Keddie Cabin Murders Crime Scene Photos: What They Actually Reveal About the 1981 Mystery

Plumas County is quiet. Too quiet, sometimes. If you drive up into the Sierra Nevada mountains toward the old resort town of Keddie, you can almost feel the weight of what happened in Cabin 28. It’s been decades. April 11, 1981, changed everything for this little pocket of California. People still obsess over the details because the brutality was just... off the charts. When you look into the Keddie cabin murders crime scene photos, or at least the ones that have been made public over the years, you aren't just looking at evidence. You’re looking at a puzzle that was mishandled from day one.

It was a bloodbath.

The morning of April 12, 14-year-old Sheila Sharp walked into her family’s rental and found her mother, Sue Sharp, her brother John, and his friend Dana Wingate. They were bound. They were dead. But the most haunting part? Her sister Tina was gone. The scene was chaotic, messy, and frankly, a nightmare for the under-equipped local sheriff's office.

The Brutal Reality of the Keddie Cabin Murders Crime Scene Photos

Most true crime fans expect high-resolution, modern forensics. Forget that. We’re talking 1981. The Keddie cabin murders crime scene photos are grainy, stark, and deeply unsettling. They show a living room that had become a slaughterhouse.

One thing that sticks out immediately is the sheer amount of blood on the walls and furniture. It wasn't a quick "in and out" job. The killers spent time there. Investigators found two bloody hammers and a steak knife that had been used so violently the blade was bent at a 25-degree angle. You can see the placement of these tools in the photos, lying near the bodies like discarded toys.

There’s a weird contrast in the house. While the living room was a wreck, three other children—Sheila’s younger brothers and their friend—were asleep in a nearby bedroom, completely unharmed. They claimed they slept through it. How? That’s the question that drives people crazy. If you look at the floor plan and the crime scene photos showing the proximity of the bedrooms to the living room, it seems impossible.

The photos also document the ligatures. The victims were bound with medical tape and electrical cord. This suggests premeditation. Someone brought those supplies. They didn't just snap; they planned.

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Why the Evidence Is So Controversial

Basically, the investigation was a disaster. It’s well-documented that the Plumas County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO) at the time was out of its depth. Some even say they were complicit.

Take the hammers, for instance. One hammer went missing for decades. It was "lost" in the evidence room only to be found in 2016 by Special Investigator Greg Hagwood and Mike Gamberg. Think about that. A primary murder weapon sat in a box for thirty-five years while the case went cold.

• The back door was left open.
• The neighborhood was close-knit, yet nobody "heard" anything except for maybe a couple of muffled screams.
• The crime scene photos show a level of overkill that usually suggests a personal motive.

There’s a specific photo of the floor where you can see the "blood trail" and the way the furniture was rearranged. It looks like a struggle took place over a significant area. This wasn't a stealthy assassination. It was a brawl.

The Disappearance of Tina Sharp

The most heartbreaking part of the Keddie cabin murders crime scene photos is what they don't show. They don't show 12-year-old Tina. For three years, she was just a missing person. It wasn't until 1984 that her skull was found in Butte County, miles away.

The discovery of her remains actually added a layer of suspicion toward the initial investigation. An anonymous tipster called in the location of the remains, but the recording of that call was "misplaced" by the sheriff's office. It’s these kinds of details that make the crime scene photos feel like pieces of a much larger, darker cover-up. Honestly, it’s frustrating. You have the visual proof of the violence, but the paperwork behind it is full of holes.

Justin Smart and the "Dream"

Justin Smart was one of the boys who survived in the bedroom. He later underwent hypnosis—a controversial tactic even then. He described a "dream" that was actually a memory of the killings. He described two men. One had a mustache, one was clean-shaven.

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When you compare his descriptions to the Keddie cabin murders crime scene photos, specifically the way the bodies were positioned and the types of knots used on the cords, the details line up. He mentioned seeing the attackers "covering" the bodies with blankets. The crime scene photos confirm that the victims were indeed covered.

The Suspects: Marty and Bo

If you’ve spent five minutes on a true crime forum, you know the names Marty Smartt and "Bo" Boubede. Marty lived in Cabin 26. He was a guy with a temper. He was also a friend of the local sheriff.

A letter surfaced years later. Marty wrote to his wife, Marilyn: "I've paid the price of your love & now I've bought it with four lives."

Wait. Why wasn't this the "smoking gun"?

Because the letter wasn't "discovered" until the case was reopened decades later. It’s absurd. The crime scene photos show a messy, amateurish crime, and the suspects were right there, practically handing over confessions. Marty even complained to a counselor that he had killed Sue Sharp because she was interfering in his marriage. The counselor reported it. The police... did nothing.

Technical Details and Forensics

Let's get technical for a second. The forensics of 1981 were mostly blood typing and fingerprinting. DNA wasn't a thing yet.

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The Keddie cabin murders crime scene photos show several areas where fingerprints were lifted, but many were unusable due to the sheer volume of blood. However, modern technology has changed the game. When Hagwood and Gamberg took over the cold case, they sent off evidence for new testing. They found DNA on a piece of medical tape used to bind the victims. It didn't match the Sharp family.

It matched a known associate of the primary suspects who is still alive.

This is why the photos still matter. They provide the "map" for where new forensic techniques can be applied. If you know exactly where a piece of tape was found on John Sharp's wrist, you can contextualize the DNA found on it.

Misconceptions About the Photos

People often think the crime scene photos are available in some high-def gallery online. They aren't. Most of what circulates are scans of old police prints. Some are black and white; some are color with that weird, faded 80s tint.

Another misconception? That the photos prove there was a "cult" involved. While the crime was ritualistic in its brutality, there’s zero hard evidence in the photos of occult symbols or anything of that nature. It was just raw, human ugliness. The "ritual" was likely just the result of two men who were high, angry, and incredibly violent.

What You Can Do Now

If you are looking into the Keddie murders, don't just stare at the photos and wonder. The case is technically still open, though many of the primary players are dead.

• Research the 2016 updates: Look into the work of Mike Gamberg. He did more in two years than the previous administration did in thirty.
• Study the "Lost" Hammer: Understand how the recovery of the hammer at the bottom of a pond near the resort changed the timeline of the suspects' movements.
• Visit the Keddie 28 site (Virtually): The cabin itself was torn down in 2004, but the foundation and the layout of the resort are still documented in historical records.

The Keddie cabin murders crime scene photos are a grim reminder of a night when a family was destroyed. They serve as a testament to the fact that without proper police work, even the most obvious evidence can't bring justice. The best way to honor the victims—Sue, John, Dana, and Tina—is to stick to the facts and keep the pressure on for a final, official resolution.

Check out the Plumas County archives or the "Keddie28" research sites for the most accurate, non-sensationalized documents. Those sources provide the context that the photos alone cannot. Real investigation isn't about the gore; it's about the patterns. Look for the patterns.