Featured Image Credit: Jason Mendez/Getty Images
Topics: Piers Morgan, True crime, Crime
Alice Wade
Like him or loathe him, Piers Morgan is one of the most famous names in British television.
The former ITV Good Morning Britain host is known for sparking heated debates with interviewees and for having what some consider to be rather choice opinions.
From Andrew Tate and Kanye West to Jesse Ventura and HSTikkyTokky, Morgan has questioned dozens of controversial individuals.
But before becoming the go-to for contentious celebs, Morgan spent the 2010s building a name for himself by presenting true crime shows, such as Killer Women, Confessions of a Serial Killer and Psychopath with Piers Morgan.
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Previously, the broadcaster, who turned 61 today (March 30), revealed the worst person he ever interviewed during his 35-year-long career.
It was during this period of true crime that he met Erin Caffey, who was described as 'probably the most dangerous person in the world'. She was just 16 when, in 2008, she convinced her boyfriend Charlie Wilkinson, 18, and his friend, Charles Waid, 20, to murder her entire family after claiming that they wouldn't allow her to see him.
During a conversation with Lorraine Kelly in 2016, the chat show host was shocked to learn of Caffey's killings, claiming she looked 'innocent' and like 'butter wouldn't melt'.
But only shortly afterwards, Morgan revealed the truth.
"She basically masterminds the annihilation of her family," he told Kelly. "You know, she sends in the boyfriend with his mate while she waits outside with the mate's girlfriend, and they go in with machetes and guns.
"They kill the mother, they riddle the father with bullets, they go and kill the two younger brothers, and there was no warning, no suggestion of anything coming.
"And, you know, as I sat there, looking at her, I just thought, 'My God, you're probably the most dangerous person I've ever been this close to in my life'. And I have no explanation after an hour of interviewing her for why you did this."
After convincing her boyfriend to kill her family, Wilkinson and Waid arrived at their home in Emory, Texas, and proceeded to set fire to and stab her mother, Penny, before assassinating her brothers, Matthew, 13, and Tyler, eight, with a samurai sword.
Caffey's father, Terry, was shot several times but managed to survive by dragging his body out of the house before it was set on fire.
After being arrested, both men claimed the plan had been Caffey's idea from the start.
During her interview with Morgan on Killer Women, Caffey said: "I was shocked, angry and hurt. This was the guy [Wilkinson] I was supposed to spend the rest of my life with, and he loved me. We were going to get married.
"When I look back on it now, this was all just stupid. I mean, for what? They weren't beating me, they weren't starving me to death. I had it made."
She was sentenced to life behind bars, with a minimum of at least 40 years, while Waid and Wilkinson were also sentenced to life.
They managed to avoid death sentences based on the wishes of Caffey's father, who desperately wanted them to 'find remorse', adding that his daughter was vulnerable.
“I honestly believe she was not the mastermind,” he said. “This was a vulnerable 16-year-old girl with a controlling, psychopathic guy.
“I do forgive her. I have to forgive her.”