By Gavin Fish, September 20, 2025
What started as a capital murder case for a Western Pennsylvania family has unraveled into plea deals, probation, and finger-pointing, with only Jeff Spence still sitting behind bars.
Karen Spence. Mugshot courtesy of the US Marshals Service.
Remember back in late 2023 when the U.S. Marshals swooped in and picked up three former residents of my area here in Western Pennsylvania in connection with the murder of Mississippi businessman Kirby Carpenter? That was Jeffrey and Karen Spence, along with their daughter, Caitlin. At the time, they were all facing capital murder charges. Big stuff.
Fast forward almost two years, and things look very different.
First Caitlin flipped. She went from capital murder suspect to “Accessory After the Fact” in exchange for agreeing to testify against mom and dad. The court let her out on deferred sentencing with an ankle monitor and told her to behave.
Now, Karen has followed her daughter’s lead. Just yesterday, she pled guilty to her own “Accessory After the Fact” charge. The accusation isn’t about pulling the trigger herself but about helping her husband, Jeff, dodge consequences after he allegedly tried to pull off a grand larceny.
And here’s the kicker: the judge handed her a 10-year prison sentence, then immediately suspended the whole thing. So she’ll walk out with five years of unsupervised supervision (basically probation-lite) and about $700 in court costs and fees. No prison time, no ankle monitor, just “don’t break the law and send in your monthly check.”
How We Got Here
For anyone new to the story, here’s the short version.
- December 2, 2022: Kirby Carpenter was found shot outside his home in Tippah County, Mississippi. He was a precious metals dealer, lived with Caitlin, and the couple had an infant daughter.
- The Spence connection: Jeff and Karen had been staying with Caitlin and Kirby for months after the baby was born. They popped up before and after Kirby’s death. The day after, his family discovered locks and safe codes had been changed.
- Suspicion grows: Three weeks after the funeral, Caitlin, Jeff, and Karen packed up and left Mississippi for Virginia. Child support checks sent to Caitlin later ended up at a house that mysteriously burned down.
- The arrests: U.S. Marshals caught Caitlin in Brookville, Pa., and Jeff and Karen in Virginia in November 2023. All three were charged with capital murder.
- The history: Jeff isn’t new to the criminal justice system. Folks around my neck of the woods remember his 2005 conviction for stealing a record-setting whitetail buck named Goliath. The deer was worth millions for breeding, and the case got national attention.
Where Things Stand Now
Caitlin’s deal left her free, at least for now, and Karen’s deal has her out too. That leaves Jeff, the onetime wannabe deer farmer turned alleged murderer, still behind bars.
The big question is whether Karen’s plea means she’ll now testify against her husband, just like Caitlin agreed to do. If so, old Jeff could be looking at a courtroom where both his wife and daughter are pointing fingers at him.
From capital murder indictments to plea deals and probation, the story has twisted more than once, and it’s not done yet.
We’ll be following the trial’s livestream on my YouTube channel. Please join in for what is sure to be a fascinating trial, and one that I hope brings justice for Kirby.
