It’s been over four decades since the Keddie Cabin Murders (or the murders of the Sharp family) took place in Keddie, California. A town in Northern California surrounded by forests and other cabins.

Going clockwise are Sue Sharp, John Sharp, Dana Whitegate, and Tina Sharp.

On April 12th, 1981, 14-year-old Sheila Sharp returned to her family cabin, Cabin 28 of the Keddie Resort Keddie, California after a sleep-over with a friend who lived in the same resort as her own families cabin. As she opened the door, she screamed as she discovered the bodies of her mother, Glenna “Sue” Sharp, older brother John Sharp, and family friend Dana Wingate, in the living room. Sheila quickly returned to her friend’s cabin, who lived in Cabin 27, to call for help. In the midst of the commotion, Sheila was able to have her younger brothers, Greg and Ricki, as well as their friend Justin Smartt, climb out of the home threw a window without them seeing the crime scene. The police arrived at the scene and discovered two knives (one was bent) and a hammer. Authorities believed that Tina Sharp, the final Sharp child, was not at the house, and was believed to be kidnapped. Investigators believed that Tina was the main target of the attack. They gained this idea using testimony from Justin Smartt’s recollections of that night. However, Smartt’s story was conflicted, as he claimed he saw the murders and was dreaming (Wade, 2021).

On April 22nd, 1984, Tina Sharp’s remains were discovered nearly 100 miles from Keddie, based on a tip phone call to police. This phone call oddly enough identified the skull as Tina’s. However, this call was not investigated until a new detective was brought onto the case (Wade, 2021).

In this case, there were two main suspects. Martin Smartt, and his friend/roommate John “Bo” Boubdede. Martin Smartt is Justin Smartt’s father, who lived two cabins away from the Sharp home. Some say that Martin was abusive towards his wife and Justin’s mother, Marilyn. Marilyn allegedly discussed her situation with Sue Sharp. Some point to this as a motive. In addition, Martin left for Reno, Nevada shortly after the murders took place. Law enforcement believed that this was the work of multiple people, hence Bo’s involvement. Bo was an ex-convict. Around the time of the murders, Marty claimed he lost a hammer that was found near the crime scene, using a metal detector (Wade, 2021). The suspect list pretty much stops there. Many believe that the police did an inadequate job, like not fully checking out leads, fumbling over evidence, etc.

It is noteworthy to mention that Sue Sharp had left an abusive relationship in 1980, which is why the family had moved to Keddie in the first place (Sue’s ex-husband had an alibi- which is why he is not a suspect).

In 2013, the case was reopened by Sheriff Greg Hagwood and Investigator Mike Gamberg. While reorganizing files, a letter from Martin Smartt to Marilyn was found, and essentially confessed to the murders. He claims that he “…paid the price of your love and now that I’ve bought it with four people’s lives…” (The Disturbing Murders at Keddie Cabin). Marilyn states that she does not remember receiving the letter, but acknowledges that this was his handwriting. If this letter is credible, the case is closed. A tape of the phone call leading to Tina’s remains, and the 9/11 call also sat in a box in evidence. This is currently being reanalyzed. In addition, around the time of the murders, Marty claimed he lost a hammer that was found near the crime scene, using a metal detector. Finally, Marty’s therapist in Reno, slipped that Marty had told him that he had murdered the Sharp family (The Disturbing Murders at Keddie Cabin). Currently, no arrests have been made and the case remains unsolved.

In my opinion, Marty did it. He may have been afraid that Sue was helping his wife leave him, and wanted to prevent it.

Works cited

Madison Wade. “Murder in Cabin 28: Why Detectives Say They Are Closer than Ever to Solving the Keddie Murders Case: Unsolved California.” abc10.Com, 17 Apr. 2021, www.abc10.com/article/news/crime/true-crime/murder-in-cabin-28-keddie-murders-unsolved-california/103-1e3e7671-8c2c-4f4c-abb3-fae3ae07425e.

“The Disturbing Murders at Keddie Cabin.” BuzzFeed Unsolved Network, BuzzFeed, 22 Sept. 2017, www.youtube.com/watch?v=USL6P8haroY. Accessed 29 Mar. 2022.