wilkinson and Erin Caffey's Dangerous Relationship Massacre of the Caffey Family The Trial And Sentencing Of Erin Caffey. I got drunk last night and passed out.. I decided that I was going to go back to my property and end my life. Terry Caffey. Not only was I angry at God, but I was angry at my daughter. 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. Public DomainThe mugshot of Erin Caffey, taken after she orchestrated the murder of her own family. The old-timey ones with the white fence? Her parents decided to take to the internet to learn more about this bad-news boyfriend. Erin stood wide-eyed in her pajamas, bewildered, as she surveyed the room. . Charlie, who had narrated the nights events with stoic detachment, broke down as he recounted how Waid had then come upstairs and stabbed eight-year-old Tyler. When the gun jammed, Waid broke out a samurai-style sword and finished Penny off with it, nearly severing her head, according to Texas Monthly. I was angry at these two young men, the other young lady that drove the getaway car. Get an all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! And that's when I decided to -- it's time to move on. Erin Caffey, a 16-year-old from Alba, Texas, met 18-year-old Charlie Wilkinson at her part-time job at Sonic, a fast food joint. Wilkinson and two other men, Charles Wade and Bobbi Johnson, then age 20 and 18 respectively, were also arrested. Sometime late in the night of Feb. 28, 2008, or early on March 1, Wilkinson and his friend, 22-year-old Charles Waid, stormed into the Caffey home while Erin and Waid's girlfriend, Bobbi Johnson, waited outside in the car. 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. Leave them blank to get signed up. Wilkinson and Waid were given life sentences without the possibility of parole. Tommy and Helen called 911 and I was taken to the hospital. Erin Caffeys brothers eight-year-old Tyler and 13-year-old Matthew played the guitar and the harmonica, respectively. Caffey has remarried and lives in Wills Point, Texas with his wife and two stepsons. All of them played instruments, and Erin used to sing so passionately during services that she would sometimes break down in tears, according to Texas Monthly. Terry Caffey previously told Nightline what happened that night. This site uses different types of cookies. After learning about Erin Caffey, read about another teen murderer, Zachary Davis, who bludgeoned his mother to death and tried to set his brother on fire. Ive never come across anyone as dangerous as Erin, said criminal therapist Israel Lewis, who worked with her after her capture. 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. To the astonishment of many of his closest friends, he remarried last year. It was the only way they could be together, she seemed to believe. "And even though she didn't actually come in and commit the crime, she knows her responsibility that she could have stopped it and she didn't.". Tanner was in the difficult position of briefing the victim of a crime who also happened to be the parent of the perpetrator. Erin had always been a very good kid; she always had a smile on her face. Then they shoot younger brother Matthew, only 13, in the head. 1969-1976. I dont have a family to go home to. And I remember weeping, just weeping uncontrollably. It was her idea, he said. Erin Caffey is a young American citizen who was convicted of murder in 2008. She smiled and said, Im glad thats over. He and Waid went back inside and retrieved the lockbox, which Charlie opened using the combination that Erin had given him. I grabbed the mattress, the cover, anything I could to pull myself up. Recover your password Terry found a good listener in Sonja Webb, a pretty divorce he met in the course of his work as a home health aide. Finally, they turned back toward the Caffey home and parked down the road. Her belief was that it was the only way she could be with Wilkinson. 02:08:53. During the many hours in which they made polite conversation, he ventured only once to ask her a question of substance. She needed to explain to him why prosecutors were asking the court to certify Erin as an adult. At their sentencing hearings in January, Terry rose to address each of them in the courtroom. Did you have any part in this? she demanded. Killing them will not bring my family back. He asked that Charlie Wilkinson and Charles Waid receive sentences of life in prison without parole. Less than 24 hours after the murders, Waid, Johnson, Charlie, and Erin were all in custody. I honestly believe she was not the mastermind. Fischer told them he needed to talk to Charlie Wilkinson. An instant later the teen opened fire, killing Terry's wife, his two sons and wounding him 12 times, before setting the house ablaze. Her accomplices were her boyfriend Charlie Wilkinson, 18, his pal Charles Waid, 20, and Waids girlfriend Bobbi Johnson, 18. Fischer walked from room to room, stepping over piles of dirty clothes and empty beer cans as he went, startling Waid and his girlfriend from their sleep. It was a question that preoccupied him more than his doubts about her innocence. The judge agreed. The police had arrested Erin for plotting the murders of her family. Once you love somebody, you cant quit, Charlie said. I had never seen such a sight. Fire, she said, her voice trailing off. Terry was rushed into emergency surgery, after which he was stable enough to talk. One night not long afterward, Charlie pulled his car over on a country road, knelt on the pavement, and presented Erin with his grandmothers engagement ring. He became an ordained minister in April, and he gives his testimony most weekends at local churches, using his familys story as an object lesson in forgiveness. All I heard was the word home. I thought, I dont have a home. She seemed totally sincere and genuine, and I would have put my license on the line to say that she was telling me the truth. There was no overhead light, so he pulled a blanket off one of the windows to illuminate his view. Link your TV provider to stream full episodes and live TV. Erin was not sentenced to life without parole; she will be eligible after 25 years of her life sentence, according to Killer Couples.. Terry stepped in, however, still believing in the forgiveness his faith taught him, and asked prosecutors to take the death penalty off the table, according to Killer Couples., All four eventually pleaded guilty. He handed the gun to Waid, who fixed the .22 and fired two more shots. She could get him to do whatever she wanted. Killing her parents, Erin told Charlie, was their best option. Fischer drew his gun and commanded her to show him her hands, but she just stared at him. I guess what it all boils down to is choices, she said, almost matter-of-factly. Very caring. Erins car keys and phone were taken away, and for weeks, her parents drove her to and from school. Mr Caffey believes Charlie Wilkinson carried out the attack as Erin's parents wanted her to break up with him. 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. 2 talking about this. What they found convinced them that they had to separate him from their daughter. And so Erin accepted a plea dealtwo life sentences to be served concurrently, plus an additional 25 yearswhich ensures that with good behavior she will be eligible for parole when she is 59 years old. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. She remained a mystery. When the attorneys told me they wanted the death penalty, I prayed again and asked what would Jesus do? The murders shocked the nation especially when the police revealed that Erin Caffey was the mastermind behind the entire massacre. Charlie Wilkinson, I want to say to you today, I forgive you. Now that she has pled out and the specter of a capital murder trial is gone, their conversations are no longer restricted, and Terry is free to ask his daughter whatever he wants to know. I'm still here. The chief deputy brought her into the living room, where Matthew Waid and his girlfriend sat on the couch. I wanted to die where they died. Spent shell casings lay scattered across the carpet, and next to the mattress sat a box of ammunition. She was very smart. We didnt see any of this coming.. But once she began to date Charlie she changed considerably. Once a month, Terry makes the three-hour trip to Gatesville, where Erin is incarcerated. I found out later they had come in with samurai swords and found Tyler in the closet. As late as two days before the murders, he gloomily admitted to the same friend that he wished he could just get her pregnant so the Caffeys would have no choice but to accept him. Fischer recognized her from her drivers license photo. I felt someone kick me in the foot and heard heavy breathing. Records of calls between Caffey and Wilkinson nailed her lie that she had been the victim of a kidnap. 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. Less than 24 hours after authorities responded, the Caffey home was a smoldering pile and all four suspects were in custody and talking. Caffey was interviewed for a new series called Killer Women With Piers Morgan. His dad worked at a paper mill outside Dallas. Waid stared at the girl in disbelief and confirmed that she was Erin Caffey. The ambulance was about to pull away from Tommy Gastons house when sheriffs investigator Richard Almon, who had hurried to the scene, climbed inside. Facing the same charges and bond are . He considered suicide several times. I dont like that boy, Terry used to tell Penny. Now, one year later, Terry is remarried, the adoptive father of two young sons, and working to rebuild his relationship with his 17-year-old daughter, who is currently serving two life. If Charlie was startled by the news that he had left behind an eyewitness, he did not give himself away. Then, they discovered Erin Caffey in the trailer where he was living, and she appeared to be in a state of shock. On the night of March 1st, 2008, in a quiet, rural Texan community, Terry Caffeys wife, Penny, and their two young sons, Bubba and Tyler, were brutally murdered by their 16-year-old daughters boyfriend, Charlie Wilkinson, and his friend Charles Waid. I wanted them to pay, especially those two boys. An instant later the teen opened fire, killing Terry's wife, his two sons, and wounding him 12 times, before setting the house ablaze. I wanted them to pay for what they did.". I dont think she actually thought he would go through with it. 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. Why did he have to die? Yet Charlie said he thought he had also stabbed Tyler at least once. I made my way through the window and just fell to the ground. Im here. A teaching assistant who was brutally bashed by a 122kg student has denied her attackers claims that she sparked the classroom assault. And you relive it over and over. His face and upper body were caked with blood. ", "When you hold on to that un-forgiveness or that bitterness, it's like that person still has a part of you," he continued. I dont know whats wrong with her head, he said. Read More. 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