How twisted teen had sex with her boyfriend in playground before brutally killing father & step-mum with bad boy lover
BICKERING with her dad on the phone over how late she could stay out partying, Tabitha Messina sounded like any other typical teen trying to push boundaries.
So no one could have predicted the horrors that would unfurl just hours later at the hands of the then 18-year-old and her lover, Carlos Christopher.
Armed with an axe and a crowbar, the pair would go on to violently murder unsuspecting doting dad Richard ‘Rick’ Messina, 50, and his partner Sandra Cover, 43, while they slept.
Now, 18 years on from the shocking double murder, Tabitha has opened up from prison for new Hayu documentary series, Snapped: Behind Bars.
A sobbing Tabitha says: “I was definitely guilty for what happened… He didn’t know how much I really loved him and how much he meant to me.
“Now that I’m older, I’ve sat and I’ve replayed that day… I’m pretty much suffering every single day because I live with that.
“It was just a party day, you know, and it turned out to be a nightmare, and it’s just something I can’t wake up from. Never.”
‘He was my best friend’
Born in 1988, Tabitha Messina had a good upbringing.
Tabitha recalls: “As a dad, I couldn’t have had a better one. He was the only man I’ve ever loved, he was my best friend.
“I grew up in a very classy neighbourhood, a suburb, good schools.”
Sandra Cover’s sister Brenda Gregory says: “Rick was a big bear of a guy, a big smile and a huge laugh. Family was everything to him.”
However, unfortunately Tabitha’s parents’ relationship deteriorated, and they split for good when Tabitha was eight.
Speaking in the documentary, Tabitha’s mum – who chose to remain anonymous – says: “I know it affected her.”
‘She ran with a crazy crowd’
As a teen, Tabitha began to go off the rails, which Richard, who by this point had started dating Sandra Cover, tried to prevent.
Richard’s sister Betty Montanez says: “She stayed out all night, she ran with a crazy crowd.
“[Richard] tried to guide her. A curfew, no drugs.”
Tabitha began dating a classmate, called Jason Gaylord – who seemed to be a good influence.
Tabitha says: “He was handsome, he was charming and he won my dad over.”
Despite problems, Tabitha went on to become the only one in her family to graduate high school and she had high hopes for the future, wanting to become a vet.
‘This was brutal. This was personal’
But just one month later, everything changed.
On Sunday 29 July 2007, the police received a call from a concerned neighbour.
Upon checking Richard’s home they discovered the couple dead in the second floor bedroom.
Horrifyingly, Richard had been hacked to death with an axe and Sandra battered with a crowbar.
I’ve never seen that kind of destruction to a human body [before] that was done intentionally”
Detective David Volek
Police detective Michael Demario says: “Richard’s injuries were chops which would be indicative of an axe or a knife.
“There’s jewellery boxes that are open, dresser drawers emptied.
“In the midst of this big disarray of a room, someone took the time to put a doily over Sandra’s face.”
Police detective David Volek adds: “Their faces were covered – why? That’s what killers do when they’re familiar with their victims – they cover their face.
“This was brutal. This was personal. Too personal.
“I’ve never seen that kind of destruction to a human body that was done intentionally.”
Sex… then murder
Both Richard’s cars were missing, which led the police to believe there were two suspects, and officers began to piece together the events that had led up to the double murder.
The night before they discovered Tabitha had gone to South Euclid’s annual Home Days Festival – a carnival event with rides, food, music, fireworks and games – with boyfriend Jason, best friend Tammy Taback and her boyfriend, Carlos Christopher.
According to Tabitha, the two couples had been hanging out at a local playground after the festival.
But their relationships were a lot more complex – with Tabitha and Carlos also sleeping together.
Carlos would tell us that as Tabitha would be having sex with Jason she would be looking at him as if to entice him toward her”
Detective Michael Demario
Tammy says: “Tabitha and Carlos themselves had told me that they were sexually involved with each other.
“That night I saw them sitting there holding hands… sitting close to each other in an intimate way.”
Carlos Christopher, whose dad was dead and had been a gang leader in Brazil, would later tell police Tabitha made a pass at him that evening.
Detective Volek says: “Tabitha and Jason begin having sex on the playground. Tammy and Carlos are making out a short distance away.”
Detective Demario says: “Carlos would tell us that as Tabitha would be having sex with Jason she would be looking at him as if to entice him toward her.”
‘I broke his heart that night’
Later that evening, Tabitha received a phone call from her dad and they quickly got into a row.
Tabitha’s mum says: “Tabi had Sandy’s phone, and she had told her dad she’d be home about 12. When he called her… she said she wanted to stay out a while longer.”
Tabitha says: “I told him I hated him… I think I broke his heart that night. My dad asked me to come back home and I told him no.
“Looking back at the fight, I said some horrible things to my dad and even though he was an angry person… now I understand he was just scared.
“He knew something bad was going to happen if I continued down the same road I was going.”
5 must-watch Hayu true crime shows
- Deadly Cults – In this series, investigators uncover and expose the dark world of cults that kill. Each episode focuses on a different cult, looking at the behaviour of their leaders and followers.
- Snapped: Killer Couples – Each episode reveals the shocking story of a couple who have committed murder together. A spin-off of series Snapped, which chronicled lives of women who lost control and were charged with murder, the show has aired 17 seasons, each with ten episodes.
- In Ice Cold Blood – Hosted by Ice-T, this series exposed outrageous tales and shocking true stories involving sex, money, murder and sometimes a fatal cocktail of all three.
- Charmed To Death – A series following the true stories of manipulative and deceptively dangerous criminals who use their charm to cheat, steal and lure unsuspecting victims into romantic relationships, ultimately leaving a wake of devastation and death.
- The Girl In The Box – Colleen Stan relives what it was like to be kidnapped, imprisoned in a box, and how she bravely escaped. The 20-year-old’s ordeal all started when she accepted a ride from Cameron Hooker, and she was kept captive for nearly a year…
Plotting ‘revenge’
The police were called, and asked Tabitha to take the cell phone back home.
Tabitha says: “I was scared to take it back because I knew he was going to trap me in the house.”
Instead, Carlos agreed to take it back, returning a short time later and telling Tabitha he’d got into a fight with Richard.
Richard reported the incident to the police, and Tabitha was told she wasn’t welcome home.
Tabitha says: “[I decided] I’m going to take some money, take some stuff, and he’s going to feel bad for what he did to me. It was a revenge thing.
“Me and Carlos went to the house and I was just going to take some stuff and we were going to pawn it.”
‘Kill this b****’
They entered the house through the garage, Carlos grabbing an axe and Tabitha a hatchet and a crowbar.
Carlos claims Tabitha attacked Sandy first, before he hit Richard with the axe.
Michael Demario says: “After he hit him a second time, he knew he was dead. At this point in time Tabitha is still hitting Sandra with the crowbar.
“Now she’s on the ground. Tabitha says to him ‘Carlos, kill this bitch’.”
Carlos also claimed he’d been acting in good faith, and Tabitha had said her father had beat and sexually abused her – a claim Tabitha has denied.
Tabitha says: “Carlos was so far from the truth. There was never any sexual abuse in my household… I don’t even know where that came from.”
For a short time the pair went on the run, before they were arrested and transported back to Ohio, where they were both charged with two counts of aggravated murder.
The weapons were never found, however police had the evidence they needed after finding items of clothing including a discarded fedora hat, and a knife which contained the DNA of both Tabitha and Carlos, and victim Sandra.
‘Ridiculous’ sentence
In May 2008, Carlos Christopher was convicted of aggravated murder, and given two consecutive life terms in prison.
Tabitha took a plea deal of 65 years to life in prison. She’ll be eligible for parole in 2067.
Sounding incredibly self-pitying, Tabitha remarks: “They gave me 65 years to life and I was dumbfounded… My life got taken from me at a young age.”
Tabitha’s mother says: “I think the sentence was ridiculous. They proved my daughter killed nobody. She was there but she was scared of Carlos. She thought he was going to kill her too. I think the judges were unfair.”
Finally, explaining what she would say to Sandra’s family if given the opportunity, Tabitha adds: “I would say… I’m so sorry. She was a good woman and did not deserve what [happened].
“To my dad’s family… I would have never wanted him hurt. Not like this. I live with it everyday.”
Tabitha’s mother adds: “I want to speak up for my daughter… Everybody painted her to be a monster – she’s not a monster.”
Season two of Snapped: Behind Bars is available to stream on Hayu.