Daughter, 16, charged in murder of mother, brothers

[Schuyler Colfax]

http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/03/02/tex ... index.html

(CNN) -- A teenage daughter's anger over a forbidden romance may have caused the 16-year-old to kill her mother and two brothers, police said.

The killings occurred in the rural East Texas home of Terry and Penny Caffey on Saturday morning, according to a statement released by Rains County Sheriff David Traylor. The home was burned as well as a medical supplies van outside, Traylor said.

In the ashes of the home, authorities found the body of Penny Caffey, 37, and the 8- and 13-year-old boys. All victims were shot and stabbed, police said.

Four suspects are in police custody and have each been charged with three counts of murder. Three suspects were identified as Charlie James Wilkinson, 19; Charles Allen Wade, 20; and Bobbi Gale Johnson, 18, who is female.

Police did not release the name or mug shot of the other suspect, the Caffey's daughter, because she is a juvenile.

Police believe the motive may have been that the teenage daughter was forbidden to date one of the suspects.

"Early on in the investigation it was revealed that the juvenile and one of the suspects were dating and made to break up," Traylor wrote in a release.

The teenage girl's father, Terry Caffey, who was shot in the head but survived is helping police. Caffey, who is in critical condition, was able to crawl 300 yards to a neighbor's home and later identified one of the suspects.

Carl Johnson, a family friend, told The Associated Press that he saw the bloody trail left by the father who dragged himself to a neighbor's house.

Johnson said the family are musicians and that the boys played guitar and harmonica and the mother is a church piano player. The father often told his daughter that he wanted her to sing at his funeral, Johnson told AP.

"I just thought the whole world of the family," said Johnson, 75. "They were good Christian people. [The father] was like a son of my own."

The killings shocked many in the small east Texas town, the town's mayor said Sunday.

"There hasn't been a murder here in 18 years," said Orvin Carroll, longtime mayor of Alba, Texas -- a town of about 430 people east of Dallas.

"We are all just a little shocked. This is a place where people do not lock their doors. But that is changing," Carroll added.

"We can't believe this could happen to a mother and her children. Not here."

Hmmmm, this is slightly disturbing.

[Havok]

Hmmm. Certainly above average on the "Killings in the USA" scale.

Something doesn't ring right to me though. Maybe it is the fact that 4 kids all decided to murder a whole family, which certainly wouldn't be unprecedented, but why wouldn't the girl just run away? Why kill the whole family AND burn down the house? Certainly the 8 year old and more than likely, the 13 year old wouldn't have anything to do with her not being able to date one of the boys.

Also... Shot AND stabbed? There is definitely something going on that is more deep seeded than "You can't see that boy any more!"

Keep this updated Mr. VP.

[Darth Wong]

When people say that the family was "good Christian people" and they were surprised by this, are they saying that if the family was not Christian then such a horrific slaying would not be a shock?

[Darth Servo]

Something doesn't ring right to me though. Maybe it is the fact that 4 kids all decided to murder a whole family, which certainly wouldn't be unprecedented, but why wouldn't the girl just run away? Why kill the whole family AND burn down the house? Certainly the 8 year old and more than likely, the 13 year old wouldn't have anything to do with her not being able to date one of the boys.

Also... Shot AND stabbed? There is definitely something going on that is more deep seeded than "You can't see that boy any more!"

You're assuming sociopaths are actually logical?