Random Facts Surrounding The Unsolved Keddie Cabin Murders (13 items)

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  (#9) New Details Emerged Surrounding The Crime

  Sheila Sharp, who found the bodies that April morning in 1981, has never stopped trying to find her mother, sister, and brother's killers. A new investigator of the crime, Sheriff Greg Hagwood, was schoolmates with Johnny and Dana before their deaths. He reopened the case, and recently, new evidence has come to light.

  In 2013, authorities discovered a letter that Marty Smartt wrote to his wife after she left him. In it, he says that he "paid the price of [his ex-wife's] love" and "bought it with four people’s lives."

  The investigative team also discovered a hammer in a pond near the Keddie property which could potentially be the weapon the intruders used. It matches the description of a hammer that Smartt told investigators he lost.

  The sheriff also found an envelope in police files that contained the 1984 recording of the 911 call in which the anonymous caller suggests that the skull fragment belongs to Tina Sharp. Police believe that this person may have been involved in the killings and is having the audio analyzed. 
   
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  (#6) The Three Youngest Boys Survived, Even Though They Were In The House

  Sue, Johnny, Dana, and Tina were not alone in the house at the time of the intrusion. The two youngest boys, Greg and Rick, were sleeping in their bedroom through the entire ordeal with their neighborhood friend from Cabin 26, Justin Smartt. 

  Sheila and her friend's family discovered the boys in the morning. After Shelia returned to the Seabolts, the parents knocked on the boys' window, and the trio answered, completely unharmed.

  The Seabolts then made the children climb out of the house through the bedroom window to spare them the horrifying sight in the living room, but the boys soon learned what happened. They reported that they hadn't been disturbed at all, except for Justin, who told investigators he had gotten up once in the night. 
   
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  (#13) The Two Main Suspects Are Dead

  The public still doesn't know who is responsible for the 1981 Keddie Cabin murders. Law enforcement has never made an arrest, and the two most likely suspects - Smartt and Boubede - were released after initial questioning. 

  Both the prime suspects passed prior to Sheriff Hagwood’s 2013 investigation. Boubede died of natural causes in 1988, and Smartt passed in 2006. The remaining Sharp family members seek justice to this day but have admitted they don't have much hope that the case will ever officially be solved.
   
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  (#10) A Therapist Told Authorities That Smartt Admitted To Killing Sue Sharp

  Sheriff Hagwood employed the services of private investigator Mike Gamberg to help with the case. The PI tracked down a therapist in Reno to whom Marty Smartt allegedly made a confession. The therapist told officials that he had contacted the police when Smartt initially admitted to the murder of Sue Sharp. 

  The therapist - a counselor at a Veteran’s Hospital - maintained Smartt’s confession occurred only weeks after the deaths at Cabin 28. Reportedly, Smartt also admitted culpability in Tina’s death and explained he attacked her to leave no witnesses. Smartt allegedly stated that his primary target was Sue because she interfered with his marriage. 

  Throughout his sessions, Smartt claimed to suffer from PTSD and mentioned that a Plumas County official, Sheriff Doug Thomas, was a good friend and former Keddie neighbor of his. 
   
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  (#11) The Case Has Given Rise To A Huge Number Of Conspiracy Theories

  Because the Keddie Cabin case has been unsolved for so long, it has generated a number of conspiracy theories. Marty Smartt was close friends with the local sheriff, and skeptics suggest that authorities worked to conceal Smartt's involvement in the crime. Later investigations show that the police work on the case was wrought with error and that authorities didn't follow every lead. Additionally, not all evidence was properly documented, such as Smartt's letter to Marilyn and the 911 recording. 

  Organized crime unit officials came to the crime scene, which added fuel to the conspiracy theory fire. People speculate that perhaps Boubede killed Sue for a mob-related reason, given his connections to the Chicago and Vegas mafias.

  Another favored accomplice is Dee Lake, who lived at the address that made the phone call to police about Tina's skull fragment. Lake was also a former vet like Smartt and reportedly drove his buddy to Reno following Smartt’s split with Marilyn. 
   
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  (#8) There Were Two Primary Suspects

  Sue reportedly was romantically involved with various men, and while many were questioned, none were pinpointed as major suspects. Instead, police turned their gaze towards Marty Smartt and his friend Severin John Boubede, also known as "Bo." Both men lived close to the Sharps, in Cabin 26, and Sue was friends with Marty's long-abused wife, Marilyn. 

  Having left an abusive marriage herself, Sue encouraged Marilyn to leave Marty. He didn't like Sue's interference, and people believe that he enlisted an ex-con and possible mobster, Boubede, to kill her.

  Additionally, Marty was Justin Smartt's step-father, which investigators theorized may be why the boys' room was never disturbed. A few months after the murders, Marty moved to Reno, Nevada, and allegedly left his wife an incriminating letter. However, neither Smartt nor Boubede were arrested.
   

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