Young Jamie Silvonek might have only been 14, but her intelligence and grown-up mannerisms defied her age. Adults spoke to her like an equal and her teachers accelerated her learning.
So when the young blonde caught the eye of an army cadet at a music gig in Pennsylvania in October 2014, Jamie had no problem persuading him she was about to turn 18.
Caleb Barnes was 20, and very taken with Jamie. She lived in Allentown and soldier Caleb was based two hours away in Fort Meade, Maryland, but they started a long-distance relationship.
However, Jamie soon had to admit that she was only 14. Caleb agreed to keep their relationship a
secret and they sneaked around, hiding the relationship from Jamie’s parents, Cheryl and David.
But after five months Cheryl, 54, caught the couple in bed together in the basement of her home. Cheryl was furious and threw Caleb out, threatening to report him to the police for sex with an underage girl.
"If she calls the cops, I’ll lose my job," Caleb texted Jamie in a panic.
Jamie didn’t want to lose her boyfriend, so she tried to persuade her mum that Caleb was 16. Caleb even bought a fake birth certificate online.
"I feel like with my skills I can convince her to give you another shot," Jamie texted Caleb. "I need to regain my mother’s trust by convincing her you are really 16."
Jamie was clever, but Cheryl was no fool and told her daughter to stop seeing Caleb. Still, Jamie refused to give him up.
She had tickets to go and watch the rock band Breaking Benjamin with Caleb and she told her mum that she had to go.
"I feel so desolate, mother," she texted her. "My excitement for this had been the only thing getting me through. I’m going to have a mental breakdown. I need this."
Cheryl reluctantly agreed that she could go – but insisted that she drive them. Jamie knew she’d won this battle, but there would be more to come. In the week leading up to the concert, Caleb and Jamie exchanged more text messages.
"She needs to go, Caleb, right now," she wrote. One from Caleb read: "I have knives picked out."
"Just do it," Jamie wrote.
On the night of 14 March 2015, Cheryl drove the pair to the concert and went back in the early hours of the next morning to pick them up. Then she disappeared.
A few hours later, her SUV was found submerged in a pond a few miles from her home. It was covered in her blood. Police found her body nearby in a snow-covered shallow grave.
When police arrived at Cheryl’s home, her husband David had been looking for her. Jamie and Caleb were found naked in bed together – David didn’t even know Caleb was there.
"He’s a friend that mum knows about," Jamie told her dad.
Jamie and Caleb were arrested. An autopsy revealed that Cheryl had been beaten, strangled and stabbed five times. One stab wound pierced an artery, spraying blood throughout her car. She’d valiantly fought back, but had been overpowered.
When questioned, Jamie’s story changed countless times. She said Caleb had raped her, then said she’d covered up the crime because he’d threatened her. But there were text messages between Jamie and Caleb in the car driving back from the concert talking about going through with their plan.
Caleb said he’d killed Jamie’s mum so they could be together, and revealed that she’d begged for her life in her final moments.
"Just take my daughter," she had cried. "If you want her, take her."
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