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

Terry Caffey (Author), James H. Pence (Contributor)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 23, 2009

At 3:00 a.m. on March 1, 2008, Terry Caffey awoke to find his daughter’s boyfriend standing in his bedroom with a gun. An instant later the teen opened fire, killing Terry’s wife, his two sons, and wounding him 12 times, before setting the house ablaze. Terry fell into deep depression and planned to kill himself, but God intervened. Upon visiting his burned-out property, Terry noticed a scorched scrap of paper from one of his wife’s books leaning against a tree trunk. The page read: “[God,] I couldn’t understand why You would take my family and leave me behind to struggle along without them. And I guess I still don’t totally understand that part of it. But I do believe that You’re sovereign; You’re in control.” That page was like a direct message from God, and it turned Terry’s life around. Now, one year later, Terry is remarried, the adoptive father of two young sons, and working to rebuild his relationship with his 17-year-old daughter, who is currently serving two life sentences in a Texas state penitentiary for her involvement in the crimes.
Terror by Night tells the compelling story of how Terry Caffey found peace after his wife and sons were brutally murdered and his teenage daughter implicated in the crime. Sharing never-before-told details about the night of the crime and subsequent murder trial, it explains how Terry was able to forgive the men who murdered his family, and how he even interceded with the prosecutors on their behalf. A powerful example of how the power of forgiveness can bring healing after tragedy and great loss, it shows how God can bring good out of even the darkest tragedies.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

In one evening, Terry Caffey lost everything. His wife, Penny, and his sons, Matthew and Tyler, were brutally murdered; his home was burned to the ground, and his sixteen-year-old daughter, Erin, was in jail, charged with three counts of capital murder.

In one year’s time, God would restore it all.

At 3:00 a.m. on March 1, 2008, Terry Caffey awoke to find his daughter’s former boyfriend standing in the bedroom doorway with a gun. An instant later the teen opened fire, killing Terry’s wife and wounding Terry six times. As he slipped toward unconsciousness, Terry heard his son crying upstairs. More gunfire followed. When he regained consciousness, he felt the searing heat of his burning house.

Terry knew it was too late to save his family, but he had one thing to do before he died. He fought to stay awake and escaped the burning house through a bathroom window. As Terry stumbled and crawled four hundred yards through pitch darkness, he asked God to keep him alive long enough to identify the killer, and then to let him die.

God allowed Terry to identify the murderer, but He didn’t let Terry die.

What happened next is nothing short of miraculous.

Terror by Night is the emotionally gripping story of a daughter’s ultimate betrayal, a father’s unfathomable forgiveness, and a miraculous discovery that would restore one man’s faith, spare two young lives, and restore peace to a small Texas town. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

About the Author

Terry Caffey lives in Wills Point, Texas, with his wife, Sonja, and their two sons, Blake and Tanner. Since the tragic loss of his first wife, Penny, and their sons, Matthew and Tyler, he has gone into full-time ministry, speaking and reaching out to others who have suffered unspeakable tragedy and sharing his personal message of God’s faithfulness. Terry continues to visit his daughter, Erin, regularly and remains steadfast in his belief that she did not mastermind the plot to kill her family. 

 

James H. Pence is a full-time professional writer, editor, and Web designer living near Dallas, Texas. James came to know the Caffey family when Terry’s daughter, Erin, and her brother Tyler enrolled in James’s “Karate for Homeschoolers” class. Through the karate class, James got to know both Terry and Penny. He later gave Penny a copy of his novel Blind Sight, the source of the mysterious scorched page that Terry found in the aftermath of the fire and credits with turning his life around following the loss of his family.

--This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Tyndale House Books; 1 edition (September 23, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1414334761
• ISBN-13: 978-1414334769
• Product Dimensions: 6.4 x 1 x 9.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (89 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #106,326 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

46 of 46 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars More Inspiration than True Crime December 2, 2009

By Kim Cantrell

Format:Hardcover

On March 1, 2008, author Terry Caffey's life changed forever.

Caffey and his wife of almost 19 years had set firm rules with their sixteen-year-old daughter, Erin, in regards to her romantic relationship with eighteen-year-old Charlie Wilkinson.

She saw only one way to escape her parents rigidity: their death.

And on that fateful night, Penny Caffey would die; along with her two young sons: Matthew, 13 and Tyler, 8. Erin's father Terry would (barely) survive.

Terror By Night is Caffey's first hand account of the events that would change his life in ways he could have never imagined.

From a true crime readers standpoint, it's an interesting case but only about half the book is dedicated to the actual crime.

Terror By Night should be approached with the mindset for which it was intended: inspirational.

Readers are invited into the heart and soul of a man who lost (literally) everything and struggles to understand why while coping with a daughter's betrayal.

If you're looking for strictly the cold, hard facts of the crime, this book probably isn't for you. If, however, you enjoy a story brought forth by survival and hope, then I highly recommend Terror By Night from Terry Caffey.

51 of 58 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Well ... February 4, 2010

By Vibiana

Format:Hardcover

HERE BE SPOILERS.

This book was published a bare year after the crime occurred. Here's a brief timeline of events:

2/20/2008 - Author's elderly father dies (of natural causes)
3/1/2008 - Author's wife and two sons are slain, and he is critically injured, and the family home is burned to the ground. At first, the assumption is that the author's teenage daughter also died, but within hours she is located unharmed, subsequently arrested, and charged with involvement in the murders (along with her boyfriend, another young man, and another young woman--all teenagers)
Summer 2008 - Author begins courting a colleague
10/25/2008 - Author marries colleague
December 2008 - Author's daughter and the others involved in the killings enter guilty pleas and are sentenced to varying terms up to LWOP. The daughter herself will be ineligible for parole until the author is 84 years old, assuming he lives that long, and she is 59

Unlike others whom the author says have attacked him online for being in denial about his daughter's role in the deaths of his first wife and sons; for not "doing enough" to get them out of the house that night (he was critically injured, duh!); for courting another woman and remarrying too soon; for forgiving his daughter and the other people involved ... I make no attack. I do, however, wish to note that the author has gone through an absolute wind tunnel of cataclysmic events in a very short period of time, and frankly, doesn't seem to be giving himself much time for the dust to settle. I would be interested in reading a sequel to this book in, say, seven or eight years. Since the book is a Christian testimony, not a true crime account, maybe it's more likely to be forthcoming.

30 of 33 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Page Turner September 30, 2009

By Rachel Randolph

Format:Hardcover

I got home from a long trip on Saturday evening and was exhausted. I opened my mail and saw that I'd received my copy of Terror by Night, but I set it aside thinking I would fall asleep right then if I started reading. Later that night, closer to bed time, I picked up the book to wind down and before I knew it it was 1am and I was still awake and half way through the book. The next night I did the same thing and finished it after midnight. I knew a lot of Terry's story from the media and through an opportunity I had to meet him in person, so I didn't think it would be a page turner for me, but it really pulled me in.

I had my tissues close, but I was surprised and relieved that the tears came more in the tender moments than in the terror-filled ones. Terry really let himself be vulnerable in sharing his journey to overcoming a real life nightmare. You'll just want to hug him when he "loses his marble" and really nearly loses his marbles.

I could hear the story about the burnt page that Terry found 100 times and never cease to be amazed by God's presence in his life and the joy in knowing that He has placed "pages" in my life, too. Terry doesn't hide the fact that he wanted to turn from God, he stopped praying, and he struggled to praise a God that let's things like this happen. When we think He's not here or that our problems don't matter, or we've lost hope all together, He's there, turning over every page to get to our heart.