Caffey Family Murders (Erin Caffey)

Who Were The Caffeys?

The Caffeys were a family of five who started their lives in Alba, Texas. Penny and Terry Caffey met when she was 21 and he was 24 at a revival meeting in Garland, Texas. Their faith was what brought them together and led them to starting a family together. The couple was incredibly excited when Penny gave birth to a baby girl, Erin Michelle Caffey, in July of 1991. Three years later, Erin became an older sister to Matthew Ryan Caffey, who was affectionately known as ‘Bubba’. Five years after Matthew was born, the Caffeys had their third and final child, a son named Tyler Paul Caffey. The family finally felt complete.

The Caffeys were a very conservative and faith-centered family. Penny and Terry both worked as ministers at Miracle Faith, a Baptist church, and Penny also played piano for the church. Tyler and Matthew played the guitar and the harmonica, and Erin had a beautiful singing voice. She was so talented that the church’s pastor once said that if he had a few more of her, he would have no problem filling the church on Sundays.

Terry and Penny were very protective of their children, especially of their only daughter. Erin was often described as sweet, but very naive and sheltered. Erin started eighth grade at Rains Junior High, while her two younger brothers attended Rains Elementary School. However, that same year, Terry and Penny pulled all three of their children out of public school following an incident with Erin at her middle school. Another female student, who was rumored to have a crush on Erin, had kissed her in the hallway at school. Her parents considered this to be incredibly inappropriate and Terry said that his family was “shocked by the culture of bisexuality”. All three children were enrolled in a homeschool program and Penny began teaching them a Bible-based curriculum at home. For 13-year-old Erin, who had been diagnosed with ADHD and had difficulty keeping up with her classmates, her parents believed this individual attention would benefit her. In the education aspect, it seemed like a smart move, however, in the social aspect, a very social Erin became isolated to home and church. 

When Erin turned 16 in July of 2007, she got her driver’s license and an old Chevy pick-up truck. She was excited to finally have some freedom and immediately began applying for jobs. She was hired to work part time at a local Sonic fast food restaurant as a carhop and was the only one there who served the vehicles while wearing roller skates. There was no shortage of teenage boys at the drive-in restaurant who flirted with Erin. Her co-workers remembered her blushing as she told them about guys asking for her phone number. Despite this, those who knew her well still described her as shy and sheltered and that while working at Sonic, it seemed like Erin was seeing the real world for the first time.

That summer, while working at Sonic, Erin met 18-year-old Charlie Wilkinson when she went to take his order. He recalled that the moment she’d skated up to the window of his 1991 Ford Explorer, he’d felt an instant connection. He’d just returned home from boot camp with the Texas National Guard and planned to go on active duty after his senior year in high school. He had no run-ins with law enforcement and no significant disciplinary issues at school. He spent much of his free time hunting and fishing. Charlie’s parents were divorced and he lived with his father, stepmother, and step and half-siblings. Though he hadn’t been in any serious trouble, Charlie had a reputation for being hot-tempered and easily provoked. 

After first meeting Erin, Charlie returned time after time to Sonic to visit her. Shortly after Halloween, Charlie worked up the courage to ask Erin out. She told her parents that she’d met someone that she really liked, and they insisted on meeting him before things went any further. Terry recalled that his first meeting with Charlie didn’t go as he expected. When Charlie came over to the Caffey home, Terry greeted him by extending his hand and saying, “you must be Charlie”. Charlie responded to him with, “yeah, and you are?”

Despite the rocky introduction, Erin was allowed to continue to see Charlie if she followed her parents’ rules. She was not allowed to go out with Charlie alone, but this didn’t stop them from seeing one another. Charlie spent a lot of time at the Caffey home, until he was forced to leave at Erin’s 9PM curfew. After that, he and Erin would talk on the phone until her phone curfew hit at 10PM on weekdays, 11PM on weekends. Charlie even began going to church with Erin at Miracle Faith. To those who saw the couple, it seemed like innocent puppy love. 

In December of 2007, Erin asked her mom and dad if she could enroll in public school again. Both of her younger brothers had returned to public school earlier that fall. With the hopes of giving Penny free time to earn some extra income for the household, Erin was allowed to return to the local high school, where she enrolled as a freshman. Charlie also attended the high school and was a senior. Now the couple could spend even more time together and Terry finally allowed Charlie to take Erin out, as long as he had her home by 9:30PM. This gave Erin and Charlie the freedom to go to friends’ houses, to be alone, and to have sex. One day, Charlie pulled over while driving, got out and down on one knee. He presented Erin with his grandmother’s engagement ring, telling her that it was a promise to her. 

Not long after, Penny noticed the ring on her daughter’s hand and told her to give it back to him. Terry confronted Charlie, telling him that the gift was extremely inappropriate and that his daughter was only SIXTEEN YEARS OLD. He felt that if Charlie showed him so little respect, how was he treating Erin? From then on, the Caffeys began limiting Charlie and Erin’s time together. They were only allowed to see each other once a week and only at the Caffey household. Erin was furious. She began arguing with her parents and acting out, threatening to run away. There were more and more fights between her and her parents as time went on, all of them leading back to her relationship with Charlie. One night, Penny found that Erin had snuck her cell phone into her room after curfew and was talking to Charlie. She took Erin’s phone and car keys away and told her that she was grounded. This meant that Charlie’s weekly visits were done. 

Erin seemed like she’d lost her light. She was no longer bubbly and bright, but seemed like she was doing everything half-heartedly. Those at church who knew the Caffeys felt like something was wrong. They saw Erin, distracted and uninterested, and Penny, who became withdrawn, constantly saying that she needed to spend more time with her family. On February 27th, 2008, Penny’s sister suggested that she take a look at Charlie’s MySpace profile. She was shocked to find several comments about sex and alcohol use. When Erin returned home from school that afternoon, Penny and Terry told her that she had no choice, that she had to break things completely off with Charlie. Shockingly, Erin didn’t argue. She told them that she’d been wanting to break up with him for a while, but didn’t know how. She promised her parents that she’d end things with him.

The Murders

At 4:30AM, on Saturday, March 1st, 2008, The Rains County Sheriff’s Office received a call from a local named Tommy Gaston. Tommy told the call taker that there’d been a shooting at his neighbor’s home and that the father had made his way to their home and was severely injured. The father was Terry Caffey. The first deputy to arrive on scene couldn’t believe what he saw. As he pulled down the winding road surrounded by trees that led to the Caffeys, the night was still dark. As he got closer, he saw that the house was engulfed in flames, and looked to have been burning for quite some time. He immediately radioed dispatch to have them send the fire department and quickly made his way down to the Gaston home, where the 911 call had originated from.

Inside the home, along with Tommy and his wife, was Terry Caffey. He’d been shot five times: once in the head, twice near his right shoulder, and two times in his back. He was covered in blood and, despite the cold outside, was wearing only a t-shirt, pajama bottoms, and one sock. There was so much blood that it was difficult to pinpoint where it was coming from. He learned that Terry, after being shot, had crawled from his home to the Gastons’, about 500 yards. It took him almost an hour, stumbling through brush and even falling into a creek, but he’d made it. Before the ambulance arrived, Terry told the deputy that his family was gone and that Charlie Wilkinson had shot his family. Later, after being loaded into the ambulance, Terry told a detective that Charlie had broken into their home and shot everyone while they slept. He added that they’d recently told Erin that she could no longer see him.

It didn’t take long for deputies to locate Charlie. They arrived at a double-wide trailer where a male answered the door. He told police that he didn’t know if Charlie was there, but allowed them to look. They found Charlie inside, laying on a mattress wide awake. There was a gun on the floor beside him. When asked, Charlie denied being involved in the attack. He told the deputy that he’d gotten drunk and passed out the night before. Another deputy went back inside the trailer to grab Charlie a shirt and his boots. He noticed that both had blood splatter on them. Charlie was taken to the police station, while firefighters continued to work to extinguish the flames at the Caffey home, only to find the bodies of 13-year-old Matthew, 8-year-old Tyler, and their mother, 38-year-old Penny.

Where the fuck is Erin?

Rains County Deputies obtained a search warrant for the trailer where Charlie had been found. Chief Deputy Fischer looked around the living room and found a camouflage purse. A driver’s license inside the purse belonged to Erin Caffey. He continued back into the room where they’d found Charlie earlier. There were spent shell casings on the floor, a box of ammunition by the bed, and a used condom on the floor. He lifted a blanket from off the floor and was shocked to find a small blonde girl underneath, wearing pajamas and sitting in the fetal position with her back to the wall. Fischer asked her name. The girl replied, “Erin”. He asked how she’d gotten there and Erin, looking confused, said that she didn’t know and that she didn’t even know where she was. He initially believed she looked to be under the influence of something. He asked her what happened, to which she just replied, “fire”. She was taken by ambulance to the local hospital to be assessed. 

Detectives were quick to interview the remaining Caffey child. Erin still seemed confused, continuing to say that she was only 14-years-old. She told officers that she’d woken up in a house full of smoke, that there’d been two men with swords and dressed in black, who’d told her to get on the floor. She couldn’t remember how she got to the trailer, but recalled drinking something that she’d been offered to her while there. She didn’t seem to show much emotion. She ended the conversation by telling the detectives, “they’re coming after me”. They were shocked that the 16-year-old was still alive and unharmed after what’d happened to her family.

Well Shit.

Terry was recovering in a hospital bed, but would later give a pretty detailed account of what he remembered from the night of the attack. He’d come home that Saturday night around midnight, just getting off of a 14 hour work shift. After eating a quick dinner, he went to bed. Around 3AM, the door of the master bedroom slammed open. Terry initially thought one of the boys might’ve had a nightmare, but quickly realized he was wrong when the sound of gunfire exploded. He tried to protect Penny, which caused him to be shot in the arm and the face, and fall out of bed. He lost consciousness just afterwards. 

When Terry awoke, he could hear lots of noise and two voices. Someone kicked him in the foot. He couldn’t feel the entire right side of his body. Then suddenly, he remembered that his children were in the home. He heard footsteps on the stairs and tried to pull himself up. He then heard his oldest son cry, “Charlie, why are you doing this?” Terry immediately knew that Charlie was there to get revenge. He heard his son cry out again, “no Charlie, no”. Then came the sound of more gunshots. Terry fell back onto the floor and back into unconsciousness. 

When he woke, his bedroom was in flames. He pulled himself up, finally seeing his wife. She was beyond help, having nearly been decapitated with a samurai-type sword that Waid had brought with him. Terry knew he had to get help. He was able to climb through the bedroom window, then crawled the 500 yards to his neighbors’ home. Terry knew that his entire family was very likely dead.

Erin Sucks

It didn’t take long for Charlie to tell detectives what had happened. They told him that he’d been identified by a victim who’d survived the attack. After that, he told detectives that Erin had called him the day before and that she was livid that her parents told her that they couldn’t see each other. She told Charlie that she wanted them dead. He’d told her that they could just run away, but Erin said no, they had to kill her parents. 

Charlie said that around 1:30AM on Saturday morning, he and his friend, Charles Waid went to the Caffey home. Charlie had offered to pay Wade $2,000 if he helped with the murders, with money that Erin said was located in a lock box in her parents’ bedroom. The two, along with Waid’s girlfriend, Bobbi Johnson, drove to the Caffey home. They almost turned around when they arrived to hear the family’s dog barking loudly, but Erin called Charlie to tell him that she’d keep the dog quiet. The group picked up Erin at the end of her driveway and drove around for about an hour, talking about what they were going to do. Charlie claimed that he’d told Erin several times that she should just run away, but each time she told him that she wanted her parents dead. She’d reportedly even insisted that they kill her brothers too because they picked on her and she didn’t want them to be left in foster care. 

The group of four returned to Erin’s house, with the plan that Charlie would kill Terry and Penny and that Waid would kill her two brothers. Charlie even told detectives that he had no conscience and killed them because he thought he was in love. He said that Erin and Bobby stayed in the car while the boys went inside. Charlie first entered Terry and Penny’s room, firing at them until his gun jammed. Waid fixed the gun and Charlie fired a few more shots. They left the room, but then Charlie came back and cut Penny’s throat. Hearing the gunfire, Tyler and Matthew awoke and locked themselves in Erin’s room. Waid threatened to leave if Charlie didn’t go upstairs to kill the boys. Charlie instructed the boys to come out of Erin’s room and go to their beds. Matthew tried to fight Charlie, and as he did, Waid, from downstairs, pointed his gun at Matthew and shot him in the face. Waid then came upstairs and found Tyler hiding in a closet. He stabbed him to death. As Charlie recounted the murders of Matthew and Tyler, this was the only time that he showed emotion during his confession. 

After the two believed everyone in the house to be dead, he brought a pre-packed suitcase of Erin’s belongings out to the car. Charlie and Waid got the lockbox out of Terry and Penny’s room, then used their lighters to set fire to furniture, bedding, and anything else they could find. As they got back in the car, Charlie recalled that Erin looked happy and that she said, “I’m glad that’s over.” Waid dropped Charlie and Erin off at the trailer, where the two had sex, then went to sleep. 

Erin, who was likely very shocked to learn that her father was still alive, was given a toxicology test. She showed no signs of impairment and signs of smoke inhalation. Her story had completely unraveled and detectives were continuing to work to confirm Charlie’s account of what had happened. They found Bobbi Johnson at the restaurant where she worked. She initially denied any involvement until she found that police had already spoken to Charlie. Waid was also taken into custody. He showed absolutely no remorse during his account of murdering Tyler and Matthew. Waid also added that as they’d driven away from the Caffey’s home that night, Erin shouted, “Holy shit, that was awesome!”

Bye Bitch

As everyone was at the police station ratting Erin out, she was in the car with her grandparents, who were taking her to see her father in the hospital, escorted by the Chief and Deputy. Another officer called and informed them that they needed to take Erin into custody. They couldn’t believe it. They pulled into a parking lot, followed by the car with Erin and her grandparents. The officer told them that she was arresting Erin in connection with the murders. Erin’s grandmother became hysterical. Erin told her that she had nothing to do with it. Because she was a minor, Erin had to appear before a justice of the peace before being questioned. She declined to speak with officers, but agreed to a written statement. Her statement was in line with what she’d told officers when she was initially taken to the hospital; that she’d had nothing to do with the attacks.

16-year-old Erin, 19-year-old Charlie, 20-year-old Waid, and 18-year-old Bobbi were all charged with three counts of capital murder. Their bond was set at $1.5 million each.

When Chief Deputy finally broke the news to Terry that his daughter was heavily involved in the attack, he was absolutely heartbroken. He sobbed as the deputy continued telling him that Erin was in custody. How could his sweet daughter have been responsible for planning the murders of him, his wife, and his two boys? As Erin remained incarcerated, Terry attended the funerals of Penny, Matthew, and Tyler. He stayed with his sister for quite some time, no longer having a home to return to. Unsurprisingly, Terry became significantly depressed. He made the decision that he wanted to end his life. He considered going to the remains of his family’s home and shooting himself, but decided that there’d already been too much bloodshed. Terry then decided that he’d take all of the pain pills he’d been given, a bottle of Jim Beam, put a hose in the tailpipe of his truck and run it through the window until he fell asleep.

When he returned to the property, he looked at the rubble and ashes that were left of his family’s home and cried, asking God why he took his family. Terry said that he then looked down and saw a piece of paper in the rubble, burned around the edges. It was from a book titled “Blind Sight”, which was about a man who lost his wife and two children in a car accident. The passage on the page that he read said, “I couldn’t understand why you would take my family and leave me behind to struggle along without them. I may never totally understand that part of it, but I do know that you are sovereign. You are in control.” Terry realized that he was still alive for a reason. He decided that he needed to heal. He bought a used RV and parked it on the land where his house once stood. Despite everything that had happened, he made the trip twice a week to visit Erin in jail. 

The Trials

The state prosecutor, Lisa Tanner, said that she initially believed Erin’s story, that she was very convincing. Unfortunately for Erin, everything pointed to her story being a lie. Bobbi told investigators that she’d heard Erin tell Charlie that night to get rid of her parents, that she was tired of being beaten. Her story matched Charlie’s and Waid’s account of the night. Tanner said that the phone records are what truly convinced her. Between 11:46PM and 12:48 AM on the night of the murders, Erin called Charlie 6 times from her house. Between 1:22AM and 1:58AM, she called him 7 more times. This corroborated Charlie’s account that Erin called several times to ask them where they were and to tell them to come back, that she’d keep the dog quiet. 

There were witnesses who recalled hearing Erin talk about wanting to murder her family. Charlie said that while in school, she’d bring it up once or twice a day. In mid-February, another student allegedly heard Erin tell Charlie that killing her parents was the only way they could be together. Charlie apparently told several friends that he was going to kill Erin’s parents. He told another friend that he wished they could just run away or that he could get Erin pregnant so her family would have to accept him. Erin told him she was too young to have a baby and that as long as her parents were still alive, they couldn’t be together. Those who knew the couple said that Erin had a hold over Charlie, that he’d do whatever she asked. 

One of the most damning pieces of evidence against Erin was found when her ex-boyfriend came forward. Michael Washburn testified that he dated Erin before she’d met Charlie. He said that she told him she was going to hire someone to kill her parents because every time she got a new boyfriend that she really liked, her parents would make her break up with them. 

Initially, Terry was insistent that the state prosecutor pursue the death penalty for both Charlie Wilkinson and Charles Waid. He couldn’t understand how a man he’d let eat at his table with him and his family could’ve done this. However, as the sentencing hearings approached, Terry wrote a letter to the Rains County District Attorney, writing that he wanted Charlie and Waid to be spared of the death penalty and for them to have the chance for remorse. He wrote that killing them would not bring his family back, and that enough people had died. The two men were offered a plea deal, which they both accepted. Charlie Wilkinson and Charles Waid each pled guilty to three counts of capital murder. They were both sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Bobbi Johnson, who’d been named as an accomplice who didn’t use a weapon, was sentenced to 40 years in prison. Terry urged the prosecutors to give Erin a lesser sentence, wanting his daughter to have something to live for. She accepted a plea deal of 2 life sentences to be served concurrently, plus 25 years. With good behavior, she’ll be eligible for parole at the age of 59. 

Erin still denies that she was behind the murders. She told her father that all of the phone calls she’d made to Charlie that night were to try to stop him from coming to the house. She said that there was no way that she could stop him. Terry believes his daughter. He knows that she was involved, but doesn’t believe that she was the mastermind. He said, “I think she thought Charlie was just blowing smoke. I don’t think she thought he would actually go through with it…I know she’s not capable of murder.”

A mental health counselor who was appointed to evaluate Erin for her defense said that she was incredibly dangerous. Erin told the counselor that Charlie had an awful temper and that he’d framed her. He believed that Erin was sincere and truly mourned her family. Once he learned the details of the crime, he realized that Erin had been manipulating him during their sessions. He couldn’t understand why Erin wanted her parents dead. She wouldn’t say anything negative about them. He said that he’d worked with some patients who were very good liars, but Erin was the best. A girl who’d been voted ‘most likely to succeed’ and ‘most fun-loving’ at a church summer camp was described by law enforcement as incredibly manipulative and remorseless. 

Terry Caffey became an ordained minister and met a woman named Sonja Webb, who he grew close with. The two got married and Terry became a father to her two sons. He now preaches about something he is very familiar with: forgiveness. He still visits Erin once a month in a high-security prison in Gatesville, Texas. She still denies that she was the driving force behind the murders.