Keddie Cabin Killings
- Isabella
- Oct 18, 2021
- 3 min read
Our case today starts on April 11, 1981, in Keddie California. In number 28 of the Keddie resort lived Susan Sharp and her five children John, Shelia, Tina, Rick and Greg. Keddie was a tiny little town where everyone knew everyone and people weren't afraid to keep their doors unlocked. This particular evening was a pretty crazy one as Sheila was sleeping over at her friend's house and the boy's friend Justin Smart was spending the night at their tiny little house. John's friend Dana was also spending the night. Tina had been at her friend's house watching tv but she returned home at around 9:30 pm when Shelia arrived to spend the night.
The Sharp Family's House
Now we are jumping to around 7:00 am the next morning when Shelia is returning back to #28 as the family had church that day. Now the scene that Shelia returned home to was a scene that would forever change her life.
Sheila walked into the sight of two men’s bodies who she immediately recognised as John and Dana brutally injured and bound together lying on the floor. She also saw what looked like another body covered in a yellow blanket lying next to the sofa. This body was later identified as the body of Susan Sharp. As well as that the entire room was COVERED in blood. So Sheila ran back to the SeaBolts house where she had spent the night and she returned shortly after with Jamie Seabolt, a boy about her age. The two of them went into the room where the three little boys had been sleeping through the window and discovered that all the boys were still alive. But the question still remained where was Tina.
The Sharp Family's Living Room After the Crime
The investigation kicked into full speed as this is like the biggest thing that has ever happened in this little town. And they very quickly found two weapons, a hammer and a gun in the room. These were identified as the murder weapons. But after the coroner made their report it was decided that there was another hammer which they later found in a lake. Now going back to the coroner's report Susan and John’s causes of death were blunt force trauma and stab wounds and Dana's cause of death was asphyxiation. Along with that Susan had been gagged with a blue bandana she had been stabbed in the chest along with the throat and spine. She also had a gun imprint on the side of her head. John’s throat had been slashed and Dana had multiple head injuries. The investigation took an interesting turn when the police interviewed the neighbours the SeaBolts said that they did not hear a thing the entire note. But a couple who lived nearby said they heard muffled screaming around 1 am. But the most interesting part of the investigation was when they put Justin under hypnosis he talked about a dream which matched almost perfectly to the actual details of the crime. But the second time he was hypnotised he claimed to have actually witnessed the crime when he walked to the kitchen after he woke up from all the noise. He was also able to give a description of the two men he said were in the room. But the composite sketches did not help with the investigation, not surprising seeing as they were completed by an untrained artist with no training in police composite sketches. This was never explained by the police.
The Composite Sketches Drawn of the men Justin Described
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