A Quiet Life Shattered | Fifteen

0:00Hi, 48 Hours listeners. It's me, Erin Moriarty. This week, we're doing something a little different in your 48 Hours podcast feed. I'm taking you inside one of the most chilling cases I've ever covered, the brutal murders of Claudia and Chip Maupin, a beloved couple in their golden years who were killed inside their home in Davis, California. For months, investigators had almost nothing to go on, No physical evidence, no clear suspect. They even had to look closely at members of the family. And then a tip led them somewhere almost no one expected, to a 15-year-old boy. It's the focus of my latest six-episode podcast, 15, Inside the Daniel Marsh Murders.

0:54All week long, you'll hear 15 right here in place of your regular 48 Hours episodes. You don't have to do a thing. Just keep listening every day this week. Thank you for being such loyal 48 Hours listeners. And I hope you'll join me for 15.

1:17Went to the bedroom. I opened the door. and I just kind of stood over their bed watching them sleep for a few minutes. My body was trembling. I was nervous but excited and exhilarated. I was actually going to do it. I was there. It's finally happening. I will never understand how he did what he did.

1:55My name is Victoria Hurd, and Claudia was my mother. I'm her eldest daughter. My mom was my best friend.

2:18In 1995, Claudia Moppin packed up her bags and left her home in Fairfield, California to move 30 miles northeast to Davis. In her late 50s, she was looking to start a new life. She had been single for a while, and she had decided that she was ready to settle down. When I talked to Claudia's daughter, Victoria, she was sitting with her own daughter, and they couldn't stop giggling as they recounted the move. I remember very well. It was very intentional. Oh, really? Yeah. She was ready to have a companion, and she knew that she wanted somebody smart, and she knew that she wanted somebody who lived in Davis.

3:06Claudia was fun-loving with a boisterous laugh. She wanted to be somewhere young, progressive, and full of life. And the city of Davis was kind of a paradise. Located in the Central Valley of Northern California, it's home to the University of California, Davis. It's also rich in farmland, nature preserves, and towering trees. There's greenery everywhere. Claudia was also drawn to the spirituality there. She had been a spiritual traveler through many different religions and denominations, and she just had fallen in love with the Unitarian Church. So she said to me, my husband is at the Unitarian Church.

3:59And she was right. Only a few months later, Claudia called Victoria to tell her that she had met someone there. His name, Oliver Chip Northup. He was so smart and brilliant. And they were like Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy meeting over the pews at the Unitarian Church. I mean, was this true love? I think it was true friendship. I don't think it was youthful passion. Let's put it that way. I think it was the recognition of a kindred soul. The next year, Chip and Claudia got married. The church was packed. They blended their big, loving families in a joyous ceremony. Chip had eight children, and Claudia had three.

4:46Two big families. What a gift. What an absolute gift. And we were older. We were adults when they got together. So I think both families were very appreciative that the other had come into their parents' life. Time passed, and by 2013, they had been together for 17 years. Their family had grown to include a whopping 22 grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. Claudia was 76 and Chip, 87. They had an idyllic life. They did what they wanted. They had so many loved ones around them. They had so many great neighbors. They lived in Davis.

5:35Every evening, Claudia looked forward to being home with Chip. It didn't matter what she was doing or who she was with. She'd say, 9.30, have to go home to Chip. Our programs are on. Have to get my feet rubbed. and Chip would watch with his headphones and rub my mother's feet every night. They adored each other in that way. They loved going to movies, holding hands, and just being with each other and being with each other's families. That's exactly how they were, together, on a beautiful night in April. Home from a long day of activities, Claudia and Chip left their window open as they drifted off to sleep in the cool of the evening.

6:23Hours later, a figure appeared outside their window. When you think about the terror that these two people just asleep in their own bed, where we all feel the most secure, and you wake up to this horror movie happening to you.

6:48I'm 48 Hours correspondent Erin Moriarty. I've been reporting on murder cases for over three decades. So you probably think that after all this time, I've seen it all. And actually, I thought I had too, until I encountered two senseless, inexplicable murders. Just the torture of the bodies. The postmortem cutting. You know, putting inanimate objects in their body. And the mastermind behind them. Does anybody even have the strength to do that? And why would somebody want to do that? This is 15, Inside the Daniel Marsh Murders. Episode 1, A Quiet Life Shattered.

7:44Before we begin, just a trigger warning. The following episode contains references to graphic physical violence. Please listen with care.

7:59My parents started the Unitarian Church here in Davis back in the 50s, and it was a very big part of my life growing up and theirs. And my father and mother continued to be active even after they were divorced. This is Chip's daughter, Mary Northup. When Chip met Claudia at the church he helped start, he was actually married to his second wife, Marlon, and was still on good terms with his first wife. But Marlon was now dying of cancer. He had supported her in her wish to die at home, and it had been hard for him. Claudia had started attending church while Marlon was still alive, and so she watched my father go through this and when Marlon died, she gave him a shoulder to cry on.

8:48I don't think her intent was, oh, now I'll go grab him, as much as that she was that compassionate person and she saw this and wanted to help him through that grieving. I think he was a little embarrassed because it was barely six months after his second wife had died, But we were all incredibly supportive, yeah. Chip's son, Robert Northup, said that even though his father's relationship with Claudia moved quickly, the whole family was on board. When you talk about Claudia, how would you describe Claudia? An angel who walked the earth. Really, an angel. Why do you say that? Even just the sensation you could get from a distance, just the serenity in her face, the welcoming smile, just putting people at ease, even from 50 feet away, she could do that.

9:43Chip's family knew Claudia was good for him. Chip was used to running nonstop, and Claudia reminded him to take time for the most important people in his life. And she also often acted as sort of a liaison, ensuring that he remembered to communicate with people. Because I heard he worked a lot. Yes, yes he did. Chip had spent decades working as a lawyer. Even after he retired, he still worked part-time as an appellate attorney to keep his mind sharp. His daughter Mary said he was kind and dedicated to doing the right thing. Every once in a while, there was an injustice. And it was important to him to make sure that when he found that, He did the best he could to get them a fair trial, to get them a fair hearing in the justice system.

10:36A lot of the times he told me, I get one or two years shaved off because there have been errors. That's a victory. Even in his late 80s, Chip stayed incredibly active in the broader Davis community. He had been a proud member of the Rotary Club and the school board and worked the Sunday barbecue at the county fair. He was also a founding member of a local folk band, the Pewter Creek Crawdads.

11:13He had a beautiful voice. He really had a beautiful voice. That gave him the most joy. All my siblings' kids really loved. Whenever Grandpa Chip came, they would say, sing us a song, and of course he would carry his guitar with him. He got to that point. Chip also performed music at his church, which was like a second home to both him and now Claudia. So when they didn't show up to the service that second Sunday in April, friends and family knew immediately that something was wrong.

12:01I can tell you what happened from my view. April 14th, I was supposed to be seeing my father at church. On the morning of April 14th, 2013, Chip Northup's daughter Mary and her mother, Chip's first wife Peggy, arrived at the Unitarian Church, expecting to meet Claudia and Chip there. He's part of this group, the musical group, they've been together since literally since the late 60s, part of the church. And he didn't show up and that was very unusual. It was unusual enough that my mother said to me, you need to try to find your father. So, you know, you guys have been divorced for 40 years, let it go.

12:46But it sat in my brain. So I went to try to call him, but our church is sort of out in the country here and didn't get any cell reception. So I let it go until we went home afterwards. And I called. And I called his number and I called Claudia's number. And they both went to voicemail. How unusual is that? It was very unusual. Claudia always answered her phone. Peggy then called her son, Robert. And I tried to reassure her that she was overreacting, that, you know, oh, there's all kinds of reasons he might have missed that performance. And I dutifully went to check, but everything I saw indicated they were out of town.

13:24It was evening when Robert rang his father's doorbell. No one answered. He looked through the front windows and didn't see anything out of the ordinary. I didn't realize they had their car locked in the garage. If they were home, the car would have normally been in the driveway. And then there were some newspapers piled up, and I thought, oh, that's proof that they're out of town. Robert decided if no one was home, it wasn't worth going inside, so he left. Another hour passed, but still no one could get in touch with Chip and Claudia. Around 7.30 p.m., Claudia's daughter Laura decided to visit the house.

14:08Like Robert, she rang the front doorbell, and again, no one answered. But Laura wasn't satisfied leaving it at that, she walked around the back of the house. She saw a few lights on inside, and that's when she noticed that one of the back windows wasn't just open. The screen had been meticulously cut. She stepped forward to get a closer look. She could just barely see into Chip and Claudia's shared bedroom. But even in the dim light, she could see something wasn't right. I think she saw blood stains, but she didn't see bodies. She saw enough that she made a call to get other people over there.

15:03It wasn't clear to her what had happened or whose blood it was, but it was enough to make her call 911. Several officers from the Davis Police Department arrived at the scene. They tried to get into the house, but couldn't gain entry through the front door. They went around to the back to look at what Laura thought she had seen through the window. As they shined their flashlights through the screen, it became very clear that they had stumbled upon a crime scene.

15:43Inside were two bodies, completely covered in blood. Police forced their way inside. Hours later, Laura got in touch with her sister, Victoria. And I pick up my phone, and there's 12 missed calls from my sister. And so that was really strange. I called her back, and she was sobbing. and she said, something's wrong with mom and Chip. And I said, what? What's wrong with mom and Chip? And she said, well, honey, there's been a break-in and there are two dead bodies in the house. Victoria was in disbelief. I thought somebody had broken into the house and Chip had killed them. I didn't think, I really didn't think it was Mom and Chip.

16:43And Laura didn't say that they were dead. Laura asked Victoria to pass the phone to Victoria's partner, Casey. So I'm starting to shake, right, and break down, and I run to Casey and I hand her the phone, and I sat there, just, and I'm hearing Laura talk to Casey, and I sat there and I feel myself like falling to the floor, but I don't know why I'm falling to the floor, but I'm falling and I feel her spirit. It's almost like she's standing there and she says, you have a choice in this moment. You can stay on the floor or you can get up and face this with love. It was so clear. From your mother?

17:35From my mother. And then I was like, got up. Like her words infused me. And I said, okay, let's go. Let's go right now. Did you know at that moment? I just knew that something was wrong.

17:53Victoria and Casey made their way from Sacramento to Chip and Claudia's house. We went and made the turn onto their street and the coroner's van was there. And I still didn't know. I get out of the car and I go marching to the police officer. And I said, I'm Claudia's daughter. I need to see Claudia. And he said, you can't go in there. That's a crime scene. And I got angry and started pushing him and said, I need to see my mother. I need to see my mother. She needs me. No one would tell Victoria anything. Instead, she was told to get into the police car and wait. My partner was pre-law, so she said, is she under arrest?

18:40And the officer said no. And then we said, well, we're not getting in the car. We'll meet you at the police station. And as we were getting into the car to go to the police station, I saw the coroners bringing out their bodies. And I still didn't know it was them. Victoria and Casey rushed to the Davis police station. But still, no one seemed willing to share any information with them. So Casey began asking yes or no questions. She asked, is Victoria's mother dead? And then they said yes. And then I lost it. My brain couldn't process that. I was in complete shock. She said, was Victoria's mother shot?

19:27And the officer said no. Was Victoria's mom strangled? The officer said no. Was Victoria's mother stabbed? And then the officer lowered his head, and I started screaming because I couldn't imagine. I couldn't imagine. It's impossible even now, and everything we've been through and seen, to imagine anybody doing that to somebody who was so kind and so precious. Meanwhile, Chip's children still had no idea that anything was wrong. Chip's daughter, Mary, hadn't heard anything since her brother went to check on Chip the night before. The next morning, she turned on the TV to watch the news. I noticed there was this shot with police caution tape from a tree to the garage, and it says, Double Homicide in Davis.

20:29And I'm like, wow, that's unusual. So the next time it came on, I looked at it again. I said, that looks like where my dad lived. So I paused it and rewound it, and at this point I'm calling the kids and my wife to come out and look and say, is that Grandpa Chip's place? She was finally able to see the number by the door and it confirmed the unthinkable. It was Chip and Claudia's house. She called the police to see if they could tell her what was happening. It took them about 10 minutes before they would tell me, well, yes, that is the house where they found bodies, but they wouldn't tell me it was my father.

21:13They wouldn't tell me anything. They said I had to come down to the police station. But at this point, I started calling my family because I didn't know, I didn't want the rest of my family to find out this way. That's a horrible way to find out. I literally nearly collapsed on the floor when I realized that it was their house, that I'm watching this on television. To start from there just made everything, all of the events that began to unfold, worse and worse.

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22:18It was a very unusual homicide. What do you mean? The victims were an elderly couple, which didn't seem to make a lot of sense. It was a very brutal murder. Lieutenant Paul Durashoff was one of the Davis police officers who arrived on the scene that April day. He would later become one of the leaders in the investigation. The couple was still in their bed and, you know, multiple cut, stab type murder. It was horrific, much more so than, let's say, a bullet wound. Chip had been stabbed 61 times and Claudia 67. It was something that it was up close and personal. The cause of death was clear, but the how and why would take a lot more time to determine.

23:15How did the killer or killers get in? Yeah, through the window. It didn't look like a typical burglary. There was no sign of ransacking, and nothing of value appeared to be missing. Both bodies were still in bed. No evidence that either victim tried to escape. And there was another odd thing about the crime scene. Was there a lot of evidence left behind by the killer? Not really. We were coming up pretty dry on the crime scene. Any fingerprints that seemed clearly connected? DNA left at the scene? No. Did you have the weapon? We didn't have the weapon, no. Still, while the crime scene was unusually clean, the bodies were anything but.

24:04Both victims had stab wounds everywhere. In their necks, the torso, the legs. And that wasn't even the most horrifying part. It was a very bloody scene. Right. And there were some strange details too, weren't there? Yeah, there were. There were a couple objects inside the bodies, one being a shot glass or a glass of some sort. Put inside the body. Yeah. And a cell phone in the other, right? Right. I mean, who does something like this? Like I said, we didn't know. The first thing we thought is perhaps looking at people they know that are connected, especially strongly connected to the victims where there would be feelings involved.

24:49I mean, it sounds like a lot of anger toward these people. Sounded like it, yeah. Yeah, absolutely. Police believe that whoever attacked Chip and Claudia may have had a personal vendetta. I think even one theory was because he was a defense attorney, perhaps someone who was in his life as a client that, you know, felt like they were wronged and he didn't do a good enough job fighting for them. So we were kind of looking at everything. But neither Chip nor Claudia had any obvious enemies in town. No, you know, everybody liked them. They were involved in music. They were involved with a lot of people in the community.

25:28And we were just coming up with everybody who really liked them. the police department had to start piecing together a story based on statistics and crimes they had dealt with previously. They had to ask, was one of the victims having an affair? Could they have had a falling out with a close friend or family member? Usually to us, when it's that violent, there's anger behind it, some type of feeling. You'll see it with domestic violence, family-related murders, things like that. But usually we felt like, okay, maybe there's a connection between the suspect and the victims here. With little to no evidence to lead them, the police started their investigation by looking close to home.

26:14Very close to home. I understand that they had few options. They had very, very little in the way of good evidence to work with, so they had to make the best they could with very few clues. Chip's son, Robert, was one of the first people they talked to. At that point, then, those clues pointed at us. We lived in the same town, not very far away. We would have certainly no motive, but easily had the opportunity. Coming up on the next episode of 15, Inside the Daniel Marsh Murders. And what did they think when they heard you had just cleaned the carpet? It looked like I was covering up it and removing evidence.

27:26producer. Megan Marcus is the vice president of podcast editorial for CBS. Special thanks to 48 Hours executive producer Judy Teigard, along with 48 Hours producers Judy Ryback, Stephanie Slifer, and Greg Fisher. From Goat Rodeo, this podcast was written and produced by Kara Schillen, Max Johnston, Jay Venables, Isabel Kirby McGowan, Megan Nadolsky, and Ian Enright. Additional reporting and recording by Kara Schillen. Our executive producers at Goat Rodeo are Megan Nadolsky and Ian Enright. Original theme and music by Hans Del Shee, with additional music from Paramount. Final mix by Rebecca Seidel.

28:20Fendel Fulton is our fact checker. Our production manager is Kara Schillen. I'm Erin Moriarty. If you're enjoying this show, be sure to give it a rating and review. It helps more people find it and hear our reporting. If you liked 15 Inside the Daniel Marsh Murders, check out the rest of our 48 Hours podcast by searching 48 Hours on your favorite podcast app. Thanks for listening.

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