Everyone who knew Erin Caffey was shocked when they found out this innocent small-town girl was sentenced to life behind bars for commuting a wicked crime.
Love made this young woman do something she never thought she was capable of, and sadly, no one stopped her until it was too late.
Love Story
Like most girls her age, Erin dreamed of finding the one and spending the rest of her life with that person. She wanted to get married and have a big family, but sadly, things didn't turn out as planned.
Every relationship has its ups and downs, and sometimes couples fight and even break up. Erin's love story, however, was borderline scary.
In Love
Erin met her future boyfriend at work, and the two instantly hit it off. Everyone thought they were the perfect match and rooted for them. But unfortunately for Erin, her parents hated her boyfriend.
Seeing that her parents would never allow her to date him, Erin convinced her boyfriend to help her execute her evil plan that would result in a complete disaster.
Strict Parents
Erin was born on July 27th, 1991, in Texas. Her parents were conservative Christians and were quite strict. As a result, Erin often felt like she was missing out on life because she wasn't allowed to date or even hang out with her friends.
Erin's parents attended the Sunday service at the local Church on a daily basis. They were also ministers at a conservative Baptist church. Not just that, but Erin's parents were so religious that they eventually pulled her out of her public school and homeschooled her over something 'silly.'
Homophobia
Being gay is considered a sin in many religious families worldwide, including Erin's parents. So when her homophobic parents discovered that a girl in Erin's class tried to kiss their daughter, they homeschooled her and her two brothers.
Little did Erin know, things were about to get even worse.
Bible-Based Curriculum
After homeschooling her children, Erin's mother, Penny Caffey, started a Bible-based curriculum at home.
Needless to say, Erin wasn't happy with that. She missed her school friends like crazy and wished she had someone to talk to. She had no idea, however, that she would soon meet someone very special.
Bisexuality
Erin's father, Terry Caffey, was convinced that his daughter was bisexual and believed it was the bisexual culture that made her commit something quite horrifying.
He told Erin that she would never be allowed to go to public school ever again. She was forced to stay home all day while her friends we having fun at sleepovers and parties. With each passing day, Erin was becoming more and more depressed.
Feeling Isolated
Erin hated staying at home all day and wished she could run away. But, sadly, she didn't know anyone who could help her and didn't have any money on her.
Finally, a few months later, her parents agreed to let her work at the local Sonic drive-thru— a decision they would all regret very much.
New Job
Erin's coworkers immediately noticed that something was up with her. They could tell that Erin was unhappy and lonely.
“She was so sheltered. It was like she was seeing the world for the first time,” her coworker recalled. Erin soon caught the eye of Charlie Wilkinson, a young man who also worked at the drive-thru.
Partner-in-Crime
Erin and Charlie soon became boyfriend and girlfriend and fell in love. Charlie had some temperamental issues right from the start, but Erin ignored all the red flags.
Erin's parents didn't approve of their relationship, but that didn't stop Charlie from proposing to his girlfriend with his grandmother's engagement ring.
Disapproval of Her Parents
Erin was aware that her parents didn't like her boyfriend, and the fact that he proposed to her made them even angrier. Could they keep their daughter away from Charlie, or could they not?
Terry and Penny were so frustrated with Erin that they started restricting her even more. They would only allow her to see Charlie once a week at their home and under their supervision. As you can probably imagine, Erin was livid.
Constant Surveillance
There was nothing Erin wanted more than to be free. She wanted to be with her boyfriend every day, but her parents would keep her away from the love of her life. The constant surveillance was becoming too much to bear.
Erin knew she needed to stand up for herself once and for all. And soon, she came up with the perfect plan.
Thinking About Moving Out
Erin started looking for options so that she could move out of her parents' house and live with her 'soulmate.' Now that she had a job, she figured she could rent a room in a shared apartment and stay with Charlie.
Erin's boyfriend, however, was running out of patience. Every day, he would beg her to run away with him somewhere far away. But Erin didn't want to flee. She had another idea in mind.
Evil Plan
Erin wanted to do something that most people would consider 'evil.' Instead of running away from her parents, Erin told her boyfriend that "killing her parents was their best option."
Charlie agreed, and the couple soon started mapping their proceedings and even got Charlie's friends to help them out.
The Day Of
On March 1st, 2008, Erin, Charlie, and his friends Bobbi Johnson and Charles Waid entered Caffey's home. The couple promised Charlie's friends, who were also in a relationship at the time, $2,000 to murder the Caffeys.
Bobbi and her boyfriend happily agreed and spent several days plotting their wicked crime.
Charles's Past
Before turning into a murderer, Charles was just an ordinary high school student. However, he wasn't an 'ideal student' as he frequently got in trouble at school. Despite being a troublemaker, he always came up with an excuse, a trait many called talent.
Just a few days before the horrific crime, Charles got yelled at by his teacher for using a computer.
Young Criminal
Charles was just 20 years old when his friend asked him to help him murder his girlfriend's family. What makes this situation even worse is that he had just become a father to a little girl only a couple of months before he committed the horrific crime.
Although Charles and his ex weren't together for a while, they remained married. "He wasn't like this right from the beginning," his ex-wife said.
Not A Bad Guy
Charles's ex-wife always believed that he was a decent guy, and she could not imagine him hurting anyone ever. He was raised in a Christian household and used to go to Church every Sunday with his parents.
However, he started to change when the pair split up after being together for a year and a half.
Bobbi Johnson
Charles started spending less and less time with his daughter after meeting Bobbi Johnson. What makes this story even more bizarre is Bobbi's past life. She had always been a good student and daughter.
No one would have thought that she was capable of something so satanic.
At The Destination
On the day of the murder, the four friends rode right into Caffery's driveway. Erin's parents were asleep then and had no idea that their end was near. Charlie and Charles entered the house through a backdoor while Erin and Bobbi remained in the vehicle.
When Erin's boyfriend told her that they had to kill her brothers as well to hide their tracks, she reportedly said, "I don't care, just do what you gotta do."
The End
The two boys entered the couple's bedroom and shot them with a .22 pistol. Erin's father, Terry Caffey, endured several shots to his face and body. However, when Charles and his friend tried to kill Erin's mother, Charlie's gun jammed.
However, that didn't stop him as he switched to another weapon, which was even more barbaric.
Fighting For His Life
After nearly cutting Penny's head off with a Samurai sword, the two friends shifted their focus on Erin's two brothers. They brutally murdered them in front of Terry, who was still fighting for his life as he bled out on the floor.
“No, Charlie. No. Why are you doing this?” he cried as he watched his son die. But what the two teens did to the other child was even more brutal.
Another Crime
After killing the entire family, Charles, Charlie, and Bobby raided Erin's home. After taking some cash from the family's lockbox in the bathroom, they even snatched some valuables.
They acted as if nothing ever happened. Then, before leaving the house, they poured lighter fluid across the entire house and burned it to the ground to cover their tracks while Erin was sitting in the car and watching the scene unfold.
The Survivor
After burning the house down, the four friends were sure that they had killed everyone. But as it turns out, Erin's father survived! He was shot five times, and he also took a shot in the chest and head.
He managed to get out of his burning home and crawled toward his neighbor's place. He left a long trail of blood behind him!
Trying To Stay Alive
"Our bathroom was the only place to get out. I made my way through the window and just fell to the ground. If I could just get to my neighbors, Tommy and Helen, they would make everything alright," Terry recalled.
"It took me about an hour to crawl the lengths of about four football pitches. I made it about halfway and just wanted to die. But then I thought if I couldn’t save my family, I’ve got to live long enough to make the people who did this accountable. I used every ounce of strength and just kept focused on the light in Tommy and Helen’s window."
Begging For Help
The neighbors were taken aback when they saw a blood-covered man on their patio. "Finally I collapsed on their porch. I couldn’t have got up if I’d wanted to. Tommy and Helen called 911 and I was taken to the hospital," Terry explained.
"The days and weeks that followed, the grief, I cannot put it into words. I was suicidal. I had so much bitterness and hatred. I wanted to find these guys; I wanted to strangle them." So, what happened to Erin and her friends?
The Letter
After Erin was sentenced to life in prison, she wrote her father a letter. “None of this was your fault,” she wrote. “If anything, it was mine. I never wanted any of this to happen.”
She blamed her boyfriend for all of it. "I was just going with what he was telling me. He was feeding me all these lies, I got caught up in him, and I feel so guilty," she continued.
Finally Free
"Even though this has happened, I still feel sad, but at the same time glad that I’m free from the pressure that was being put on me."
"I miss Mama and the boys! But I know where they are!" Erin is currently serving two consecutive life sentences and an additional 25 years. Charles and Charlie are serving life sentences without parole. But what about Bobbi?
Bobbi's Fate
The 'innocent' girlfriend received 4o years in prison for being involved in the murder without using a weapon. Yet, despite all of the horror, Terry found it in himself to forgive his daughter.
"I forgave my daughter more easily but to forgive the guys who did this for a long time felt too much," he explained.
Terry's Thoughts
"I want them to wake up every day and think about what they took, and hopefully one day they will find remorse in their hearts. I want people to draw goodness from all this," Terry continued.
What did you think of this story? Do you think these criminals deserve the death penalty?