When Erin Caffey’s parents forbade her to see her boyfriend, she brutally murdered her entire family as they slept.
On March 1, 2018, a call came into Alba, Texas, 9-1-1 dispatchers from a frantic caller stating two men had broken into the Caffey home, killing two kids and Penny Caffey. Only 16-year-old Erin and her father, Terry Caffey, survived the attack.
Erin & Charlie Plan Attack for Months
Terry was shot multiple times before the assailants set the house on fire then fled the scene. Detectives soon learned the assailant was not a mystery person, but instead, Erin Caffey and her boyfriend.
Caffey and her 18-year-old boyfriend, Charlie Wilkinson, planned the attack for months before putting the plan into motion. Caffey was upset that her mother and father forbid her to date Wilkinson.
Terry had reservations about the teen, noting something about him just didn’t sit right. Caffey was the vocalist at the church choir where the rest of her family participated. She was passionate about music, until meeting Wilkinson, Terry said.
Once Caffey began dating the teen, she began skipping school. Her grades slipped and she became distant with them. The Caffey parents researched the boy and learned he was bad news. His MySpace page had photos of the teen drinking alcohol and posts with sexually suggestive material. They decided Erin could not date him.
The Freedom to Date
In February 2008, the same month the Caffey’s forbid her from dating Wilkinson, she began plotting her murder, giving friends graphic details of her plans. She thought killing her parents would give her the freedom to date Wilkinson without restriction.
The teens recruited their friend Charles Waid to help plan and carry out the murder. No one knows exactly who the mastermind behind the murder was since Erin blames Wilkinson and vice versa. Terry Caffey wholeheartedly believes his daughter conjured up the idea to kill the family.
Wilkinson told police he suggested they run away together but Erin insisted her parents die.
The Murder
Wilkinson and Waid pulled into the driveway at the Caffey home. Erin and Waid waited inside the car. Before the pair exited the vehicle, Erin told them to kill her two younger brothers so there would be no witnesses.
“I don’t care, just do what you gotta do,” she allegedly told Waid’s girlfriend.
Wilkinson entered Terry and Penny’s room once inside the home. He fired numerous shots at the sleeping couple with a .22 handgun. Terry lay beside his wife as she died.
Wilkinson’s gun jammed but Waid quickly retrieved a samurai-style sword and repeatedly slashed and cut at Penny. He nearly decapitated her.
Wilkinson and Waid then went upstairs where they found Tyler and Matthew hiding. Terry heard Matthew crying as he said “No Charlie. No. Why are you doing this?” Tyler was then shot in the face before Wilkinson and Waid took turns slashing Matthew with the sword.
The teens ransacked the home, taking valuables before dousing lighter fluid on the sofa and chairs and lighting the house on fire.
Terry Caffey Survives Shooting
Terry Caffey, badly injured from his gunshot wounds, crawled out of a window. He spent the next hour crawling to his neighbor’s house in horrific pain. The neighbor dialed 9-1-1.
Terry underwent emergency services then told police that Charlie Wilkinson attacked him and his family. Police immediately tracked him down and brought him to the station. They found Erin in the trailer where Wilkinson lived. She told them she had been kidnapped. Police soon found Waid and brought him in for questioning.
Waid and Wilkinson each gave police the same version of events, pointing to Erin as the mastermind of the crime. She maintained her innocence nonetheless, insisting she had nothing to do with the murders.
All three individuals were charged with capital murder.
Case Aftermath
Wilkinson and Waid were sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole. Caffey also received a life sentence with parole eligibility after 40-years. Prosecutors originally sought the death penalty against Wilkinson and Wait but Terry Caffey requested life sentences instead.
Despite killing the rest of his family and nearly killing him, Terry Caffey maintains his relationship with Erin -and she still denies any involvement with the murder. She insists that she tried to run away the night of the murder but Wilkinson would not let her. Her father says he believes his daughter’s story.
Despite killing the rest of his family and nearly killing him, Terry Caffey maintains his relationship with Erin -and she still denies any involvement with the murder. She insists that she tried to run away the night of the murder but Wilkinson would not let her. Her father says he believes his daughter’s story.
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