On April 14, 1982, Barbara Hendrickson's husband, Don, walked over to Wicklund's house, and discovered Renae, her nine-year-old daughter Shannah and his wife, Barbara Hendrickson, all with their throats cut. Charles Campbell, then residing at a halfway house, was arrested the following week and charged with first-degree murder and second-degree theft (he had attempted to sell some of Renae Wicklund's jewelry only hours after the killings). Police described the crime scene as "resembling a massacre". Wicklund's body was naked, and she had been severely beaten, strangled, and raped with a blunt instrument in addition to having her throat slit (the murder weapon and the object used to rape her were never found). She was covered with bruises, and had a broken nose, jaw, and ribs, a testament to her attacker's aggression. Wicklund also had bruising on her knuckles, suggestive of defensive wounds. Barbara Hendrickson had been attacked and her throat cut after going over to the house to check on Wicklund, who had been ill with the flu that week. Shannah suffered the same fate when she came home from school. She had been choked, and her throat cut so deep that she was nearly decapitated. One of her earlobes was also torn, as the killer had made off with a pair of earrings she was wearing that day.