On Christmas Eve of 2007, a festive gathering turned into a scene of unimaginable horror in a rural home near Carnation, Washington, where 32-year-old Caucasian female, Erica Mantle Anderson, was tragically killed. The day was meant for holiday celebration, but it ended in a brutal massacre that claimed the lives of three generations of the Anderson family.
Erica, along with her husband Scott Anderson, also 32, and their two young children, five-year-old Olivia and three-year-old Nathan, had arrived at the home of Scott's parents, Wayne and Judy Anderson, for a Christmas celebration. Unbeknownst to them, Scott's younger sister, Michele Kristen Anderson, and her boyfriend, Joseph Thomas McEnroe, had already murdered Wayne and Judy Anderson inside the residence.
The motive for this horrific act was rooted in financial disputes. Michele Anderson, then 29, was reportedly angry with her parents for asking her to pay rent for the mobile home she lived in on their property and was also furious with her brother, Scott, over money she claimed he owed her. Armed with handguns, Michele and her 29-year-old boyfriend, Joseph McEnroe, first shot and killed her parents. They then cleaned the home and awaited the arrival of Scott, Erica, and their children. When the family arrived, Michele Anderson shot her brother multiple times.
In the ensuing chaos, Erica Anderson was shot but managed to make a brief 9-1-1 call. The call, however, was cut short when McEnroe took the phone from her, smashed it, and removed the batteries. Tragically, Erica’s pleas for the lives of her children were ignored. McEnroe delivered the fatal shot to Erica before shooting and killing both Olivia and Nathan. The perpetrators later stated they killed the children to eliminate witnesses, believing the children would be scarred for life having seen their parents murdered.
The bodies were discovered two days later, on December 26, after a coworker of Judy Anderson went to the home to check on her and saw the bodies through a window. Michele Anderson and Joseph McEnroe were arrested that same day when they drove up to the property while detectives were on the scene. They both eventually confessed to the six murders. Following their arrests, both were charged with six counts of aggravated first-degree murder. Joseph McEnroe was found guilty in 2015 and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Michele Anderson was also found guilty on all six counts in 2016 and received the same sentence of life in prison without parole.
