UPDATE: Erin Caffey, Charlie James Wilkinson, Charles Allen Waid and Bobbi Gale Johnson
ALL DEFENDANTS ACCEPT PLEA DEALS, RECEIVE SENTENCES RANGING FROM 40 YEARS TO LIFE IN PRISON
Well, better late than never, but here’s the rundown on the fates of Erin Caffey, Charlie James Wilkinson, Charles Allen Waid and Bobbi Gale Johnson.
Just to refresh your memories, each one of these four geniuses murdered or assisted in the murder of three member of an unsuspecting family, the Caffeys of Alba, Texas. They did this because the oldest daughter, 16-year-old Erin Caffey, was told she could no longer see her 20-year-old boyfriend, none other than Charlie James Wilkinson. With assistance from Charles Allen Waid and Bobbi Gale Johnson, the two lovers decided to get rid of Erin’s family so they could be together forever.
According to the police report:
“Wilkinson stated that Erin Caffey wanted her parents dead because they would not let her see Wilkinson and they even took away her cell phone. The discussion to kill Erin’s parents had been ongoing for about a month.” “Erin, Wilkinson and Waid had several conversations on how to kill her parents.”
When interviewed by police, Charlie kept it simple:
“Erin and I were in love and the only way we could be together was to kill the parents.”
Charlie James Wilkinson and Charles Allen Waid were the “hitters”, while Erin Caffey and Bobbi Gale Johnson waited in the car. Waid had been paid two thousand dollars to help kill Erin’s family.
Wilkinson and Waid entered the home, went straight to the master bedroom and shot at Penny Caffey. Terry Caffey awoke to the gunshots and to recognize Charles Wilkinson standing in the bedroom and heard “Charlie!” being yelled. Terry put his arm up to shield himself and was shot several times. The police report states:
“Wilkinson said he fired a .22-caliber handgun at Mrs. Caffey several times, but did not kill her. He then handed the weapon to Mr. Waid, who fired several more times at Mr. and Mrs. Caffey.”
Erin’s two brothers Matthew, 13, and Tyler, 8, heard the shots. They ran down the stairs from their bedroom loft and found Charles Wilkinson and Charles Waid standing over the bodies of their parents. The boys were witnesses now. 
According to the police report:
“Mr. Wilkinson told them to return to their beds in the loft. The two men followed the children upstairs. Mr. Waid shot 13-year-old Matthew in the head or neck, records show, and both men stabbed 8-year-old Tyler with a sword.”
Waid and Wilkinson used hand held lighters to set fire to bedspreads, food items, laundry and furniture to cover up the crime. The two males ran out to the car. Flames could be seen rising from the house as they sped away. They whooped it up and congratulated each other on a job well done.
What they didn’t know is that Erin’s Father Terry was still alive, and in a feat of super human strength and endurance, dragged himself 300 yards through the woods to the nearest home. He did this despite being shot five time – once in the head, shoulder and chest and twice in the back. His neighbor Terry Gaston found him lying on his porch and called 911.
Terry Caffey was rushed to the hospital where they removed five bullets from his body. When he woke up from the surgery, he would complain that he heard gunshots.
Meanwhile, Terry’s eldest child, his only daughter, was having a round of celebratory sex with the love of her young life, with Carlie Wilkinson in Charles Waid’s trailer. The cops picked up Charlie on Sunday, the day after the murders, but somehow missed Erin. Charlie had two handguns lying next to him. Charles Wilkinson was arrested and taken down to the jail for interrogation. He quickly confessed.
Charles James Wilkinson Arrest Affidavit – WARNING: Not For Children
Charles Waid and Bobbi Gale Johnson were picked up soon afterwards. They also wasted little time confessing.
Only Erin Caffey tried to play the system. A deputy searching through Charlie Waid’s trailer just was surprised to find Erin curled up in the fetal position, hidden under a pile of clothing 
and stuffed animals.
She told the deputy that “I was asleep and awoke to two people yelling at me to get on the floor.” She also told him she remembered “fire but nothing else.” As fast as the cops could say, “Yeah, right.” Erin was also arrested.
Authorities recovered a rifle, and a pistol, two swords and a condom.
Bond for all of them was set at $1.5 million, $500,000 for each charge of capital murder.
Faced with overwhelming evidence of their guilt and the testimony of Terry Caffey, and with the death penalty hanging over their heads, in November of 2008, Charles “Charlie” James Wilkinson and Charles Allan Waid both pled guilty to three counts of Capital Murder. They were sentenced to life in prison without parole.
On January 2, 2009, Bobbi Gale Johnson pled guilty to being an accomplice who did not use a weapon. She received a sentence of 40 years in prison.
At that same hearing, Erin Caffey pled guilty to capital murder. She was sentenced to two consecutive life sentences plus an additional twenty five years.
Will Erin Caffey ever get out of prison, let’s ask Rains County Attorney Robert Vititow:
“As for Erin Caffey, two life sentences, will she ever parole out? I can’t answer that. And if she did, she would still have another 25 year sentence to serve and so the odds are that she may never get out.”
Works for me…
The photographs are, from top to bottom:
1. Erin Caffey
2. Charlie James Wilkinson
3. Charles Allen Waid
4. Bobbi Gale Johnson
5. The Caffey family dog, still guarding the charred remains of his masters’ home.
54 Comments »
Similar Posts:
- Erin Caffey, Charlie James Wilkinson, Charles Allen Waid and Bobbi Gale Johnson
- James Winquist and Eric Snow
- Charles Tyson
- Terry Sherlock
- Joseph Miller and Nickella Reid
- Harve Johnson and Nedia Benz
- Amber E. Wright, Charlie Kay Ely, Michael Shane Bargo, Kyle Lonnie-Duan Hooper And Justin Soto
- James Chester
I have nothing but the utmost contempt for children willing to sacrifice their families to achieve some selfish goal.
Teenagers and young adults are awful at committing crimes like this one, too. They always get caught right off the bat… they don’t realize beforehand that they’re just stupid kids and can’t possibly get away with it.
What the hell happened to just running away together? You don’t get multiple life sentences for that! The cops don’t look for kids who take off to another city or state anywhere near as hard as they look for kids who commit murder and arson.
I agree. Don’t kids run away any more? I’m still stuck with mine and they’re in their late teens and twenties. Remember the days when kids couldn’t wait to turn eighteen and get the hell out of the house?
Those days are over folks.
lmao! I was thinking the same thing TBS. My 20 year old daughter lives with me – she just quit her job last week to “get her head together”. I told her she’s got a month to get another one or she’ll be getting her head together in a homeless shelter.
….. BAHAHAHAHA! Way to rock the Dad Face, Max!
This is awful!! When I was 16 and my parents told me I couldnt see a boy.. I would just sneak outta the house and see him anyway. Not plan to kill my whole family!! These teenagers got issues and are a waste of skin and bones……… to just shoot her parents and her brother….. oh and then just stab the youngest brother like its no big deaaaalll…. wtf????? Hell is sure gonna be extra hot for them….
Unbelievable. What people are capable of. To bring into the world the person who will take you out. Imagine being the father and living to find you whole family wiped out by your only daughter. Tragic. The understatement of the year. Damn. That sucks. Oh and F you all the losers that committed this awful crime. If there is no God and nothing happens after you die. If there is no hell, then there is no justice. Keeping these folks alive and sucking on the gov’t's teat for 40 years. A cost that ultimately those good people in Texas will bear as taxpayers. What a waste of 8 lives.
This world is amazing in so many ways. People amaze me. The things that people do to each other. And we are intelligent beings?
Eddy, your first three sentences say what I was thinking and just could not put into words. Thanks
Very well said Eddy, and what a way to think about it. Jeez. That poor Father too. This story truly is tragic. How could that poor man ever bounce back from something like this?
Sadly, it’s more than just the agent of your own death… I mean, that little bitch killed his spouse, and the remaining children in the family. Did she even cry to think that her own brothers wouldn’t live to see 16?
Remember that crazy Canadian little b**ch who killed her parents and her (what, like 8 year old) little brother too? Oh, she said she felt sorry about the brother, how he cried and begged for his life but did it stop her?
Selfish teens, I get. Teens who will take a life because they want to fuck who they choose doesn’t register with me.
I heard of this case. Disturbing.
I really don’t know what to think…what the hell can you say about this? That little bitch should have gotten the needle, as well as the three stooges that were with her! I live in the Lone Star State and I am shocked they did not receive the death penalty.WTF I just have no words,those poor hard working people….man oh man..there is nothing anyone could say to me to make me understand the thought process of these scum.
Gee, and she wondered why her parents didn’t think they were a good match. I hope she grows up enough to feel the pain of what she has done.
Some people just need killin’
That is not the answer ! God got that ! Killing them still is not going to bring them back .
No, killing them won’t bring them back, but it will keep them from worming their way out of jail and harming more innocent people. I have no sympathy for people like this who not only committed triple homicide, but killed their own flesh and blood. Her and her little boyfriends deserve the needle and then to rot in hell for all eternity.
This is absolutely sickening. Our kids are under attack. Our elderly are under attack. And even our parents are under attack. It is a sad time for our society as we hear more and more about kids killing their parents. And so often they are the “good parents” while POS ones live their lives of dysfunction and don’t even visit their evil spawns in jail.
pfft shoot the bastards, they’re the pieces of shit that rot on our planet.
“Erin and I were in love and the only way we could be together was to kill the parents.”
Or, you know. Wait two years. Or elope. Nah, killing the parents was best.
Or failing that, they could pull a classic Shakespearean move and kill themselves so they can be together in the afterlife. Star-crossed lovers and all… it’s so romantical!
Erin’s father forgave her, and told her he loves her no matter what. He now gives talks at schools about not hanging out with the wrong crowd.
That’s what any good father would do. Erin and her posse are still pig shit for what they did for her family.
Sorry TO her family not FOR her family. Leave me alone, it’s late and I’m tired. :)
i know no 1 is givein nicole shit,i keep sayin wanna give these ladies shit,come give to my austin tx ass first. im on fb now nicole,look for waylon.
lol thanks bo! I will look for you!
This is just an FYI for anyone who is interested:
Erin’s father, Terry Caffey, was featured in a recent episode (season 4, episode 30) of The Biography Channel’s show “I Survived . . .”
And his book “Terror by Night” was released earlier this fall.
His website http://terrycaffey.com/
oh by the way,did i ever mention im a lesbian in a dudes body,u could say im a LICKALOTTAPUSS,lol.
What these young adults did was unquestionably unthinkable.
This is definitely a different America than what I grew up in.
It’s not just the “bad” parents that have this happen anymore,
it’s the parents that care and want their children to have good
values. I don’t condemnn Mr. Caffey at all for not wanting the
death penilty. I have not “walked a mile in his shoes” and pray
I never will. I believe that the best place for these people to be is where they are. Not to be able to go where you want and do what you want to do must be like hell. (going to the beach and laying
in the sun, the mountains and walk in the snow or in a field of flowers, taking a walk in the city and shopping for what you want, walking down a country road and kicking the leaves, walking in the woods with the arms of the trees overhead and seeing deer etc) I pray that they now have a chance to see and feel what they have done and not be able to do; and to meet Jesus who forgives us all our sins. We all have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God.
I know that we’re paying for this, but there are a lot more
things that our tax dollars go to that I believe shouldn’t be used.
A lot more.
I followed this case closely back when it came out. I’m still struck by the dumb surprised looks on their faces. They thought they would get away with it and live happily ever after. Stupid, stupid, stupid. I think of this case when I need to remember how stupid and selfish people can be.
Erin has the cold, dead eyes of a serial killer. I don’t know much about this case but I really think it was her idea, not her boyfriend’s.
I in fact came across this on Google, and I am truly happy I did. I will definately be returning here a lot more generally. Wish I could add to the post and bring a bit more for the table, but am just absorbing as much info as I can at the moment.
What a survivor the Father is, for surviving 11 bullets and the horror of the act itself. The murderers are surely part psychopath and part retard. As has been said already why not run away, why murder? why murder the children?. In a clear cut case like this where there is no doubt the state should kill the perps because they are hardly likely to be consumed by guilt, instead of throwing up after this Wilkinson and Erin were having sex. Anyway an entire life in a US prison cant be much fun.
has anybody ever wonder how the father managed to get out of the burning house without any burns? he wasn’t shot 11 times,it was 5 times. He got on with his life, married 8 months after the murders to a co-worker,who happens to have 2 sons. Personally I think there’s something missing from his story. They didn’t receive the death penalty because the father asked they not receive it.
Him and his new wife live a few miles away from where his wife and 2 sons are buried. I can see a person getting on with their life,but 8 months later seems a little too fast. My question is, did he move on with his life trying to replace what he had 8 months later, or is there something we don’t know about?
Are you suggesting that dad was somehow involved in the crime? I hope not, because that’s a ridiculous premise. All of the defendants admitted that the murders were committed to get rid of Terry Caffey and his wife, because they forbade Erin from dating Charlie Wilkinson.
Everything Terry Caffey has done since the murders has been aimed at helping at-risk kids. Today he is a repair man working for a real estate agent in the day. At night, Caffey preaches in churches and youth about everything that happened to him and his family. He didn’t just give forgiveness a lot of lip service – he did all he could to get all the defendants reduced sentences, because he wanted them all to have a second chance at life. I admire the guy for being able to turn such a huge personal tragedy into something that will benefit God-knows how many other people. He appears to be nothing but sincere and honest, and hasn’t done anything to warrant your suspicion.
I trying real hard to be nice here, because nothing pisses me off like attacks on a victim’s integrity. I understand that these days anything is possible, but what you’re suggesting is a very long reach. I also think you are sincere so I decided to answer your questions.
p.s
i forgot to mention, the book he has wrote, the show that came on t.v and his appearance on ” I survived” and more than likely a made for t.v movie soon, since he has an agent. its that thing called money.
well, thanks for answering my questions, even though i didn’t ask any. But you don’t have to explain to me what he’s been doing since this tragedy occured. On the part of intergrity, do or did you know this family? I live near where this happen, so if your trying hard not to be pissed off at me,you got a small town of people with alot of questions not to be pissed off at. For one, do you know where this man lived before he said his ” I do’s” the 2nd time? Did you know they were co-workers before this tragegy occured? I, and others wonder if his wife knew of his feelings for his new wife before her tragegy. 8 months is a short time to be moving along. Acutally he was already remarried when his daughter and the three other monsters made a plea. This happened in march, he was remarried in october of the same year. I can understand a person needing to move on with life, but,that quick? He didn’t have time to heal from this.No normal human being could had in that short of time. He simply replaced his family.They’ve been married 2 years now,it’s only a matter of time before his new wife will get tired of living in his first wife’s shadow.Living off income he’s made from writting books,doing tv appearances, i just wonder how that makes his new wife feel, knowing alot of their income is comming from this tragedy. I’m trying real hard to be nice here too. But lets not forget Penny Caffey had a family too. Parents and relatives that loved her. And to see their son-in- law marry so soon after loosing their daughter and grandsons was a kick in the gut. Yes, this is a very tragic thing that happen. Where we live, it was a shock to the community . Things like this doesn’t happen here,but it did.
No one f’ing cares if he had an affair but you.
you’re really fucking stupid. he probably didn’t care that it happened, he was probably glad he could fuck his new wife without thinking ” fuck i have a family at home”
are things what they same, you need to take a step back and realize that nothing this man could have done warranted being attacked by these people.
It seems to me that you’re not implicating him as far as the murders go, but you sure are tarnishing his character, or trying to, for reasons that could only be known in your pin brain. What he has done with his personal life is completely separate from the fact that his daughter helped slaughter his entire family. Even if he was having an affair, which you don’t know nor do you have any proof, it doesn’t mean that he deserved what has happened to him.
Yeah, I actually have known widowers who’ve remarried quickly. Some man can’t stand living in an empty house all alone, they are lost without the companionship and care that being married brings. I imagine that outliving my spouse and two kids would cause me to do one of either two things; Give up, become bitter, seek revenge, hate everyone, and I would certainly consider ending it all, in order to escape that kind of horrific pain. Or, I would do anything I could to make it a positive experience, and if I had found someone to love, who loved me, and could bring some glimmer of hope and happiness back into my life, well, I would grab onto that goodness for all it’s worth. Honestly, I would probably go the way of the first option, because I don’t think I’m as strong and courageous as those who outlive their families and turn pain into something positive. I commend the people who find reasons to live, after losing their children. I don’t think I could do it.
So, in a nutshell, go spread your gossip on a website that welcomes petty peons who like to gossip. I think this site is more of a victim advocate site, and this man is without a doubt, a victim.
nobody said he deserves to be attacked. re-read shit.
AND, to demonize him for making money from writing a book or going on TV to tell his story is utterly heinous. I think a little compensation is deserved in this case, if anyone deserves to be paid for writing books or public speaking, it’s people like him, rather than ridiculous politicians or drug addled celebrities. Besides, you are probably the type of person who would sue McDonald’s because their coffee burned your tongue.
His story is pretty inspiring, and he’s doing his part to make the world a better place, and teaching people that survival is good, whether it’s physical survival, or emotional. He’s teaching people about true forgiveness, compassion, and courage. What have you done lately, other than sit around spreading irrelevant gossip? He’s a better person than I, and it’s vey obvious that he’s a better person than you.
Some of the comments on this site are infuriating!
Tell me about it Sally. Unfortunately, fools like ‘are things what the seem’ are a common nuisance. He/she is a bit more annoying than most, because he/she seems to have no purpose other than to make pointless, vague attacks on the character of the surviving victim of one of the most heartbreaking tragedies anyone has ever heard of. What ‘are things what the seem’ has against Terry Caffey isn’t really made clear, other than some nonsense about Terry getting paid for writing his book and making some TV appearances, even though he clearly uses most of those proceeds to fund his ministry. A ministry, I may add, that is aimed at helping kids just like Erin, Charlie and the rest BEFORE something like this happens.
You know, some people sit on their asses and feel sorry for themselves after suffering the kind of loss Terry did. God knows he has every right to, after being victimized by his own daughter. Instead, Terry Caffey decided to do something about the evil that turned his little girl into a killer. If this helped him to get over things quicker, and he chose to remarry, then we should rejoice with him, not question him. Terry Caffey is a good, decent man, and I hope when I die, people will say I was half the man he already is.
‘are things what the seem’ obviously has a hidden agenda which he/she isn’t sharing with us, because his/her hate for Terry is unfair and unjustified. It’s as clear as the nose on my face. He/she thinks because he/she knew the family, it somehow gives he a right to trash his reputation in a public forum like this. I think that’s despicable, and I think ‘are things what the seem’ is either a rejected lover or a friend of one of the other defendants. His/her posts certainly have the tone of someone who has a grudge.
you think?
i think you missed the whole point that I and others knew this family.
are things what the seem – did you know your name is missing the y in they? Your name just doesn’t make sense in its current state.
I really don’t have an opinion of you because I don’t know you but I am really very curious about your attitude. Why are you so bitter at this man and his old or new family? You say you knew them? What is making you make such judgements about them? I just don’t understand your attitude and I really would like to understand. What did Mr. Caffey do to you? I really want to know.
I personally have never heard of this horrible tragedy until I caught the episode on I Survived tonight. To Mr. Caffey and your new family, you are an inspiration to so many. You survived to teach others of the true power of forgiveness. There is never ending pain without it. You have suffered so much and you have so many people out there who may not personally know you but love you just the same. And we want you to continue the work you are doing to teach young people. I firmly believe your dear Penny and boys are walking with God. Thank you for sharing your story and God bless you and your family!
To ‘things are not what the seem’, did you know that the things we don’t like in other people are often the things that can be found inside ourselves? I really hope you can find real peace in your life. May God be with and bless you and yours too.
I recently went to listen to Terry Caffey at a local school. He seemed to me he is still in denial over his daughter’s involvement. He talked to the kids about falling in with the “wrong” crowd,which was a good thing. He spoke as if Erin had fallen in with the wrong crowd. I don’t think he realizes she Was the ‘wrong” crowd. After all,she had asked another boy to do this also. Near the end of the speech, he talked about Erin being with the wrong crowd, and how he goes to visit her,forgave her,and mostly put the blame on Charlie Wilkeson.I’m sorry to say he seemed in some real denial where his daughter is concern. He asked the kids to come look at a picture of his daughter,Erin,in her prison suit with pictures he has taken with her. He also told how she has to be stripped search before she can come out to visit. How she misses little things like getting ice cream after school. I thought to myself,well, she did murder her family.What does he expect? After watching him and listening, i’m sorry to say, its not forgiveness he has done with her, but he’s still in denial about her. God help him when he does admit to himself that she was the mastermind.He hasn’t reached that point yet. As for me, i wasn’t interested in looking at a picture of someone that could have their family murdered. For all of you that believe he has forgave her, seeing him in person , listening to him, he’s still in denial. As the comment from ‘are things what they seem’, I have to agree, he moved on too fast. He hasn’t moved on. He has replaced his family.
and the dad says..”Satan made her do it”. Right. She’s a sociopath..plain and simple. The dad seems kinda nutty to me too. ??
I have just learned of this story and how this escaped me, I have no idea.
I feel so sick to my stomache right now…I feel like crying, but I’m in total shock just reading all of this.
I’m not sure how this is affecting me right now…this is beyond comprehensible.
In all fairness to Mr. Caffey, WE find it easy to hate and abhor the daughter. I never loved her, and only care about her in relation to my “shock and awe” at her soul-less audacity.
If he is in denial, if he has moved on in order to avoid confronting the devestating emotional trauma of the reality of his daughter’s actions, I lay no blame at his door. None of those things are unethical OR illegal.
Pisses me off that she gets to commit this heinous crime against those she should most love, honor, and protect in this world, her family, and then her dad’s forgiveness allows her to whine about missing ice cream after school. (Jay, the dryness of your tone is priceless, “Well, she did murder her family…”)
Surely it DOES hurt Penny’s family to see him in this mode. I’m sorry for them. They have suffered an unimaginable and utterly purposeless loss.
What a tragedy for terry caffey to endure. Without his strong faith in our lord it would be impossible to exist. Bless his heart and pray for him and his daughter.
@ belinda – I wonder if Terry Caffey wondered where ‘his lord’ was when his daughter was planning his family’s murder.
It is interesting to note just how many deranged American psychos seem to come from religious, so called, God fearin’ Christian families who then go on to blame Satan or some other superstitious nonsensense when things go awry in their lives, rather than looking to their own shortcomings.
Just to let you guys know. Charlie wanted to run away together but Erin said ” Kill them, i want them dead, kill them all” then they did it. It was erins idea
For those of you who ask why don’t kids just run away anymore… because there’s no money in it. These brats think that if they kill everyone in the family, they’ll inherit it all. Then they don’t have to work or go to school–just sit around on their lazy butts all day doing nothing but partying. I’ve got one graduating next summer, and he’s already been told that the gravy train is coming to a halt and he’s getting off. These kids today think they know it all when, truth is, they can’t manage money, keep a job, cook, clean, balance a checkbook, etc. They want to do what they want, when they want–and still want us (the parents) to pick up the tab. I couldn’t wait to get out when I graduated (I’m also from East TX)–I packed all my stuff in the car, headed to the city, got a roommate, and then found a job. Mr. Caffey may have forgiven them, and that is surely is right, but I personally hope they all rot. To think that his own child destroyed their family–killed her own little brothers–well, there’s no punishment too severe.
First of All Erin is my lil cousin and this didn’t happen in alba tx it happened in emery tx 2nd charlie wasn’t 20 he was 18 and 3rd it is a very horrid thing in which they all had a part in terry has forgiving her and who r u to judge wen u don’t know the correct story nor were u there!