Meredith Corporation. "They can't defend themselves. 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)? Thomas recently addressed these accusations: In 2013, the case was reopened by current Sheriff Greg Hagwood and investigator Mike Gamberg. That said, he understands that some of the individuals who had the experience to work the crime scene and follow the leads werent allowed to do their jobs in 1981. DNA deoxyribonucleic acid is now considered the most reliable physical evidence. On April 12, 1981, a group of 7 people went to sleep in Cabin 28 at the Keddie Resort Lodge in California. Hagwood, in his third year of office, had many priorities to contend with inside his department and in the county. * Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Among those questioned in the killings was Sue's neighbor Marty Smartt, who lived two cabins away with his wife (and Justin Smartt's mother), Marilyn. In Gambergs opinion, You could take someone just coming out of the academy and theyd have done a better job, of investigating the case. At one point, Thomas did say he gave one session of advice to the couple but it was before the murders. 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. He was a sweetheart of a kid. Hagwood's mother was a teacher who had Tina in class. Gamberg knew the boys as well. But because the aunt already had several children, the Sharp kids were eventually placed in foster care first together and later apart. Yet Gamberg and Sheriff Greg Hagwood believed the evidence leaned toward those two as the culprits. Hagwood was a teenager at the time and knew some of the victims. Marty Smartt's letter was an early re-discovery. All three victims at the crime scene had been bound with medical and . Sue Sharp was the mother of five beautiful children. The following participated in the planning and/or execution of these murders: Sheila Sharp, Glenna Meeks, Marilyn and Marty Smartt, Bo Boubede, Dee Jay Lake, Wade and Richard Meeks, John Blaine Greubert, Tony Garedakis. The DNA matched that of a then-living suspect. They claimed to have witnessed ghost writing on the walls. I don't think either one of them were involved.". Investigators believe it was no random call, as it came on the three-year anniversary of the killings. The Seabolt family lived just 15 feet away. What were the killers involved in that caused LE to protect them (and play CYA)? Didnt he admit to covering Glenna Sue? And I go through my moments of, I start crying for no reason. The bottoms of Sues bare feet and the soles of one of the boys shoes were also covered in blood suggesting they were mobile and stepped in it at some point. Investigators Have a Personal Stake in the Case, 5. 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 WANTED: The Keddie Cabin Killer Episode Summary A family's brutal murder rocks a tiny California town and leaves behind too many unanswered questions. A blue bandana and her panties were used first and medical tape then applied. The Gruesome Unsolved Keddie Quadruple Murders Posted on March 2, 2020 by Morbid N' Macabre Spread the love This is the crime which the movie "The Strangers" is loosely based on, though this true story is much more terrifying than any movie could ever be. "I am not by nature a conspiracy theorist but there are facts and circumstancesthe number and the nature of whichI can't ignore anymore," he said. In a way, their work has only just begun. It wasnt followed, he said. Why were corrupt DOJ BOCCA agents immediately assigned to this rural case? Another piece of perhaps vital evidence that Gamberg discovered was in an envelope that was never opened. If someone confessed in 1981 why is it still unsolved? And there were few reassurances from the sheriffs office that they were doing everything possible to catch the killers. As a martial arts instructor at the time, he taught both Johnny and Dana, and says Dana was at his home the day before he died. Life changed dramatically in 1981 for this whole community, Gamberg said meaning not just Keddie, which is six miles west of Quincy. "The most vivid image I have is of my brother laying there," she says. Identifiable footprints were not recovered inside. His home was just a short distance away in Cabin 26. 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. Three of them were murdered that night, and one of the children remained missing until years later. But for some, Keddie is synonymous with murder and despair. Yes, this case was intentionally made to grow cold. 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. Editors note: This story contains information that some readers might find unsettling or objectionable. 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 A psychic online claims she visited the house and could hear the screams of the victims. To make things even more suspicious, the anonymous called identified the skull as Tina's. It was discovered later that 12-year-old Tina Sharp was missing. The theories allege that he was a close friend to Marty Smartt at the time. What else do you want?". Marilyn, Marty, and Bo were only after Sue. Members of that family, along with Sheila Sharp, 14, claimed they didnt hear a sound from the Sharps house that night. 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). He was their coach in martial arts and other activities. It sounded like a door that rested on rusty hinges, if I had to pinpoint it, she nodded, brows furrowed. We hold major institutions accountable and expose wrongdoing. The Sharp familys home shortly after the infamous murders took place in 1981. The therapist also reportedly told Gamberg that he was surprised the investigators at the time of the murder hadn't used the confession against Marty. 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. I worked with them the entire summer before the murders," he said. It became a top priority when Hagwood took over several years ago and he hired Gamberg to focus on the murders. And the cops have DNA. Even his leads in the case were ignored. That tape, too, was turned over for voice comparisons with audio of earlier suspects. But that rain can't wash away the horror of what happened in the now-empty lot in the tiny resort town of Keddie. Since 2013, Gamberg has followed the evidence that should have been investigated 37 years earlier. Public File for KMAX-TV / Good Day Sacramento. Sue was covered by a yellow blanket; her hands and feet were bound by electrical wiring. Years of No Answers and a Theory of the Crime. Also, the murders had nothing to do with Dana, or John, or Tina. A fourth victim, Tina, was missing. He would have been in his 50s during the murders. As of November 2016, it was being tested for DNA or blood residue as a possible additional murder weapon. The three were killed using knives and a hammer. Click here to get breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases in the True Crime Newsletter. He lived there with his mother and stepfather, Marilyn and Martin Marty Smartt, and his brother. Of Marty and Boubede, he said, "The only thing I knew is, they hung out together. "Dana was at my house the day before the homicide," he said. And 2022 could be the year this murder finally gets solved. Truly a case of wrong place, wrong time. 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. Her skull had been found 50 miles away in a different county. Along with key review factors, this compensation may impact how and where products appear across the site (including, for example, the order in which they appear). What else do you want?". Thats probably when she was covered. At the time, law enforcement felt that the murders were committed by "more than one person.". I just stood there, staring at the spot when I thought I heard someone walking behind me, Kendall said. As with other related evidence, the process of scientific evaluation is slow. ", "It's obviously a worthwhile pursuit," he says. This just seems like a rehash of an old article. And I have every confidence that they either participated after the fact or they have first-hand information Its obviously a worthwhile pursuit. Gamberg is no stranger to homicide cases. Sheila's sister was missing her remains were found in the woods three years later. There were faint but heavy footsteps walking in the dirt. 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