FILE 478 / 23 March 2024 / 72 MIN / express

Evil Deeds & Ouija Writings

Baileyton, TennesseeListen

The town

N ↑Public placeTown centre (approximate places)
Static locations; no street basemap. Places and details. OpenFreeMap © OpenMapTiles Data from OpenStreetMap.

it's in northeastern tennessee in that panhandle that comes out of the northeastern part of tennessee, about an hour from knoxville about 0:03:52

History, in brief

1776

Originally called Laurel Gap when it was first settled in 1776.

about 0:04:37

Town note

First called Bailey Town as two words, then one word.

about 0:04:49

Town note

Named after two brothers who lived there, Claudius and Thomas Bailey.

about 0:05:03
All 4 history facts

1776

Originally called Laurel Gap when it was first settled in 1776.

about 0:04:37

Town note

First called Bailey Town as two words, then one word.

about 0:04:49

Town note

Named after two brothers who lived there, Claudius and Thomas Bailey.

about 0:05:03

The figures, as told

Money

Median home value$156,800
Median household income$36,875
All figures and comparisons, as told in 2024

Median household income

"$36,875"

Comparison: "about half the national average". Direction: below.

As told in 2024 about 0:04:09

Median home cost

"$156,800"

No direction stated.

As told in 2024 about 0:04:19

The reviews

5.0 / 5 · average of 1

5 stars

“The reviewer grew up there, says everyone is extremely nice and helpful, likes that everything is close (five minutes from Baileyton school, eight from North Greene), and would like a volleyball net added to the Baileyton park area; otherwise a nice place to park and hang out.”
about 0:05:53

In Tennessee

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  2. Two Murders, Two MurderersMaynardville, Tennessee · 12 July 201787 km / 54 miShow on map
  3. Two Shot Glasses Of Blood, PleasePigeon Forge, Tennessee · 30 July 202088 km / 55 miShow on map
  4. A Mystery Of StupidityPound, Virginia · 3 April 202691 km / 57 miShow on map
  5. Facebook Catfish MurdersMountain City, Tennessee · 10 July 202594 km / 58 miShow on map

The story

Baileyton, Tennessee, has about 430 people and sits in the north-eastern panhandle of the state, an hour from Knoxville. Six young people from eastern Kentucky made it a stopover on the way to New Orleans.

Her parents divorced when she was nine, and she later said an uncle and a cousin abused her from five to ten. By fifteen she was using alcohol, cannabis, LSD and PCP. Testing put her IQ at 78. She left school at sixteen and was drawn to witchcraft, using a Ouija board and automatic writing.

At five she learned that her father was not her father but Roger Burgess, a Pikeville police officer. She smoked by five, had bulimia by the sixth grade and was diagnosed with severe depression and bipolar disorder. She panhandled in New Orleans, then returned to Kentucky calling herself a vampire.

In April 1997 the group took room seven at the Collie Motel in Pikeville, burned 666 into the carpet, stole a television and boots, then broke into two Paintsville homes and took a 9mm and a .25-calibre pistol.

At the rest stop was the Liljelid family: Vidar, 34, a Knoxville hotel bellman from Norway; his wife Delphina, 28, a New Jersey native whose parents were from Honduras; and their children Tabitha, six, and Peter, two. They were returning from a Jehovah's Witness assembly in Johnson City. Vidar approached the group to preach. The van left the interstate at the next exit and turned onto a secluded road.

The accounts differ. Shots followed. The prosecution said the parents were laid on their backs with the children over them in the shape of a cross, and that the van was driven over them deliberately. A neighbour, hearing shots and what sounded like a party, called police.

The bodies were found about 260 feet from the abandoned Citation. Vidar had been shot six times, Delphina eight. Tabitha was shot once in the head and died after being pronounced brain dead. Peter, shot in the eye and chest, survived.

The group drove through Georgia and decided on Mexico, leaving a Waffle House when police arrived. Refused entry at the border for lack of identification, they got in anyway. Mexican authorities searched the van and sent them back.

A hostile crowd met them at their first court appearance.

Peter Liljelid spent seventeen days in hospital, then went to a rehabilitation centre. He moved to Sweden with family, was doing well in 2007 and was still there in 2017. In 2019 he moved to the United States to work in information technology, married Caitlin in 2020 and settled in Stamford, Connecticut. He lost an eye and has lasting neurological damage and no memory of the attack.

The case

Murder of the Liljelid family

Victims

Vidar Liljelid (34). Hotel bellman in Knoxville, originally from Norway
Delphina Liljelid (28). His wife, a New Jersey native whose parents were from Honduras
Tabitha Liljelid (6). Their daughter, shot once in the head and pronounced brain dead
Peter Liljelid (2). Their son, shot in the eye and chest and survived

Accused and outcomes

As told in the episode, on 23 March 2024.

Accused

Accused

Accused

Accused

Accused

Accused

Outcome

Other people

Eric Khan. attorney, removed from the case by the judge
Roger Burgess. Pikeville, Kentucky police officer and biological father
Caitlin. Peter Liljelid's wife, married in 2020

The timeline

  1. late 1979 is born in Ohioabout 0:09:10
  2. when she was three family moves to Kentuckyabout 0:09:19
  3. when she was nine parents divorceabout 0:09:26
  4. between the ages of five and ten is sexually abused by an uncle and a cousin, she later saysabout 0:10:02
  5. by 13 starts cutting herself and says she begins hearing voicesabout 0:10:15
  6. at five learns that Roger Burgess, a Pikeville police officer, is her biological fatherabout 0:21:26
  7. 1985 mother is treated successfully for breast cancerabout 0:22:46
  8. sixth grade loses 30 pounds and is hospitalised for an eating disorderabout 0:23:57
  9. after the 1993 arrest tries to kill herself by slashing her wrists and is hospitalised for 11 daysabout 0:26:43
  10. June 1995 joins the army and is discharged almost at once for testing positive for cannabisabout 0:38:28
  11. October 22nd, 1995 Two cinema tickets for an anniversary showing of Halloween are found in diaryabout 0:28:37
  12. her 17th birthday marries Steve about 0:31:12
  13. four months later The marriage to Steve endsabout 0:31:28
  14. late 1990s moves to New Orleans and panhandles on the streetsabout 0:31:39
  15. at 16 drops out of schoolabout 0:19:14
  16. 1987 Vidar Liljelid moves from Norway to the United Statesabout 0:45:58
  17. 1989 Vidar Liljelid marries Delphina in Miamiabout 0:46:05
  18. 1992 The Liljelids move to Knoxvilleabout 0:46:05
  19. March 1997 , 14, meets in Pikeville; she takes him home, gives him vodka and bourbon and they spend the night togetherabout 0:33:10
  20. April 1997 and meet againabout 0:35:33
  21. April 1997 The group takes room seven at the Collie Motel, burns 666 into the carpet and steals a television and work boots (Collie Motel)about 0:42:07
  22. April 1997 They break into two homes in Paintsville and steal a 9mm and a .25-calibre pistol (Two homes in Paintsville)about 0:44:19
  23. April 1997 At an Interstate 81 rest stop near the Baileyton exit they take the Liljelid family and their van (Interstate 81 rest stop near Baileyton)about 0:45:22
  24. April 1997 The van leaves the interstate at the next exit and turns onto a secluded road (Secluded road off the next exit)about 0:48:42
  25. April 1997 The family is shot beside a ditch; Vidar, Delphina and Tabitha are killed and Peter is wounded (Ditch beside the secluded road)about 0:49:25

Places and phrases

N ↑Public placeTown centre (approximate places)
Static locations; no street basemap. Places and details. OpenFreeMap © OpenMapTiles Data from OpenStreetMap.

Places in the story

Public places are marked on the map.

Heard in this episode