Patricia MacCallum killed her husband Christopher MacCallum at the Applegate campsite four years ago. Her murder case will be profiled on Oxygen’s Snapped . Authorities say that Patricia MacCallum, along with her former stepsister, Amber Lubbers, killed Christopher MacCallum once he fell asleep in his tent. The missing man’s body was eventually found and the two women were charged in his death. On Snapped’s episode, Oxygen viewers will hear from David Smith, a journalist with The Siskiyou Daily News , James Randall, a police detective with the Siskiyou County Sheriff’s office, Ted Bastian, the attorney for Patricia MacCallum, Angela Setsodi, a friend of Chris MacCallum, Geoff Kirkpatrick, the police sergeant for the Medford Police Department, and Mike MacCallum, the victim’s father.
A jury found Patricia MacCallum guilty of 1st degree murder in the death of her husband http://t.co/YTr4OOWh4I pic.twitter.com/QZNdLCPOle
— NewsWatch 12 (@KDRV) December 17, 2013
2012: Applegate Creek Bordering California and Oregon
A dead man’s body was found at the bottom of a cliff at the Applegate Creek campground. The victim, who had been shot multiple times, was found inside of his sleeping bag. The body was later identified as Chris MacCallum, a man from Medford, Oregon, according to MTShasta News.
According to Snapped , Patricia MacCallum, the victim’s wife, told detectives that her husband went missing while on a camping trip.
The detectives couldn’t find any motive for his murder or any enemies in his past that might want to see him dead. With that in mind, police took a closer look at his relationship with his wife.
Court records show that Chris MacCallum’s relationship with Patricia started out as a passionate one. Chris had several relationships in the past and always had lots of friends, but he wanted to settle down and make a life with Patricia.
However, the marriage didn’t turn out to be a happy one. Detectives learned that Chris MacCallum was having problems in his marriage, and that his wife, Patricia, eventually packed up her bags and the kids and abandoned him. By all accounts, Chris was a family man at heart and a good father to this children. Losing them, made him very unhappy and he fought hard to get them back.
Patricia MacCallum Wanted Her Husband Dead
In the end, Patricia MacCallum’s 27-year-old stepsister and friend told police that Patricia shot and killed her husband, and that she helped her cover up the crime.
The prosecution finished its closing arguments in the Patricia MacCallum murder trial. http://t.co/85L9QPT6cv pic.twitter.com/qCXk7XEzCx
— News10 (@KTVL) December 13, 2013
From there, police were able to paint a picture of a wicked wife who got her husband drunk and planned his murder, along with Amber, inside the tent while he slept. Then, at some point, Patricia retrieved the gun from the car and shot the father of her children several times. Patricia then dumped the body over a cliff, before fleeing the scene and heading back to Medford. Amber Lubbers described exactly what happened to Chris, according to Siskiyou Daily .
“When they returned to the campsite, she and MacCallum served the victim alcoholic beverages and pretended to drink hard alcohol but really drank water with diluted amounts of alcohol. When it got dark, Lubbers said they all went into their tent, and the victim fell asleep in his sleeping bag. At that point, MacCallum took the gun to the tent and shot the victim seven or eight times. Lubbers told the court MacCallum went back to the car and asked for a second clip, and then she walked back to the tent and allegedly shot the victim eight more times. Lubbers continued that she and MacCallum allegedly rolled the victim up in the tent, secured it with rope and ‘kicked him down’ an embankment.”
It’s a terrible end for a man who was dedicated to being a good father to his children. Mike MacCallum believes that his son’s desire to keep the marriage in tact was to make sure that his children didn’t have to watch their parents divorce as he had as a child. However, his desire to keep his marriage together turned out to be a fatal error on his part.
Wrap-Up
- Patricia MacCallum was sentenced to 50 years in prison after she was found guilty in court.
- Amber Lubbers, who was later charged as an accessory after the fact, served only a few months in prison and was released.
On Snapped , you’ll learn more about Patricia MacCallum’s motive for the murder, which will include details of her secret BDSM sex life and her desire to collect insurance and social security benefits for the children. Watch it tonight at 9/8 p.m. Central on Oxygen. In another episode of Snapped , the case of Susan Walls was profiled.
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