Terry Caffey - Terror by Night: The True Story of the Brutal Texas Murder That Destroyed a Family, Restored One Mans Faith, and Shocked a Nation

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Terror by Night: The True Story of the Brutal Texas Murder That Destroyed a Family, Restored One Mans Faith, and Shocked a Nation

Copyright 2009 by Terry Caffey and James H. Pence. All rights reserved.

Cover photo of burned house copyright by AP Photo/The Tyler Telegraph/Mark Roberts. All rights reserved.

Cover family photo used by permission from the Caffey family collection.

Cover flap photos of Penny, Matthew, and Tyler are used by permission from the Caffey family collection.

Designed by Stephen Vosloo

Edited by Susan Taylor

Published in association with the literary agency of WordServe Literary Group, Ltd., 10152 S. Knoll Circle, Highlands Ranch, CO 80130.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the New American Standard Bible , copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. NKJV is a trademark of Thomas Nelson, Inc.

Scripture quotations marked KJV are taken from The Holy Bible , King James Version.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Caffey, Terry.

Terror by night : the true story of the brutal Texas murder that destroyed a family, restored one mans faith, and shocked a nation / Terry Caffey ; with James H. Pence.

p. cm.

ISBN 978-1-4143-3476-9 (hc)

1. Consolation. 2. SufferingReligious aspectsChristianity. 3. MurderReligious aspectsChristianity. 4. MurderTexas. 5. Caffey, Terry. I. Pence, James H. II. Title.

BV4909.C34 2009
364.1523092dc22
[B] 2009028694

Printed in the United States of America

15 14 13 12 11 10 09
7 6 5 4 3 2 1

To Penny, Bubba, and Tyler

To Michelle Lynn Pence (6/1/876/8/87)
and
Elaina Michelle Pence (6/10/09)

God, in His sovereign grace and wisdom, took our first child, Michelle Lynn, on June 8, 1987, when she was one week old.

Almost exactly twenty-two years laterjust as I was finishing this bookHe gave us our first grandchild, Elaina Michelle.

Our God is a God who restores.

Contents

I want thank my church, Miracle Faith Baptist, and the communities of Emory and Alba for all your prayers and support. I couldnt have made it without you.

To Tommy and Helen (Paw and Maw) Gaston: Thank you for all your love and support for Penny and the kids down through the years.

Brother Andy Russell of Martin Baptist Church in New Albany, Mississippi, you have been my brother in Christ, mentor, and friend. Thanks for giving me the boost that I needed in my ministry.

Many thanks to Rodney Gipson and family for all you have done. Our fishing trip in May of 2008 changed my life. You have been there for me when so many were nowhere to be found. Thanks for listening when I needed an ear.

No words can express my love for you, Brother Terry Dowty. You have become the brother that I never had. Thank you for being there so many times when I needed a friend, even at three in the morning.

I want to thank Pennys parents, Larry and Virginia Daily. We have been through so much together, and by Gods grace we will carry on. You raised a wonderful daughter, and it showed by her devotion to me and her love for our children. Ill always be thankful for the years we all shared together.

Last, but certainly not least, I want to thank my new family: Sonja, Blake, and Tanner. I couldnt imagine going through this without your love and support. You have seen me through so much. You have helped me realize what it means to love again. You were there as I spent long hours and reopened many wounds while working on this project. For that I will be eternally grateful.

The longer I write, the better I understand that, while mine is a solitary profession, I would never be able to bring a project to completion without the help of countless others.

Thanks to my agent, Greg Johnson, for doing a great job in representing both Terry and me, and for all your hard work in finding a home for Terror by Night .

Thanks to Carol Traver and all at Tyndale for working so hard to produce Terror by Night in record time.

During the writing process, I had to step back from my Karate for Homeschoolers classes in order to have more time to write. A special thanks to my wife, Laurel, and my daughter Charlene for taking over the administrative duties. Also thanks to my black-belt assistant instructors: Glen Dempsey and Ruger Carstens, and to the brown belts who helped them: Alec Barrett, Gary Casey, Joseph Lostritto, Rachelle Lostritto, and Hannah McKinney. The classes didnt miss a beat, and I have you all to thank. You did an awesome job.

To my mentor, Cec Murphey: Thanks for believing in me and for challenging me to grow as a writer.

To my wife, Laurel: Thanks for being my number one encourager, first reader, and editor. I couldnt do it without you.

Thanks to everyone who prayed for Terry and me while this project was ongoing. Your prayers were a constant source of encouragement.

Finally, thanks to Terry Caffey for choosing me to help you write your story. Ive had the joy of knowing both of your families, and it was a great privilege for me to be a part of this project.

You have delivered my soul from death,
My eyes from tears,
And my feet from falling.
I will walk before the LORD
In the land of the living.
PSALM 116:8-9 ( NKJV )

AFTER I LOST my precious wife and family, along with everything I owned, the last thing I wanted to hear was that God would work all things together for good because I loved Him and was called according to His purpose. I wasnt angry with God. Not at first, anyway. But I did feel like Hed abandoned me. In the weeks following the brutal murders of my wife, Penny, and my two sons, Matthew and Tyler, and the arrest of my daughter, Erin, I entered into a time of spiritual and emotional darkness that I wouldnt have dreamed possible only a few months before. I felt as if the doors of heaven were shut and God was the One whod closed them.

I couldnt understand that. I had dedicated my life to serving Him.

Despite some struggles with our daughter Erin and her choice of boyfriends, Penny and I had entered into 2008 very optimistic about the future. Soon after we were married in 1989, wed started working with the youth in our church. That continued when we were at Miracle Faith Baptist Church several years later. During that time, I sensed God calling me to a broader ministry. I did some pulpit supply for local pastors, and the more I preached the more I felt that God wanted me to move in this direction. After Id been preaching for several years, my church made plans to formally ordain me for ministry. They set the time of my ordination for April 2008. I still wasnt sure if I was going to be a pastor or an evangelist. All I knew was that I intended to serve God.

I wanted my family to serve Him, too. When we moved out to our twelve-acre property in Alba, Texas, our neighbor and dear friend Tommy Gaston presented us with a split cedar log. On it, hed inscribed our family name, The Caffeys, in large letters. Below that, he added the Bible reference Joshua 24:15.