A 16-year-old Texas girl, Erin Caffey, was convicted of murder after plotting the killing of her own family when her parents banned her from seeing her boyfriend. The attack left her mother and two younger brothers dead, with only her father surviving.
The Family and the Boyfriend
Erin Caffey was a well-behaved Christian teenager who worked at a cafe when she wasn't at her Texas high school. She lived in Rains County with her parents Terry and Penny Caffey, and her brothers Tyler, eight, and Matthew, 13. The family often played musical instruments together, and Penny sang at their church.
But when Erin began dating Charlie Wilkinson, she changed. She started staying out late, ignoring schoolwork, and spending more time with her older boyfriend. Terry did a background check on Charlie and found he had been talking about sex and drinking on MySpace. This was enough for Terry to tell Erin she could not see him anymore. Erin was furious and spoke openly about wanting her parents dead.
The Attack
Two days after being grounded, in the early hours of March 1, 2008, Charlie Wilkinson drew up outside the Caffey home with Charles Allen Waid, 20, and Waid's 18-year-old girlfriend, Bobbi Gale Johnson. Erin allegedly ran out of the house in her pyjamas to meet the group and then remained in the car while the two men, who wore all black, went inside the house.
Terry, the only survivor, said: "They burst into our bedroom and opened fire, shooting me several times. Not only did they come in shooting, they also came in with a samurai sword. After they shot Penny, they shot me three more times in the back and once in the back of the leg. All in all, I think I had been shot 11 times. I could not feel the right side of my body, and nothing would come out of my mouth. I felt I had been shot in the face. Then one of them took the sword and stabbed Penny in the neck, nearly decapitating her."
Thinking the couple were dead, the two men headed upstairs to Erin's two young brothers. They shot Matthew and took turns stabbing Tyler, who was hiding in a wardrobe, killing both. They then torched the property.
The Aftermath
Severely injured but still alive, Terry realised his wife was dead and was unable to reach his two children but managed to crawl 300 yards through the woodland to neighbour Tommy Gaston's house. When Gaston dialled 999, the operator asked him where Caffey was bleeding. Gaston responded: "Where isn't he bleeding from? It's a miracle he's here at all." Terry, his voice trembling, told the sheriff's deputy: "They're all gone - Charlie Wilkinson shot my family."
The police acted swiftly, and they soon located Wilkinson and the others hiding in a nearby caravan park. Even though Wilkinson, Waid and Johnson were in custody, Erin was not immediately seen as a suspect. Initially, police did not spot her in the caravan, and she was only later found cowering under some bed clothes, saying she had no idea what had happened.
She told police she was at home when men dressed in black with swords had burst in, she remembered a fire and being taken to the caravan and drugged. The police initially believed her, but the others in custody told police it had been her idea and she had promised £1,500 for "helping take care of business". Then, it came to light that Erin had been overheard pleading with Charlie to murder her parents as it was the only way they could be together.
The police tested Erin and found no trace of drugs in her system nor smoke on her clothes and realised she had been lying. Erin then said that although she knew of the plot she tried to stop it, but it became clear she was at the heart of it. An investigation uncovered that Erin had previously expressed a desire for her parents to be dead and had seemingly persuaded her boyfriend that it was the only way they could be together. He and his friend had previously visited the house but were scared away by a barking dog, with Erin promising to keep it quiet the next time they came. A search of phone records confirmed their account, and police charged her.
Sentencing and Reflection
The two men were both facing death by lethal injection for their role in the murder, but shockingly, Terry intervened in the case to request that his family's killers did not face the death penalty. Instead, in October 2008, Wilkinson and Waid were each sentenced to life imprisonment, and three months later, Johnson and Erin Caffey both pleaded guilty to murder. Erin received two concurrent 40-year sentences. She accepted a plea deal - two life sentences to be served concurrently, plus an additional 25 years - which ensures that with good behaviour she will be eligible for parole when she is 59 years old.
Remarkably, her father supported her throughout the court hearings and still visits her in prison today. He reportedly refuses to accept the extent of her involvement, saying: "I think she thought Charlie was just blowing smoke. I don't think she actually thought he would go through with it. I know my daughter. She cried one time when we were in my truck and I ran over a squirrel; she's tenderhearted. No kid's an angel, but I know what she is capable of, and I know she's not capable of murder."
In documentary series Killer Woman, Erin reflected on her crimes, saying: "When I look back on it now, this was all just stupid. I mean, for what? They weren't beating me; they weren't starving me to death. I had it made."
