CA CA - Sue Sharp 36, & 3 children, Keddie Cabin Murders, Plumas, 11 Apr 1981

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I am very late to this case.
Clearly there is much information out there. What concerns me is that there are many facts and then opinions put forward as fact. It's just not the Websleuths way. ;)

So, I thought I would start noting some of the facts. First, I am starting with the crime scene and the victims.

For the crime scene in general (based on when they were found):
- the doors were unlocked.
- there were no outside lights on. (One neighbor said they saw the back porch light on at some point during the night.)
- what lights were on inside?? The bathroom? The Sue/Tina bedroom?
- 3 young boys were unharmed and in a bedroom. (I do not believe that they didn't hear anything during the murders. One of them must have convinced the others to say that they didn't hear anything and were simply asleep for the entire night. I'm guessing that they cowered in the bedroom closet and didn't see anything.)

Sue bore the worst of the attack.
- Her nightgown was pulled up.
- Her panties were cut off and then stuffed in her mouth.
- Another"gag" was tied around her mouth and then covered with white medical tape before finally having a bra tied over that. (It was not the bra she was wearing at the time, as she still had that on.)
- She was bludgeoned in the head on both sides. She had two skull fractures.
- She was stabbed in the chest several times, and this was likely a key contributor to her death along with the head wounds and lacerations in her neck.
- she had incisions/stabs in her breast and under her breast. There was not much blood on the margins of these wounds so I'm guessing that she was already dead by the time this part of the attack happened.
- She was bound at the wrists and ankles and tied in such a way as to pull her wrists and ankles toward each other. She was left in an embarrassing position.
- the white medical tape was wound first around her wrists/ankles and then the electrical cords were looped, wound and tied. Sue was tied very tightly, such that the ligatures gouged into her flesh.
- Sue had a wound on her head/face that appeared to come from being hit by a Daisy rifle. (I need more specifics/details on this as I don't have clear, public evidence.)
- Sue had blood smeared on the soles of her feet, including the flexors of her toes. This implies that she stood/walked in blood. There was no blood on the arch of her feet.
- Sue was found by LE on the floor beside the sofa, covered with a sheet/blanket from the bedroom. Was she covered after the crime?

Johnny:
Johnny, like his mother, had been bludgeoned and had his throat slit.
- he also had his wrists and ankles tied by medical tape and electrical wire, however, unlike his mother, he was not hogtied.
-Johnny had some hairs in his clasped hands (tan, blonde and one white strand) and there were some hairs attached to a blood clot on his jacket sleeve.
- When found he was lying on his back and was wearing sweat pants with 3 stripes down each leg. (Adidas?) The wire ligatures around his ankles were over top of the back bottom of his sweatpants legs.
- Johnny had no defensive wounds.

Dana:
- Dana was not tied as tightly as Sue and Johnny. He also didn't have his throat slit.
- Dana was found lying face down, however lividity showed that he was likely standing or sitting when he died. Who moved him and turned him over?
- He had no defensive wounds.

Tina:
- Tina must have heard the attack. Sue was likely already in the bedroom with Tina when the 'intruders' arrived. I am guessing that they both woke up and that Sue said she would go handle it. Did Tina follow shortly after? Why wasn't she killed? Why was she taken? Was it Tina that covered up Sue's body?


These are just my comments so far. I hope to add to the scene, background and suspects/neighbors.
 
I am glad People did a story on this and it is getting mainstream attention. long overdue.
 
FYI People Magazine has a new tv show on ID Discovery. Keddie Cabin Murders was the episode last Monday 11/28 if you have on demand you should be able to view it or the episode might be online.
 
Just read about this crime in People.
Hard to believe this has gone unsolved for all these years....
 
harperluu said:
I've been watching the documentary on YouTube. Part 1 & 2. During Part 2, there is a recorded interview with Marty Smartt that I found interesting. He's talking about whether his step-son Justin could have seen something that night while sleeping over at the Sharp's cabin. Bo came in to tell him about the murders. This is what he said: "Sue and Ricky, er, Sue and Johnny had been killed, murdered. I thought don't come in and tell that kind of joke, it's not funny. [Bo] started with the details , I stopped him 'cause I got [younger son Casey] there. Don't go into details, we don't want to hear all the gory stuff because I didn't want the young kid to hear it.
There's a very high possibility that [Justin] could have been awake or alerted to something unusual in that house. And he's quiet enough where he could have noticed something without me detecting him."

That's pretty incriminating, and on tape. If he wasn't there, how could his son have been detected by him? Curious. The statement is on the YouTube vid that includes both Part 1 & Part 2 and is at about the 1:58:00 mark.
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When I listened to the recording of the interview I thought Marty meant Justin informed him of the murders. It seemed that way to me because that portion of the conversation followed Marty's answer to when Justin arrived home. What we are hearing could be different portions of the interview spliced together(?).
Because the conversation seems disjointed we might be understanding the comment about being awake or alerted out of context, otherwise the way it is presented seems like an obvious admission of guilt. How could investigators miss that?
 
nitram said:
When I listened to the recording of the interview I thought Marty meant Justin informed him of the murders. It seemed that way to me because that portion of the conversation followed Marty's answer to when Justin arrived home. What we are hearing could be different portions of the interview spliced together(?).
Because the conversation seems disjointed we might be understanding the comment about being awake or alerted out of context, otherwise the way it is presented seems like an obvious admission of guilt. How could investigators miss that?
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I agree with you. The recording did seem disjointed, and there were portions where it was difficult to tell which voice was the interviewer and which was Marty. I rewound and listened to the last line many, many times. IMO it is exactly as I transcribed. However, if it was not one continuous recording it could have been easily taken out of context. I think that at the very least it was indicative of Marty also curious as to how the murderer got in and out without the survivors observing. Which to me is interesting, because at least in this documentary, there's no empathy from Marty that his kid would have been scared to death and thank goodness he remained hidden and silent. Hmmmm...
 
I have been fascinated by this case since I came across it a few months ago. There is an episode of People Magazine Investigates about it on ID right now.
 
It seems as if some of the locals believed bo to be in law enforcement, we know he claimed so in interviews. It could be possible that was how control over the victims was initially gained. The wingate boy seems like a "softer" killing, more out of necessity than the rage shown john and sue. Multiple histories of abuse, offenders can almost smell victims, we see victims who are abused by multiple, unrelated offenders. Was Tina taken as a "rescue" or a target?

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My sister lives around this area and we've talked about who and why. But it's just rumors. Bad news "blues" all around.
 
A little girl goes missing during a horrific murder, was there a door to door search? Did law enforcement have access to neighboring cabins?

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Some of the amateur sleuths trying to solve this case have done a good job. I recently read on the Cabin 28 forum a series of chats, questions, etc. with the surviving wife of the main suspect, Marty Smartt. They were so rude and insulting, she ended the discussion. A shame, because they may have been able to get more information from her. I hope LE has followed up to question her more. She may still have important information, if there's a skilled questioner involved.

ETA: It's possible, IMO, that Justin, the Smartt son who spent the night at a sleepover at the murder house, might be refusing to discuss his memories because he fears it would somehow implicate his mother as an accessory or somesuch. I doubt she was involved in the murders, but over the years she may have impressed on him that if she told certain details to LE she could be arrested for knowledge of a cover up, destruction of evidence, etc. Has LE ever approached her with a deal giving her immunity from any knowledge or involvement she may have had that day? If Justin knew his mother wasn't at risk of being arrested for obstruction of justice or an accessory, he might be more forthcoming with his memories of that night.
 
Betty P said:
Some of the amateur sleuths trying to solve this case have done a good job. I recently read on the Cabin 28 forum a series of chats, questions, etc. with the surviving wife of the main suspect, Marty Smartt. They were so rude and insulting, she ended the discussion.
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No we were nice to her. She is a killer, one of the three main killers. She was lying and we busted her lies every time she opened her mouth. She called the SA the next morning, drunk, and crying, "They know more about me than I do!" and Gamberg said, "I warned you. These people know their *****"

The Keddie Case is pretty well solved. Trying to bring a successful prosecution via a Grand Jury with a prosecutor who is lame? Another story. But many POIs are alive, and one main killer- Marilyn Smartt- needs to die in prison.
 
kedd said:
No we were nice to her. She is a killer, one of the three main killers. She was lying and we busted her lies every time she opened her mouth. She called the SA the next morning, drunk, and crying, "They know more about me than I do!" and Gamberg said, "I warned you. These people know their *****"

The Keddie Case is pretty well solved. Trying to bring a successful prosecution via a Grand Jury with a prosecutor who is lame? Another story. But many POIs are alive, and one main killer- Marilyn Smartt- needs to die in prison.
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Thanks for the clarification. Do you think she'll ever talk about what she knows? Do you think she was personally involved in the killings or just participated in covering it up? Was she there that night when the murders happened? I'd always assumed it was just Marty and Bo who were the killers. Do you think others were there? If nothing else, I wish her son would talk about what he saw. Has the new sheriff had any luck in questioning Marilyn?

You've all done good work, too, in figuring out which neighbors might have been involved in removing Sue's other daughter via movement of certain cars the next morning. Those people also need to be held accountable.
 
It's recently come to light Marty was cheating on his wife with Sue. Marilyn certainly was in 28 that night. She is the impetus for the murders. Marty, Bo, and Marilyn all lied about what they did that night. Not only that, they all had different version of critical events in their joint alibi, known as the Loonibi. They didn't go straight home from the bar, they went into unlocked 28. Loon said the went to the bar at 7. Then it was 10. Then it was 11. She said she fell asleep watching the news. Then she fell asleep watching a John Wayne movie. There was no John Wayne movie on that night viewable in remote Keddie. Loon's bed was also not in a position to see the TV. She lied about which room was her bedroom, she lied about being able to see Marty make a phone call. She and Marty said she was awake again when Marty and Bo came home from the bar at 2 am; Bo said she was asleep.

They are all lying. Loon was in cabin 28 from roughly 115 until 4-430 AM. When they entered, the bathroom light between the two bedrooms was already on- used as a night-light and for easy night navigation to the bathroom. The killers entered the girls' bedroom, where Sue was sleeping on the bed immediately inside the door. As she was attacked, Tina- on the far side of the room- screamed, as did Sue, probably. This was at 1:15, as noted by neighbors in #16, who awoke, noted the time, listened for more, then went back to sleep.

Johnny and Dana were chillin' downstairs in their room. (About two weeks back, we got confirmation on who dropped them off in Keddie. They were home by around 11-1130). Upon hearing the disturbance upstairs, they both ran up to help, but were overpowered. Within minutes, much of the damage was done and all victims were bound, gagged (Sue), unconscious, or dead.

Knowing the screams may have been heard, Marty and Bo left Loon (and perhaps a fourth killer) behind to guard the boys and Vx, ran home, cleaned up, changed clothing, and rushed back to the bar for Last Call, in order to re-establish their alibi as being in and out of the bar all night. When the bar closed, they returned to 28 and went back to work. Tina was taken from the crime scene as part of the staging: to make it seem Tina was the main target, a co-conspirator, or both). Marty lied by telling LE the swinging bridge was locked; it wasn't. They carried Tina over the bridge, stashing her body on the other side of the main road near an access road which allowed them to retrieve her body later undetected. From the bridge, Marty also threw Sue's sexy pink pantsuit, wrapped in a rock, into the river.

Disposing of Tina took roughly 45 minutes. Upon their return, at least Sue was still alive, but Dana had been dead long enough for livor mortis to set in. At some point, Sue was paraded around the rest of the bodies in a "see what you made us do" moment, leaving blood on her feet and her bloody footprints in the living room. Sue was executed last, with a slicing wound to her lower left brest, culminating in a horizontal stab between her ribs which punctured her lung before piercing her spine. The knife wound to her neck was from another weapon, and possibly postmortem.

Dana was probably staged first in the LR. He was turned over, placed with his head atop the couch cushion on the floor, and his head bashed in with Weapon 4, believed to be the leg torn off the card table. The whacking may have also been done to hide bludgeoning marks from the rifle barrel. The killers went to great lengths to remove all the weapons they brought, but autopsy photos prove the barrel was used on Sue's face. Also, they left behind a pellet and the barrel site that broke off. The rifle was later proved to be a Daisy 880, their most popular model.

Then Johnny was put into position, and his legs very clearly tied to Dana's wel;l after death. Then Sue was tied up with cords, and posed in a sexually humiliating position.

Of the postmortem damage, some was done by Justin. The location of his DNA in the crime scene proves it, and he's admitted as much to LE. There's also a chance Rick was forced to participate to buy his silence. Justin has also admitted to covering Sue with the sheet and blanket later. He's also the one that moved Sue from the pose, rolling her onto her side. In struggling to move her rigor-stiff body, he also shoved the right side of the couch several inches until it was up against the wall.

They interacted with all three surviving boys. Loon probably acted as 'kid control' much of the time, but the boys spent a considerable amount of time in their closet. The knife marks on the wall are opposite where the bed was, and also on the opposite side of the closet wall. The killers knew the boys were huddled in the closet. And all knife marks were higher on the wall than the tallest victim, Dana.

The killers left before well before light- they left before Keddie began to stir, before the next train, before the next railroad shift change. Between 4-430.

At noon, the DOJ chopper was flying over Keddie, taking photos. In earliest shots, Dee Lake's 'borrowed' green late-70s Ford wagon was parked on one side of 26. Wade Meeks' car was parked opposite, in front of Loon's red Pinto wagon with its hood up. In next photos, Wade's car is gone. Then Dee's wagon is seen slowly leaving Keddie the back way, parking for a spell under a huge pine- probably trying to hide from the chopper.

It's believed the killers went into Quincy- the opposite direction from where Tina was stashed- to ensure nobody was following and that cops weren't after them. After a time, they returned, grabbed Tina's body, and drove down the canyon, through Oroville, and back up into the woods to Camp Eightten where she was discarded.

Loon still loves to talk about it, which is why she joined dmac's forum last year. There's a whole thread dedicated to what she was saying last year. All lies, of course, but we exposed her lies as she told them. There are six living suspects, and PCSO SI Gamberg has been in touch with many of them, some multiple times. I believe he's going to Vidoqc with everything he and keddie28.com have come up with, as they are close to grand-jury-quality evidence on many of the suspects.

No matter how many lies she's caught in, Loon just keeps talking. She's throw anyone under the bus to save her dying *advertiser censored*, even worthless Justin. Hell, in the past, when saying she "KNOWS " Justin was involved, she's even said, "I wonder if he enjoyed it."
 
1. If somebody lies to you kindly let them, gems are mined from the dirt 2. Any solid evidence to back up these claims? 3. Name calling and mud slinging don't add credibility to a theory, tangible facts do

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Yes, PCSO confirmed info on who gave the boys the ride, and that Sue and Marty were having a fling. Not only that, Sue was sleeping with Marty's neighbor in the week leading up to the murders.
 
kedd said:
Yes, PCSO confirmed info on who gave the boys the ride, and that Sue and Marty were having a fling. Not only that, Sue was sleeping with Marty's neighbor in the week leading up to the murders.
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Thanks for that info. I've seen the photos you have showing movement of the cars the next day, etc. As for other details - placement of Tina's body at a place across the highway, timeline of killings, staging of the crime scene, etc. - based on evidence or is it just a theory you've put together based on what is known? TIA.
 
The case moves forward, it seems.

[FONT=&amp]New evidence has surfaced in the infamous 37-year-old Keddie murders case. And more developments are anticipated.
[/FONT][FONT=&amp]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 Sheriff’s Office moves forward in its efforts to solve the quadruple murder case.[/FONT]
Click to expand...

More here: http://www.plumasnews.com/keddie-murders-revisited/
 
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