Shivangi Sinha
In December 2022, Caitlin Spence found the remains of Kirby Carpenter near the garage of the house they shared in Tippah County, Mississippi. He was her boyfriend and the father of her daughter, who had been born in July that year. Soon after, Caitlin left the state and moved to Virginia with her parents. It was a tip to the police that eventually led to charges being filed against Caitlin and her parents in connection with Kirby’s killing. NBC’s ‘Dateline’, particularly the episode ‘The Betrayal of Kirby Carpenter’, presents the timeline of the case and the investigation that ultimately solved it.
Caitlin Spence Found Her Boyfriend’s Remains in the Garage of Their Shared Home
Caitlin Spence was born in the late 1980s to her parents, Jeffrey and Karen Spence. Just a year later, her younger sister, Carolyn, also joined the family. The two sisters most likely spent a significant part of their childhood in Brookville, Pennsylvania, where their father owned a deer farm. Their mother worked as a nurse at Clarion-Limestone High School. In 2005, when Jeffrey was convicted of theft, Caitlin would have been navigating a difficult period in her life. By 2014, her sister had cut off contact with their parents, which suggests that tensions within the family had become increasingly strained.
By 2020, Caitlin had settled in Booneville, Mississippi, where she met Kirby Carpenter, a businessman from Ripley. The two eventually moved in together in the Dry Creek community outside Booneville. During her later testimony, Caitlin accused Kirby of allegedly abusing her, although she had not filed any formal reports or complaints during their relationship. She also claimed that Kirby allegedly sold drugs but maintained that she had never been involved in those activities. In July 2022, the couple welcomed their daughter, Enola. Kirby’s son from a previous relationship, Townes Carpenter, reportedly lived with them in the same house. After the birth, Caitlin’s parents, Jeffrey and Karen, came to stay with her and Kirby. Reports indicate that they were initially expected to remain for only a few weeks but ended up spending around four months with their daughter’s family.
On November 29, 2022, Jeffrey and Karen left for Virginia. Three days later, on December 2, at approximately 12:30 pm, Caitlin called the police and reported finding Kirby’s remains near the garage on their property. He had died from a gunshot wound. Caitlin initially spoke to investigators but reportedly hired lawyers within a week. By the end of December, she had moved to Virginia with Enola and was said to be staying with her parents in Saltville. Kirby’s estate was reportedly paying child support at the time, but his family later claimed that Caitlin allegedly stopped communicating with them. They also said that when they requested a welfare check, they learned that the house in Virginia had burned down. Jeffrey had bought a house in Pinegrove Township, Pennsylvania.
Caitlin Spence is Living Under Supervised Probation Today
In November 2023, detectives received a tip suggesting that Caitlin Spence had confessed to someone that her father, Jeffrey Spence, had killed Kirby Carpenter. Caitlin, who was living in Brookville, Pennsylvania, was subsequently arrested and charged with one count of conspiracy, two counts of larceny, and one count of capital murder. In April 2025, she accepted a plea deal, pleading guilty to the reduced charge of accessory after the fact to capital murder and agreeing to testify against her co-defendants.
Her lawyers maintained that while she knew about Kirby’s death, she had not participated in the crime itself. After spending approximately 16 months behind bars, Caitlin was released on bond pending the completion of her testimony in the other ongoing cases. In September 2025, Caitlin took the stand during Jeffrey Spence’s trial. According to her testimony, her father returned to Mississippi after November 29, 2022, and told her to “keep her mouth shut.” She also claimed that Jeffrey allegedly warned her she would lose custody of her daughter if she ever spoke about what had happened.
When asked about her whereabouts around the time Kirby’s murder was believed to have occurred, Caitlin provided details of her work schedule and maintained that she had neither known about nor participated in anything that took place at her property. During Jeffrey’s second trial in March 2026, she again testified that her father had confessed to the killing. Later that month, Caitlin was sentenced to 20 years in prison, but the entire sentence was suspended, meaning she would not serve time behind bars. The state of Mississippi placed her on supervised probation for five years. Since then, Caitlin has largely stayed out of the public eye, and little is known about her life.
Read More: Tyria Moore: Where is Aileen Wuornos’ Ex-Girlfriend Now?
You must be logged in to post a comment.