That family included James Sr.; his wife, Zonita; daughters Alysa and Paula; and son, James Jamie Jr. At 8:05 a.m., Sunday, April 12, the sheriffs dispatch received a call from Jan Albin, co-owner of the Keddie Resort. Decades after the horrific incident, there is still significant public interest in the unsolved case. Thats probably when she was covered. These were boys he went to school with. While the crime was being reported, Jamie Seabolt, Sheila Sharp and possibly Zonita Seabolt helped the three young boys out a side bedroom window of the cabin. In 1981, the gruesome murder of four in Cabin 28 of the Keddie Resort in Northern California has long been unsolved.or has it?. As reports of the renewed investigation went public, Gamberg learned of a man who, using a metal detector, had found a hammer in a pond near the Keddie property and the steel, blue-handled claw hammer, then recovered, exactly matched the description of a hammer that Marty told investigators he'd lost. "Not knowing where she'd been for three years, or even what happened to her, it's been really, really tough.". The California Department of Justice was immediately given the case and then didnt follow through, said Gamberg. Good question! He found a letter written by Marty Smartt to his wife reportedly written soon after the murders. He was a sweetheart of a kid. Also note how close the cabin is to its neighbor. And Ive seen speculation being treated as fact over the years, even when it can be discredited by the facts that get ignored. Boubede died in 1988, according to Gamberg. . The discovery came three years after Tinas disappearance by a man out hunting bottles. Backpackerverse.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. "The fascinating aspect of that discovery is that the envelope had never been opened," Hagwood said. Although Smartt and Boubede fled Plumas County shortly after interviews with DOJ, its known that Smartt allegedly lived in Paradise at the time of that phone call, according to dmacs research. Victims,. 2. ", Of her mother, Sheila adds, "I miss talking to her, going to her if I have an issue. Although a lot of potential evidence was collected and catalogued, very little worthwhile information was realized from the scene. Cabin 28 at the Keddie Resort, where the 1981 murders occurred. Their bodies were found by Shiela Sharp, who, unlike the rest of her family, had slept at a friend's house next door. 28 of the Keddie Resort. But the void has stayed with her. As of November 2016, it was being tested for DNA or blood residue as a possible additional murder weapon. Discover unique things to do, places to eat, and sights to see in the best destinations around the world with Bring Me! New evidence has surfaced in the infamous 37-year-old Keddie murders case. Sue Sharp was found lying very close to the sofa. 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. About the Cabin 28 Keddie Murders Case: The morning of April 12, 1981, Glenna Sue Sharp and her kids, Tina and John, and John's friend, Dana Wingate, were brutally murdered inside house #28 in Keddie, California. "I knew the two boys who were murdered. April 12, 1981, the bodies of 36-year-old Sue Sharp, her 15-year-old son John and his 17-year-old friend Dana Wingate were found in Cabin 28 at the Keddie Resort, north of Quincy. Now the murder mystery is getting a fresh look, thanks to Plumas County Sheriff Greg Hagwood and a special investigator, Mike Gamberg. I felt this strong pressure on my throat. Broke my heart. "She would have done anything for them and probably spoiled them rotten.". DNA taken from a strip of white medical tape consistent with that used to bind the victims hands and ankles, and to cover the mouth of one victim, has revealed much as the Plumas County Sheriffs Office moves forward in its efforts to solve the quadruple murder case. Self care and ideas to help you live a healthier, happier life. "Great! ", "I would like my kids and grandkids to know that she was a very caring and kind person," Sheila says of Sue. What were the killers involved in that caused LE to protect them (and play CYA)? Sheila's 12-year-old sister Tina was missing from the scene but her remains were found at a different time. We aim to bring a resolution to cases which remain open. Fragments of her skull and other bones were discovered in Camp Eighteen, CA. Apparently Marty had confessed to the murders in a session. I was a little freaked out, but curiosity won out at the end. And there were few reassurances from the sheriffs office that they were doing everything possible to catch the killers. Unsolved murders have a way of weighing on a community, the place forever haunted and the neighbors always left wondering. Members of that family, along with Sheila Sharp, 14, claimed they didnt hear a sound from the Sharps house that night. DNA deoxyribonucleic acid is now considered the most reliable physical evidence. "It struck this community harder than anything," he said of the killings. 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As Marty said in his 1981 confession, they were just collateral damage. Marilyn claimed to never receive the letter. She'd spent the night at a friend's cabin next door to her family's cabin 28 in Keddie and was returning home on the morning of April 12, 1981, when she discovered the unimaginable. He was also familiar with Cabin 28 in Keddie. Johnny was face-up, with hands and feet bound by electrical cord that also wrapped around Dana's feet. "I don't think there really is any type of final closure in a murder case. It sounded within two feet of me, but nobody was around. Updated 2/11/2020 - Sue Sharp, her son John and his friend Dana were found in the Sharp family cabin beaten and strangled to death in the family room. The three bodies on the floor had been bound, stabbed and beaten with a hammer. * Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? ET) on Investigation Discovery. Although dmac and Gamberg have some differences of opinion of just what happened in Cabin 28, Gamberg has come to respect dmacs work. I honestly believe that Marty Smartt and Bo Boubede had nothing to do with the Keddie Cabin 28 murders, and that it's awful convenient how they were fingered as suspects years after both of them were dead. S.C. Hagwood, in his third year of office, had many priorities to contend with inside his department and in the county. As a Quincy deputy who knew many of the area residents, understood and had experience in homicide investigation, and as someone who knew at least two of the victims, he believes his input should have been taken seriously. Amazingly, Sheila's two little brothers, Greg and Rick, then 5 and 10, were asleep and unharmed in an adjacent bedroom, along with a friend. 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. Hagwood was a teenager at the time and knew some of the victims. Click here to get breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases in the True Crime Newsletter. Sheila ran screaming back to the neighboring cabin where she had spent the night. "Dana was at my house the day before the homicide," he said. And as a deputy he knew what was and wasnt happening with the case. This includes the living room carpet, wallboard and other items marked with blood and other potential evidence. Subscribe now to PEOPLE, or pick up this week's issue, on newsstands now, for more on this case. "We're convinced that there are a handful of people that fit those roles who are still alive. Although Gamberg was a deputy, he said his young sons began locking the doors to their house at night. says Sheila, now a 50-year-old mother of three and grandmother of two. Cabin 28 at the Keddie Resort, where the 1981 murders occurred. As I listened for more sounds, I suddenly found myself severely short of breath. The 1981 Keddie cabin murders of three family members and a teenage friend shook the small Sierra Nevada mountain communities of Keddie and Quincy in northern California, beginning a. 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. He reportedly left for Reno, Nevada after the murders. Of Marty and Boubede, he said, "The only thing I knew is, they hung out together. Obsessed with travel? And now two years after that, hes announced that theres more that links a living person or persons to the crime. The call came just after someone discovered a skull and a few bones about 80 miles down the Feather River Canyon in a spot known as Camp 18 about 5 miles from Feather Falls. ", "She did at least get to see her first grandchild born. Others may look at it more accusinglyI don't put anything outside the realm of possibility.". They had died. "There's times I think, Gosh, should I go get hypnotized to see what I remember?" It wasnt followed, he said. 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.". My reasons are simple: there is no evidence tying either of these men to the murders. There were faint but heavy footsteps walking in the dirt. Deputy Hank Klement was the first to arrive on scene. The DNA matches that of a known living suspect, according to Gamberg. Neither Hagwood nor Gamberg are willing to divulge specifics on whom theyre watching, but new evidence has given them solid leads. The Scene Suggests More Than One Killer. Since 2013, Gamberg has followed the evidence that should have been investigated 37 years earlier. "There are people locally who know more than they've said," Hagwood told PEOPLE, "and I believe we've identified some of them, and we know who they are, and we know where they are. An imprint matching that of the butt of an 880 rifle was also left on Sues head. Dead were Sheila's mother, brother and a family friend. Another piece of perhaps vital evidence that Gamberg discovered was in an envelope that was never opened. She has never surrendered her hope the case would be solved, if only to rescue her family's reputation and by extension her own. The second development was something else found in the same boxes of case files: the taped anonymous phone call that tipped off the location of Tina Sharp's remains. Outside of organized crime, that basically never happens, and even within the world of organized crime it is probably quite rare to have so many people in on a hit. Severin John Bo Boubede, Smartts friend. It was 2013. Hagwood became sheriff in 2010, and in June 2013 he brought Gamberg back from retirement to organize the boxes of Keddie reports and evidence with an eye toward reviving the case. Theyd never felt the need to do that prior to the murders. Marilyn, who later remarried, told PEOPLE at the time that she didn't recall receiving the letter. Wonderful-Variation 2 yr. ago Six people coming together to commit a murder is an extraordinarily unusual situation. I worked with them the entire summer before the murders," he said. When he was reinstated, Thomas kept him out of the investigation. Investigators now seek any biological material including skin, hair, blood and other bodily fluids at crime scenes, according to Randy James in a 2009 feature on DNA testing for TIME. 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