Police Allege Teen Romance Led to Massacre of East Texas Family

March 03, 2008

"As for me and my household, we will serve the LORD." Joshua 24:15

The Old Testament quote that appears above appears in the final chapter in the book of Joshua, which refers to covenant-keeping families. Basically, the belief is that those who serve and trust in the successive promises of God will be eternally blessed. Ironically, that same verse can also be found on a small wooden sign that is tacked to a tree in front of the charred remains of the Caffey home in Emory, Texas.

According to police, Penny Caffey, 37, and her two sons, Mathew, 13, and Tyler, 8, were murdered inside their home at about 4:00 a.m. Saturday. Details remain sketchy but police believe multiple assailants stabbed and shot the victims to death. The killers then allegedly set fire to the home before fleeing the scene.

Unbeknownst to the killers, a fourth victim of the predawn attacks, Terry Caffey, the father, survived. He was able to drag himself out of the home before it became fully engulfed in flames. Shot four times, Terry somehow managed to summon the will power to continue dragging himself roughly 300 yards through the woods to a neighbor's house, where he summoned help.

When police and paramedics arrived at the scene, Terry reportedly provided them with information that led to the arrest of four teens, including the Caffey's 16-year-old daughter, whom police have yet to name. The other three suspects have been identified as Charlie James Wilkinson, 18, Charles Allen Waid (some reports suggest the spelling Wade), 20, and Bobbi Gale Johnson, 18.

"We feel confident that the motive was the fact that the juvenile daughter and one of the individuals in custody were dating and that the parents were attempting to break the relationship up, which led to the crime that was committed," Rains County Sheriff David Traylor told the Associated Press...

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