", Thomas wasn't so sure. "I want to remember the happy times," she says. "I stayed in the cabin probably a dozen times," he said. Remember, this was 1981 and DNA collection and processing at crime scenes didnt begin until 1985. Locals describe it as a beautiful woodsy town, one with a strong sense of community. Victims,. As she got older and contemplated a career in law enforcement, she became more interested in the case. The hope is coming from an unlikely sourceinformation from a family member of Boubede has led to a discovery investigators thought was long gone. "For the record, she was none of these things," Sheila wrote. A fourth victim, Tina, was missing. Blood was discovered on both bedroom doors and outside on the handrail of the steep back stairs. How did Doug Thomas keep Gamberg out of the investigation if Gamberg was terminated in March 1981 and wasnt reinstated until 1983 (2 years after Thomas resigned)? Marty was reportedly an abusive husband. It sounded like a door that rested on rusty hinges, if I had to pinpoint it, she nodded, brows furrowed. In the larger community of Quincy, with a population of just under 2,000, Sheriff Hagwood was a schoolmate of victims Johnny and Dana, and the summer before the murders they'd all worked together as teenagers on a painting crew. Good question! 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.". Living far away from Keddie, Sheila felt a growing hopelessness that someone would ever be made to answer for what happened to her family. That tape, too, was turned over for voice comparisons with audio of earlier suspects. But both Marty Smartt and "Bo" Boubede are now dead, questioned by law enforcement after the killings but never charged. He said, And I was wondering if they thought of the murder up in Keddie up in Plumas County a couple years ago where a 12-year-old girl was never found.. Sharp's oldest daughter, Sheila, had been at a sleepover when she returned to the family home, Cabin 28, to find her murdered family. On the night of April 11, 1981, four people were brutally murdered in Cabin 28 of the Keddie resort in Northern California. Click here to get breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases in the True Crime Newsletter. The three bodies on the floor had been bound, stabbed and beaten with a hammer. He had known connections with organized crime in Chicago.Boubede also had at least two known aliases as Bobby Lake and John DeSantis, according to the Keddie 28 online site administrator dmac. Hagwood's mother was a teacher who had Tina in class. more. All three victims sustained brutal blows to the head with a hammer or hammers, and they were stabbed, sometimes repeatedly. On April 12, 1981, a group of 7 people went to sleep in Cabin 28 at the Keddie Resort Lodge in California. Hagwood would graduate from California State University, Sacramento with a degree in criminal justice. Those who were inside Cabin 28 the night and/or early morning hours of April 11 and 12, 1981, were somewhat prepared, according to Gamberg. "I guess I don't want to relive that," she tells PEOPLE in this week's issue of the memory 35 years ago when, at age 14, she opened the front door of her family's northern California cabin to find their bloodied bodies on the living room floor. The Keddie Murders Revisited Plumas County Sheriff's Office Probable murder weapons for the Keddie slaying discovered and submitted as evidence in 2016. I could ask a hundred people what started this and Id probably get the same rehashed rumors from most of them. The possible motive: Marty was married to Marilyn Smartt, the mother of Justin Smartt, who was one of the kids that was found alive in the cabin. Sheriff's investigators say they submitted more. Dana suffered multiple head injuries and was manually strangled. 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. Theyd never felt the need to do that prior to the murders. He was also familiar with Cabin 28 in Keddie. It contained a tape recording of an anonymous caller to Butte County dispatch. People: 5 Things to Know about the Keddie Cabin Murders and the New Hunt for the Killers. Another piece of perhaps vital evidence that Gamberg discovered was in an envelope that was never opened. He became a deputy in his hometown in 1988. Sue Sharp, Johnny Sharp, and Johnny's friend Dana, were bound together by some type of electrical wiring. Keddie murders revisited part 2: Following the clues. says Sheila, now a 50-year-old mother of three and grandmother of two. "There is not an expiration date on homicides, and to the extent that we have surviving siblings and family members, it is our fundamental obligation to them to understand who did this and why. At one point, Thomas did say he gave one session of advice to the couple but it was before the murders. The father of Dana Wingate (the friend of the Sharps who was also killed) said in 2001 the police had "stumbled over each other and fouled up the case.". This just seems like a rehash of an old article. Severin John Bo Boubede, Smartts friend. Reporting on what you care about. What occurred next shocked the country: Four people were killed, three of which were found in Cabin 28. As I stood there, fighting to breathe, I couldnt help but think of Dana Wingate, and how she had been strangled to death in the house. Spring showers replenished the waterways near the Feather River, giving life to the picturesque landscape in Plumas County, about 140 miles northeast of Sacramento. For most people, Keddie is a beautiful, and rural town in Northern California. Keddie Cabin 28 Massacre- Sharp Family Murders Remains Unsolved since 1981 Infamous Crime Locations 32K views 1 year ago Unsolved Marathon Season 2 BuzzFeed Unsolved Network 10M views 4 years. Johnny was face-up, with hands and feet bound by electrical cord that also wrapped around Dana's feet. Here are five things to know about their work. The California Department of Justice was immediately given the case and then didnt follow through, said Gamberg. Police was on the scene for a short while before they . Everybody was suspicious of everybody and afraid of everybody else, he said. Charles Montaldo. I followed behind the footsteps until I heard them stop and a loud creaking noise took its place. It has been 40 years since the tragedy took place in rural Plumas County. Decades after the horrific incident, there is still significant public interest in the unsolved case. Another person of interest also lived in Butte County. ", "It's a little bit confused," Sheila says of her recall after more than three decades. Dozens peripherally involved in the case had motive, if not opportunity, yet Law enforcement immediately zeroed in on their prime suspects then, seemingly inexplicably, ignored them. The two men, both now dead, are also the primary suspects in the narrative taking shape by the revived investigation, although the sheriff at the time, Doug Thomas, tells PEOPLE that no evidence tied either to the crimes when they occurred. I don't think either one of them were involved.". 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. KEDDIE (CBS13) Investigators believe they may have found one of the weapons used in a 35-year-old murder mystery. It haunted people. And wasnt Justin 12 when this happened? Please enter valid email address to continue. "It's my feeling that either he [the caller] was told or he was involved in some way," Gamberg said. It has been 40 years since the most horrific crime in Plumas County history, the Keddie Murders.Subscribe at: https://goo.gl/vai8EuFind ABC10 online: https://www.abc10.com/Sign up for our newsletter: https://www.abc10.com/email Stream ABC10 on Roku: https://channelstore.roku.com/details/63398/abc10Stream ABC10 on Amazon Fire: https://www.amazon.com/Gannett-Broadcasting-ABC-10-Fire/dp/B01E0H2KZQStream ABC10 on AppleTV: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/abc10-news-weather-traffic/id469397853?mt=8Like ABC10 on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ABC10tv/ Like ABC10 on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/abc10tvFollow ABC10 on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ABC10App download Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.gannett.local.library.news.kxtv\u0026hl=en_USApp download iPhone: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/abc10-news-weather-traffic/id469397853 It was April 11, 1981 when Sheila Sharp, 14, opened the door to her familys two-bedroom cabin and discovered the bodies of her mother, older brother and family friend in the small living room. It became a top priority when Hagwood took over several years ago and he hired Gamberg to focus on the murders. "They covered it up, is the way it sounds," Gamberg said. The Seabolts didnt have a telephone. Her skull had been found 50 miles away in a different county. "I don't think there really is any type of final closure in a murder case. And now two years after that, hes announced that theres more that links a living person or persons to the crime. That night I dreamt of a young girl, walking around the empty site. On April 12, 1981, a group of 7 people went to sleep in Cabin 28 at the Keddie Resort Lodge in California. Enter your email address to subscribe to Plumas News and receive notifications of new posts by email. Also, a man recently discovered a steel blue claw-hammer using a metal detector that matched the description of one that Marty had told investigators he lost. The anonymous caller said he was watching the news about the discovery at Feather Falls down Highway 70 from Keddie. Sue was covered by a yellow blanket; her hands and feet were bound by electrical wiring. Special investigator Mike Gamberg took us back to where that hammer was found near the crime scene and just a stone's throw away from the cabin where investigators strongly believe the killers were staying at the time of the murders. 5 People Vanished Along the Snake River Beginning in 1979: Will Police Finally Catch a Serial Killer? Although Gamberg was a deputy, he said his young sons began locking the doors to their house at night. She said she learned of it long afterward by investigators, but she recognized her ex-husband's handwriting. 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). 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. It's a case that's gathered far more dust than clues over the years. He accepted the job and the challenge of following the evidence and leads that still existed. "Whoever did this and there was more than one person had to have blood all over them," said Doug Thomas, who was the Plumas County sheriff at the time of the murder and led the investigation. Teen Died Mysteriously in 2015. They were such bad parents that, had this case been properly investigated, their lack of stewardship over Justin would have led directly to capital murder convictions, a punishment which had been re-instated in 1977. Unsolved in California: The Case of the Keddie Cabin Murders January 12, 2022 / Jamie Day The little town of Keddie California lies nestled in the mountains to the north-eastern part of the state in Plumas County. "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. Lone pools of blood on the living room floor and on the sofa pillow indicate the boys bodies were also moved and staged, Gamberg said. It was tested for trace DNA or blood residue. She left behind a broken marriage with a military man, now deceased, whom Sheila says was abusive to his wife and two daughters. "We're convinced that there are a handful of people that fit those roles who are still alive. 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. According to the crime scene report, the boys' bodies on the living room floor were bloodied around their heads and necks. Dead were Sheila's mother, brother and a family friend. "My mother's kindness and grace also extended beyond her own family, which may have ultimately been her downfall.". Cookies collect information about your preferences and your device and are used to make the site work as you expect it to, to understand how you interact with the site, and to show advertisements that are targeted to your interests. He writes under dmac and Dee Mack but his name is David McNarie. Hagwood personally knew them. A bent steak knife was found on the floor, and a bloody butcher knife and claw hammer were found on a small wooden table near the entryway to the kitchen. With the killings of her family members, "I didn't have the big brother to look up to, and I lost my only sister, and we were close," Sheila says. Boubede died in 1988, according to Gamberg. What was ignored was an alleged admission of guilty by one of the suspects. That and his personal connections led Hagwood to resurrect the case; to provide the resources and time needed to solve it. Anyone who has any information on the Keddie murders is asked to call the Keddie murders hotline at 283-6360. Someone from that cabin ran to the lodge and reported the crime. The Primary Suspects Are Dead But Authorities Are Still Pursuing Justice, 3. Why did a enforcer from the mob, 'Bo' Boubede, move in with Smartt just prior to the murders? "She's a hard one to talk about," Sheila says. When you visit this site, it may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. She was dutiful in her attention to each of us, and while we lived in relative poverty, we also lived in a home of love. 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 Didnt he admit to covering Glenna Sue? He found a letter written by Marty Smartt to his wife reportedly written soon after the murders. It was discovered later that 12-year-old Tina Sharp was missing. With copies of most case files still in existence, we've drafted the most realistic timeline of events leading up to the murders, how they took place, and the ensuing coverup by the killers and corrupt members of law enforcement. Investigators believe they may have ultimately been her downfall. `` Bo Boubede... The True crime Newsletter the country: four people were killed, three of which were found in 28... 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