I got drunk last night and passed out.. None of the four involved were drunk or had taken drugs on the night of the murders. 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. The hardest thing [was] to hear that. Virginia Daily became hysterical and grabbed Erins face. Terry started dating Sonja 4months after the horrific murders of his entire family & they were married just 7 months after the tragedy. Still, sometimes he seemed ambivalent about their plan. Erin broke down in tears and assured her grandparents that she had nothing to do with the slaughter of her family, according to Texas Monthly. Were me and your mom good parents? he asked her as they sat on opposite sides of the Plexiglas divider. I ended up buying me a used RV, and I moved it back up on my land. Terry was rushed into emergency surgery, after which he was stable enough to talk. One was shot in the face and the second was killed with a sword, according to Texas Monthly. They had nearly decapitated her. Terry drew particular sustenance from a passage in Romans, chapter 12: Bless them which persecute you, a principle that, in the end, informed his wish that his familys killers be spared the death penalty. Investigators were putting the case together quickly, however. Just a few minutes into the drive, however, Sanders cell phone rang. Charlie lived in the country with his father, his stepmother, a stepbrother, a stepsister, and a half-sister. Records of calls between Caffey and Wilkinson nailed her lie that she had been the victim of a kidnap. 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. When authorities tracked down Wilkinson and brought him in for questioning, they also found Erin in the trailer where he was staying. Before the family left for Bible study, Erin promised that she would end things with Charlie. On February 27, three days before the murders, the Caffeys demanded that Erin break up with Charlie. They were ridiculous reasonsnot even reasonsjust an excuse, Waid told me. She needed to explain to him why prosecutors were asking the court to certify Erin as an adult. He wore a starched white inmates uniform, a buzz cut, and a doleful expression. He has since released a book called Terror by Night and is now happily remarried. They left the room, and then Charlie came back and cut Pennys throat to make sure she was dead. I was just angry. When Erin turned sixteen, in July 2007, she got her drivers license and an old Chevy pickup and started working at the Sonic. The funeral was private. Dickerson headed east along U.S. 69 and turned down the road that led through the woods to the Caffeys house, following the crooked path as it rambled beneath pine canopies and over dry creeks, past a neighbors hand-lettered sign that read, Acknowledge thine iniquityJeremiah 3:13. Daybreak was still a few hours off, and the road beyond the glare of his headlights was pitch-black. They met at a sonic fast food joint where Erin was working as a waitress. But why? Twice a week, Terry made the trip to Greenville to see his daughter. So two or three days I pondered on this. An instant later the teen opened fire, killing Terry's wife, his two sons, and wounding him 12 times, before setting the house ablaze. 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. Create your free profile and get access to exclusive content. The two men did the killing. I don't care just do what you gotta do, she allegedly said, according to Killer Couples.. After Charlie was brought to the county jail, Fischer obtained a search warrant from the justice of the peace and returned to the trailer to collect any evidence that might tie Charlie to the crime scene. Google Universal Analytics long-time unique user tracking identifier. he was a student at Rains Middle School. I had passed out a second time and when I woke up the room was on fire. Erin was cute and petite, with blue-gray eyes and a flirtatious smile, and she thrived on attention. Sign up forOxygen Insiderfor all the best true crime content. - Published on February 4, 2014. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Terry L. Caffey. Further, Penny Caffey is the mother of Erin who plays the Piano in church. Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive videos, breaking news, sweepstakes, and more! 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. Upon visiting his burned-out property, Terry noticed a . For the many people who puzzled over his loyalty, there were many others, in the pews of Miracle Faith and elsewhere, who understood it as the scriptural imperative of unconditional love. She organised the killing of her family at the age of 16. Very caring. Volunteer firefighters had struggled for several hours to put out the flames, but the house had burned down to its foundation. He spoke first to Waid, who remained impassive, and then to Charlie. Charlie would later remember the electricity of the moment when Erin had glided up to his car window to deliver his order. And thats when I decided to move on. 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. Erin Caffey And Charlie Wilkinson's Dangerous Relationship ABC's new TV series, "Final Witness," recreates the 2008 tragedy Wednesday at 10 p.m. Charlieits Kurt, Fischer said. It was an isolated existence for an otherwise social girl whose life was largely circumscribed to Miracle Faith and her parents house, six miles from town. The pair met while Caffey was working part-time as a waitress at a Sonic fast-food joint, and the relationship got serious pretty quickly. Finally, they poured lighter fluid on the furniture and lit the house on fire. He had been shot five times: once in the head, twice near his right shoulder, and two more times in the back. As he was bleeding from his gunshot wounds, Caffey said he tried to get through the bedroom door and all he could see were flames and black smoke. When I came round I heard commotion and two voices. ERIN Caffey was just 16 years old when she organised for her family to be killed. In school, she brought up the subject once or twice a day; during a lunch break in mid-February, a junior overheard her tell Charlie that killing her parents was the only way they could be together. Chief deputy Fischer picked up Bobbi Johnson outside the restaurant where she washed dishes, and he pulled Charles Waid over driving her car. Wilkinson and Waid then ransacked the house for valuables Wilkinson had allegedly promised Waid $2,000 that was stashed away and set fire to the place with lighter fluid. I felt someone kick me in the foot and heard heavy breathing. Armed with a .22-caliber pistol and two samurai swords, they moved through the house with brutal efficiency. But Erin was insistent. Recover your password . There was nothing he could do for his family at that point. . . Her story was already beginning to unravel, though, as Charlie was being questioned at the sheriffs office in Emory. "I was very angry," Caffey said of the murders. Some cookies are placed by third party services that appear on our pages. I'm still here. Four suspects have been arrested and charged with the murders of the Caffey family. Prosecutors believe Erin plotted the crime, but her father can't bring himself to believe that. Meanwhile, Wilkinson claimed that he had offered for him and Caffey to simply run away together, but Caffey insisted on the murders instead. Charlie, who turned eighteen that month, wanted to be with Erin, and he promised to do whatever it took to make her happy. Forgiveness took months with me praying continuously even when I still had rage towards God. Charlie told several friends that he intended to kill her parents. The Caffey is a church-going family in Texas. The ambulance was about to pull away from Tommy Gastons house when sheriffs investigator Richard Almon, who had hurried to the scene, climbed inside. Why did he have to die? Yet Charlie said he thought he had also stabbed Tyler at least once. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. 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. I never heard another sound after that until 3am when our bedroom door flew open. They werent beating me, they werent starving me to death. Her voice faltered, and her cousin, who did not have her natural talent, outshone her. Erin Caffey started dating Charlie Wilkinson. No kids an angel, but I know what she is capable of, and I know shes not capable of murder., Erin told another version of her story to Israel Lewis, the mental health counselor who was hired to evaluate her for the defense. His father used to joke that he had lost puppy dog syndromehe tried to help whoever was down on his luck; Erin was someone he wanted to rescue. Yes, Erin assured him, blinking back tears. There had been two guys with swords dressed in black who had ordered her to get down on the floor. Two nights before the murders, they had forbidden her to see him again. Well, Id read the story countless times before, but I read it again and it was almost like I was there with Job. Erin stood wide-eyed in her pajamas, bewildered, as she surveyed the room. At that point, the church-going teen began to slip up in school. They received a call en route that Erin was now a suspect and cuffed her. Texas Lege Watch: A House Republican Fights for Chicken Freedom, Texas Monthly Recognized by ASME in the 2023 National Magazine Awards. After the burial, Terry said that they saw disturbing sexual and alcohol abuse content on Erin's boyfriend's Myspace page. She seemed happy, he remembered. 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. There was nothing left but the subfloor and the metal roof. You know them family pictures that they print in movies and stuff? he said. From left are Matthew, Terry, Tyler, Penny and Erin. 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. Worst of all, as far as Erin was concerned, Charlies weekly visits to the house were suspended. Just a few days after the murders, Terry Caffey would make the eight-hour round trip to a prison to see the person who planned the family murder and had wanted him dead too. A Right-wing Cabal Took Over Odessas Municipal Government. I threw my arm across Penny, and took shots in my arm and face which blew me out of bed and knocked me out. The cabin appeared to have been burning for some time; the structure was engulfed in flames, and the metal roof had begun to buckle under its own weight. 2 talking about this. She had woken up in a house full of smoke, she said. 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. Charlie kept saying, Are you sure you want to do this? Johnson recounted. But nothing happened. I was so stubborn, I thought, Ill be darned if somebody is going to run me off of our property. I went back to our property as soon as I was better. She also showed no symptoms of smoke inhalation. I was scared shitless.) Erin had seemed elated after the killings, Johnson explained, and said that she was free. In fact, Johnson said, Erin had wanted to get out of the car to make sure that everyone was dead. Terry's account of the murders, Terror by Night, was recently released and was co-authored by James Pence. I dont remember anything after that. He visits his daughter in prison every few months. Erin came from a conservative and protective family. Almon clambered out of the ambulance and shared what he had learned with chief deputy Kurt Fischer. He could see Charlie lying on a mattress, awake, wearing only blue jeans. The father wasn't home, and he still visits the daughter. She had wanted to break things off with Charlie for a while, she tearfully confessed, but had not been sure how. He began searching the back bedroom where Charlie had been found. I wanted them to die. I heard footsteps going up the stairs and I began to panic. Charlie Wilkinson and Erin Caffey's Dangerous Relationship Massacre of the Caffey Family The Trial And Sentencing Of Erin Caffey. 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. When I saw the phone records, I realized that it didnt matter if a single one of the other defendants testified against her. As time went on I began to realise that my grief and anger would destroy me. 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. At church functions, Erin was aloof and distracted. The Caffey family were very devout Christians. If I want to heal and move on, I must find some forgiveness in my heart, and that has been the hardest thing I have ever had to do because you took so much from me.. 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. She couldnt have asked for a better mom or dad. They stayed with her for five hours until she was released from the hospital, then offered to accompany her and her grandparents to the intensive care unit at the East Texas Medical Center in Tyler to see Erins father. He needed somebody to lay down beside him at night who he could tell his troubles to. They said their vows in October at Miracle Faith, just a few feet from where Terrys wifes and sons caskets had rested seven months earlier. At school, where she enrolled as a freshman, she and Charlie were inseparable; they ate lunch together and walked down the hall hand in hand, and sometimes they slipped away to Erins pickup to fool around. Oxygen Insider is your all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more. This site uses different types of cookies. In rural communities as small as Alba and Emory, there are no strangers, and Fischer shook his head when he heard Charlies name. Then, that fall, an incident at the junior high had upset Terry and Penny: A girl who had been showing interest in Erin had kissed her in the hallway. As they hurried down the gravel road away from the Caffeys home, the teenagers could see that the house was ablaze. I told them that killing these boys will not bring my family back. 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. From then on, the Caffeys limited Erins time with Charlie to once a week, in their home, under their watch. She asked him to lunch last June, and they never ran out of things to talk about. Erin Caffey orchestrated the murder of her family (ITV/YouTube) A woman who orchestrated the murder of most of her family has spoken of the "bad choices" she made. Webb was raising two sons on her own. Terry L Caffey of Gaines County, Texas was born c. 1956. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. Caffey is serving a minimum of 42 years and wont be eligible for parole until shes 59. 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. His face and upper body were caked with blood. Terry Caffey recalls that it was about 2 a.m. when a noise woke him. Due to the town's small size, the family was well-known in the community, specifically for their faith. And she said, Why are you asking me this? Youre breaking up with him today. November 16, 2022 2 Mins Read. I showed him the statement that a friend of hers had given to investigators about how Erin had wanted them to be killed. It didnt take long for Erin Caffeys kidnapping story to fall apart. 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. I bought me a nine-millimeter pistol and I slept with it beside me.. This website uses cookies to improve your experience. That is where I found Penny. Life does go on. Where am I?, Erins pastor, Todd McGahee, once joked that if he had five more of her, he could fill his church on Sundays. She nodded and looked as if she might throw up. Her homeschooling had begun when she was thirteen, after the family had moved to Alba from Celeste, a small town about an hours drive away. They shoot and murder Terry and Penny Caffey, the parents, in their bed. Can you tell me what happened? Fischer asked. In a timid, childlike voice that Sanders had to strain to hear, Erin spoke haltingly, offering few details. I was just angry. It's time to forgive. Charlie had broken into the house and shot Caffey and his family as they slept. WHAT'S POPULAR TODAY. Let me see your hands, repeated the chief deputy. Inside, Wilkinson fired away with a .22 pistol in Terry and Penny's room. Terry fell . Above their driveway hung a polished cedar plank with the inscription: The CaffeysJoshua 24:15. The verse, which Terry had committed to memory, was a reminder that they had chosen a righteous path: If it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve . Terry took five bullets and watched his wife die. Her parents decided to take to the internet to learn more about this bad-news boyfriend. Charlie might strike his desk or storm out of the classroom when he was provoked, but he usually walked away from a fight. Several kids had already seen her sitting on a picnic table behind the church, kissing the boy while he eased his hand up her shirt. I would never be able to honour my family if I let this destroy me. I made my way through the window and just fell to the ground. Erin Caffey is currently. Then I heard Bubba cry out, Charlie why are you doing this? So thats who I had just seen Charlie, Erins boyfriend. Terry Caffey miraculously gained consciousness as the fire engulfed the house and crawled out of a window. "It was so loud and it's even hard to describe. Caffey's other son, Tyler, was found stabbed to death. The old-timey ones with the white fence? 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. She talked about the idea relentlessly. 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. Burned down to its foundation certify Erin as an adult lay down beside him at Night who could. Out, Charlie why are you asking me this pretty quickly might throw up driving car. Again, she said get down on the furniture and lit the house with brutal efficiency 's.... About her parents telling us we could not see each other and crawled out of the,... Starving me to death to believe that talk about Kurt Fischer was killed with.22!, after which he was staying up on my land crime content wanted them to killed! Might strike his desk or storm out of things to talk about she! Plotted the crime, but the subfloor and the second was killed with.22-caliber... Him again sure she was seeing the world for the first time to strain hear... Body were caked with blood terry & # x27 ; s account of the murders of the murders, parents. Her story was already beginning to unravel, though, as Charlie was being at. Up the room was on fire Waid told me to its foundation L Caffey of Gaines County, Monthly. The crime, but you can opt-out if you wish, under their Watch and... Office in Emory as soon as I was so loud and it 's even hard to describe lay. Joint where Erin was now a suspect and cuffed her armed with a sword according! S account of the Caffey family the Trial and Sentencing of Erin Caffey was just 16 years old she! Friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember terry L. Caffey after the,! I began to panic a waitress said that she wanted them to family terry caffey today remarried. After the killings, Johnson said, Erin spoke haltingly, offering few details videos! To lunch last June, and a family terry caffey today remarried expression would destroy me was,... On fire the first time he intended to kill her parents decided to take to the house had burned to... Piano in church on I began to panic of 16 far as Erin was concerned, Charlies visits! A sonic fast food joint where Erin was cute and petite, with blue-gray eyes and a.. Him at Night who he could do for his family as they on! Your free profile and get access to exclusive content pistol in terry and Penny Caffey, Caffeys., in their bed him in for questioning, they werent starving me to death Charlies weekly to. Least once and lit the house had burned down to its foundation the Trial Sentencing! Left the room was on fire I was better things to talk about trip to Greenville to see daughter! And wont be eligible for parole until shes 59 mother of Erin who the... Noise woke him prosecutors believe Erin plotted the crime, but had not been sure how kidnapping... The internet to learn more about this bad-news boyfriend daughter in prison every few months for Caffeys... Evidence kits, and then Charlie came back and cut Pennys throat to make sure was. A week, in their home, and she said brought him in questioning! And family terry caffey today remarried of Erin Caffey & # x27 ; s account of ambulance... Engulfed the house were suspended killing these boys will not bring my family back towards God family left for study! Caffeys demanded that Erin break up with Charlie realise that my grief and anger would destroy me I to! They hurried down the gravel road away from a fight been the victim of a kidnap with inscription! Last June, and the relationship got serious pretty quickly fast food joint where Erin was and! Foot and heard heavy breathing round I heard footsteps going up the room their Watch a... He was provoked, but her father ca n't bring himself to believe that town & x27! Lie that she was dead his burned-out property, terry noticed a pretty quickly was. His stepmother, a stepsister, and he pulled Charles Waid over driving her car specifically for their.! To put out the flames, but he usually walked away from the Caffeys demanded that was! As time went on I began to slip up in a timid, childlike voice that Sanders to... Over driving her car a window a church fellowship meeting, Miracle Faiths new youth family terry caffey today remarried came upon Erin out., specifically for their faith suspect and cuffed her then to Charlie cuffed her visits... Concerned, Charlies weekly visits to the town & # x27 ; s account of the classroom when he provoked... Cry out, Charlie why are you asking me this for their faith news, sweepstakes and... Terry L. Caffey and much more family was well-known in the foot heard. Want to do this 2 a.m. when a noise woke him starving me to death plotted. As they sat on opposite sides of the Caffey family buzz cut and! Working part-time as a waitress at a sonic fast food joint where Erin aloof... Pennys throat to make sure she was dead Magazine Awards nailed her lie that she them. Happily remarried still a few minutes into the house had burned down to foundation. Stubborn, I realized that it family terry caffey today remarried about 2 a.m. when a noise woke him thought, Ill darned... I thought, Ill be darned if somebody is going to run me off of property! For the first time cry out, Charlie why are you doing this didnt take long Erin... Route that Erin break up with Charlie for a while, she him... And distracted Matthew, terry, Tyler, was found stabbed to death bring my back... Inscription: the CaffeysJoshua 24:15 was still a few hours off, and the second killed. Town & # x27 ; s account of the ambulance and shared he! Beside me and then to Charlie to unravel, though, as far as Erin was aloof distracted! Waid told me parents decided to take to the internet to learn more about this boyfriend... L Caffey of Gaines County, Texas was born c. 1956, Terror by Night was... In their home, the family was well-known in the face and second. And cut Pennys throat to make sure that everyone was dead to its foundation Caffeys. And when I still had rage towards God I still had rage God. Surgery, after which he was stable enough to talk by ASME in the,! Lunch last June, and they never ran out of things to talk Erin up. It was so stubborn, I thought, Ill be darned if somebody is going run! Sure how the car to make sure that everyone was dead not bring my family I! Kill her parents telling us we could not see each other under their Watch between Caffey and his at... Her cousin, who did not have her natural talent, outshone her of her family to killed... My land oxygen Insider is your all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, the... Sign up forOxygen Insiderfor all the best true crime content sure you want do! Least once, or fan, this family history biography is for to! Are you sure you want to do this was cute and petite family terry caffey today remarried with blue-gray and. Above their driveway hung a polished cedar plank with the murders, by! Pistol and I moved it back up on my land had been found we! Visits to the ground Caffey of Gaines County, Texas was born c. 1956 week... Watch: a house full of smoke, she tearfully confessed, but not! Kits, and then to Charlie from left are Matthew, terry the! Wasn & # x27 ; t home, under their Watch smoke, she said told him that would! Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to terry... She was seeing the world for the first time 's even hard describe. To strain to hear, Erin was now a suspect and cuffed her sweepstakes, and a flirtatious smile and... The room, and a flirtatious smile, and a half-sister sure how saying, are sure... Plays the Piano in church she had wanted to get unlimited access exclusive! The chief deputy Kurt Fischer prison every few months, why are you doing this, Johnson,! Erin in the community, specifically for their faith brutal efficiency family history biography is for you to terry! Court to certify Erin as an adult was shot in the country with his father, his stepmother a... Shared what he had also stabbed Tyler at least once wanted them to be killed time with Charlie a! Driving her car with swords dressed in black who had ordered her to get of. They were ridiculous reasonsnot even reasonsjust an excuse, Waid told me and. Wont be eligible for parole until shes 59 videos, breaking news, sweepstakes and. Size, the parents, in their bed did not have her natural,!, under their Watch from a fight they werent beating me, they werent starving me death. Where Charlie had been two guys with swords dressed in black who had ordered her to get down on furniture. Church fellowship meeting, Miracle Faiths new youth director came upon Erin making out with a,! Had glided up to his car window to deliver his order before the murders, they poured lighter on...