16-Year-Old Texas Girl Asks Boyfriend To Kill Her Family

After Erin Caffey’s parents forbid her from seeing her older boyfriend, she convinced him to kill her entire family.

Erin & Charlie 

Erin Caffey, a 16-year-old from Alba, Texas, met 18-year-old Charlie Wilkinson at her part-time job at Sonic, a fast food joint. Her parents did not approve of the relationship and worried that Wilkinson would be a bad influence on their daughter. 

The Caffeys, a church-going, musically inclined family, noticed Erin’s behavior began to change soon after her relationship started. Erin was a main vocalist at their church, but her presence grew absent as she continued to spend time with Wilkinson. Her grades also slipped, so her family went to the internet for answers to find out what the deal was with her daughter’s boyfriend. 

They came across his MySpace page, which was filled with sexual pictures and innuendos, alcohol, and outlandish behavior. Erin also had a ‘phone curfew,’ in which she had to turn in her phone to her parents at a certain time. When she repeatedly broke this curfew, her parents demanded she stop seeing Wilkinson. 

In February of 2008, friends of Erin’s noticed she consistently complained about her parents and discussed killing her family. 

The Triple Murder 

In the early morning of March 1, two men broke into the Caffey residence and killed Erin’s mother, Penny Caffey, and her two brothers, 13 year-old Matthew and 8 year-old Tyler. Penny was shot multiple times, Matthew shot in the head, and Tyler was repeatedly stabbed with samurai sword. Only Erin and her father, Terry, survived, despite Terry being shot five times. The house was then set on fire and the two men left the family for dead. 

Pictured above: The Caffey Family. 

When investigators first arrived on the scene, they noticed that Erin was missing. Terry was transported to the hospital after crawling the length of four football fields to seek help before the police arrived. Authorities found Erin in Wilkinson’s trailer, seemingly drowsy and incoherent.  Erin told investigators that she had been drugged, and had no recollection of the events that occurred the evening prior. She was taken to the nearest hospital for a full medical examination. 

By this time, Wilkinson was arrested and questioned. At the hospital, Erin insisted that she had been kidnapped and there had been a fire. Wilkinson’s story didn’t add up with her’s. He told authorities that Erin insisted that the only way they could stay together was if her family was killed.

She asked her boyfriend and his friend, 20 year-old Charles Waid, to kill her family for $2,000. On March 1, Wilkinson, Waid, and Waid’s girlfriend Bobbi Johnson, drove to the Caffey’s. While Johnson stayed in the car, the two boys tried to break into the home, but the dog was barking loudly so they left. Erin convinced them to come back to her house, picked her up, and drove around for an hour to discuss how they were going to kill the Caffeys. 

They then were let in the house by Erin, and they killed her brothers first. Then, they entered her parents’ room and shot them. 

Wilkinson admitted to everything. After all drug tests for Erin came back negative, they moved forward with the investigation. The police was shocked to discover that Erin had been the instigator behind her family’s death. 

Wilkinson, Waid, and Johnson’s stories all matched. It was Erin who insisted that she did not have any part in this. All four of the suspects were then placed in custody and charged with three counts of capital murder.

Paying for Their Crimes 

Pictured above, from left to right: Defendants Charlie Wilkinson, Charles Waid, Bobbi Johnson, and Erin Caffey. 

During their trials, Erin maintained the claim that Wilkinson drugged and kidnapped her, even though the other three defendants testified that Erin convinced them to kill her family while she waited in Johnson’s car. Johnson noted that after the killings were complete and they fled the scene, Erin had a smile on her face and said she was glad that it was over. 

Wilkinson, Waid, and Johnson are serving life without the possibility of parole. Prosecutors initially sought out the death penality, but Terry intervened and asked for that possibility to be removed. A man of faith, he forgave the two young men who killed his wife and sons. His daughter was sentenced a minimum of 42 years and will be eligible for parole in 2038. She is currently serving her sentence at the Mountain View Prison in Texas. 

Terry Caffey continues to use his faith to bring inspiration and hope to others. He hopes that he can use this experience to shed light on those who have lost hope in life. He has since then remarried and makes the 8-hour drive to visit Erin in prison every month.