True Crime with Rachel Shannon
Teen Killer Realizes She's Been Caught in HORRENDOUS Family Annihilation Plot
12 Dec 2025
Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
911, what's the address of your emergency?
This is Tommy Gaston. I've got a man that's been shot out here at my house.
Okay, so he's been shot?
Yes.
When did this happen?
I don't know. Just a little bit ago. And we've also got a house on fire out here. And the house is on fire?
Today we are discussing a case that unravels the very fabric of family trust. In the quiet woods of Alba, Texas, the Caffey family lived a peaceful lifestyle full of music, laughter, and love. The children grew up in a strict household, which eventually led to one of them acting out and budding a forbidden teen romance.
But that normal teen rebellion turned much darker, and before long, an entire family would be left in the wake of unspeakable destruction. What one group of teens thought was the perfect crime would soon blow up in their faces as they left behind a survivor who went on to expose the whole thing. buckle up because this case is an absolutely wild ride.
Erin Michelle Caffey was the oldest of three children born to parents Penny and Terry Caffey. The family lived in a cabin deep within the woods just outside of Alba in a rural community in Texas. At the time, Aaron was a 15-year-old high schooler.
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Chapter 2: What events led to the Caffey family's tragic fate?
Now, it was said that the Caffey parents were protective over their children, especially Aaron, maybe even too protective. When the boys were in elementary school and Aaron was in middle school, the family moved to Alba from Celeste, a town located about an hour away.
The kids were initially enrolled in public school, but apparently there was an incident where a girl was showing interest in Erin and even tried kissing her. At the time, Erin was known as always having trouble in school anyways. She was pretty social and thrived at school in that sense, but she always struggled with her grades and seemed to lag a bit behind her peers.
Eventually, she was diagnosed with ADHD, which made it tough to learn in a regular school environment. So only about a month into public school in Alba, Penny and Terry pulled the kids out of school, and for the following three years, the children were homeschooled.
partly because they didn't want negative influences to corrupt their kids, but also because they felt that Erin may benefit from a more one-on-one approach to learning. For the three years that followed, the kids remained in homeschool.
Those outside the family described that the kids were pretty shy, not the most social, I mean they weren't really getting much social interaction outside the home, though they were well-mannered, polite, and generally very pleasant to be around. Now, the family were known around their community for being deeply involved in their local church, Miracle Faith Baptist Church.
Terry worked as a home health aide and lay preacher for the church. In homeschool, the kids were taught a religion-based curriculum. They attended Bible study every Wednesday night and went to church every Sunday morning. There, the family played gospel songs with Penny on the piano, Aaron singing vocals, Matthew playing guitar, and Tyler on harmonica.
Those who attended the church said that the family were amazing at what they did. They really brought the music to life, and everyone at the church couldn't help but have huge smiles on their faces any time the family played. By July of 2007, Aaron turned 16 years old, which meant newfound freedom. She got her driver's license.
She got an old Chevy pickup truck to drive and started working as a car hop at the local Sonic restaurant. There, those around Erin said that she flourished socially. She had always been a social girl in public school until she started homeschool. But now that she was working, she had the chance to meet new friends again.
She was the only one who delivered the food on actual roller skates, and she was young, beautiful, and upbeat. She had these striking blue eyes, blonde hair, and a gentle smile. Boys would often line up their cars on her side of the restaurant just so they could talk to her.
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Chapter 3: How did Erin Caffey's relationship with Charlie Wilkinson begin?
You know, what did they know? Charlie is so great. They just don't get him. But I do. I get him. So every afternoon, Charlie would stop by Sonic and spend time with Aaron during her break. Then he started attending church every Sunday, marking himself as a devout member who is putting in the work to worship and impress Aaron's parents.
Eventually, they did start letting Charlie come over to the house. On the weekdays, he could hang out with Erin and her brothers or come inside for family dinner. Erin's curfew was 9pm, so Charlie was out the door by that time every night. She also wasn't allowed to talk on the phone past that time every night. On the weekends, though, she could either talk to him or hang out with him until 11pm.
Terry even started letting Charlie take Aaron out for dinners as long as he brought her back by curfew. Even though they weren't ecstatic about their teenage daughter having a boyfriend, they accepted him enough and were starting to feel okay loosening the reins just a little bit as they got to know him more.
By the end of that year, in December of 2007, the Caffey kids convinced their parents to enroll them back in public school. They all missed their friends, and Penny was thinking about going back to work to earn the family some extra money. So once starting school, though, Aaron and Charlie grew inseparable. They were often seen walking hand in hand down the hallway. They ate lunch together.
and would find time during the day to slip out and hang out in Aaron's truck. According to Charlie's friends, he was totally infatuated with Aaron. She's all he talked about. The two continued their relationship when just a few days after Christmas, they managed to find some time alone at a friend's house. There, they slept together for the first time.
This seemed to really seal the deal for Charlie because shortly after that, Charlie gave Erin his grandmother's engagement ring. He was not officially proposing, but he was making a promise to her. Of course, Erin started wearing the ring around, so her parents noticed it pretty much right away.
When they did, they demanded that she take it off, feeling that she was way too young to have some boy promise himself to her. That next Sunday when Terry saw Charlie at church, he pulled him aside and told him how inappropriate that gesture was. He said that no boy is going to be promising himself to his 16-year-old daughter.
From there, the Caffys started restricting how much time the couple got to spend together. Charlie was allowed over to the house once per week under their direct supervision. No more taking her out for dinner or hanging out in the yard without them there. These restrictions lasted a few months after that and they absolutely infuriated Erin.
She started talking to her aunt about how she wanted to run away with Charlie when she turned 17. She started getting into these intense heated arguments with her parents, especially her mother Penny. Once, she called Charlie in tears saying that Penny slapped her during an argument.
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Chapter 4: What were the warning signs of trouble in Erin's life?
When did this happen?
I don't know. Just a little bit ago. And we've also got a house on fire out here.
And the house is on fire? Is the assailant still nearby?
I don't know any more details. I've got to hang up and help him.
Sir, I have to ask you these questions. Okay, is there any serious bleeding?
Yes, he's bleeding.
Okay, is he completely awake?
Yes, he's awake.
Okay, what part of the body was injured?
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Chapter 5: How did the Caffey family's dynamics contribute to the tragedy?
They just sort of happened to notice his truck there before they knew anything about the situation. So knowing that, an officer headed over to Matthew's place where they were greeted by a teenager who let them inside. Fisher walked through the trailer until he eventually reached Matthew's room. He and his girlfriend were in there asleep, Starling awake to see a cop standing in their room.
Matthew then directed him to where Charlie was sleeping. When entering the room Charlie was in, he found that Charlie was lying on a mattress, wide awake, wearing only jeans and no shirt. Next to him lay a semi-automatic handgun. Fisher asked to see Charlie's hands before leading him outside to the porch where he put Charlie in cuffs.
He allowed Charlie to grab his cowboy boots, then read him his rights and told him he was being taken into the station for questioning. He informed Charlie that the Caffey family had been attacked, but Charlie remained quiet. He hung his head and followed the officer to the car. Once outside, the sun started coming up and officers noticed what looked like blood spatter on Charlie's boots.
As that was happening, firefighters and other first responders were at the Caffey home working tirelessly to put out that fire. By that point, the fire had burned so long that the home was down to its foundation. Finally, later that morning, as the sun was up and the temperature started to rise, the fire was finally put out.
At that time, officers could finally make their way inside and saw exactly what happened there. Upon searching through the rubble, they ended up finding three bodies. 38-year-old Penny Caffey, 13-year-old Matthew, and 8-year-old Tyler. After making these heartbreaking discoveries, their bodies were sent to the medical examiner for an autopsy.
There it was found that Penny had been shot multiple times as well as stabbed in the neck so deeply that she had nearly been decapitated. Matthew was also shot while Tyler had been stabbed to death. Their bodies were also very badly burned so they weren't sure whether they were killed from their wounds or the fire.
However, some reports say that it is believed they were alive when the house was set on fire. Meanwhile, Terry was in the hospital undergoing treatment for his extensive injuries. As I said, he had been shot a total of five times. As a result, he sustained a broken nose, two fractured cheekbones, and some nerve damage in his right arm.
But after an extensive stay in the hospital, doctors told him that he could go home. By that point though, he didn't have a home or even a family. His house was burned down and his family was all dead. He went on to say that he contemplated different ways to take his own life because he just couldn't bear the pain. But he eventually turned to the Bible and found the strength to carry on.
He bought an RV and returned to the property where his home once stood. There, he stayed for several months as detectives worked to find justice for what happened. Now going back to the original scene, detectives went back over to the trailer where they first arrested Charlie. They went into that room which was poorly lit so they had to open the blinds to the room to bring in a bit of light.
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