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Erin Moriarty
Hello listeners, it's 48 Hours correspondent Erin Moriarty. Today I have a special episode to share with you from my new podcast, fifteen Inside the Daniel Marsh Murders. It's the haunting story of Claudia and Chip, a loving couple in their golden years, brutally murdered in their California home. With no physical evidence and few leads, the case stumped investigators until they uncovered and an unthinkable suspect, a 15 year old boy. Here's the episode. When did making plans get this complicated? It's time to streamline with WhatsApp, the secure messaging app that brings the whole group together. Use polls to settle dinner plans, send event invites and pin messages so no one forgets mom's 60th and never miss a meeting or milestone. All protected with end to end encryption. It's time for WhatsApp message privately with everyone. Learn more@WhatsApp.com For a limited time at McDonald's, get a Big Mac Extra Value meal for $8. That means two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun and medium fries and a drink. We may need to change that jingle.
Mary Northup
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Erin Moriarty
Went to their bedroom.
Mary Northup
I opened the door and I just kind of stood over their bed watching.
Lieutenant Paul Durashov
Them sleep for a few minutes. My body was trembling.
Erin Moriarty
I was.
Mary Northup
Nervous, but excited and exhilarated.
Erin Moriarty
I was actually gonna do it.
Lieutenant Paul Durashov
I was there.
Mary Northup
It was finally happening.
Victoria Hurd
I will never understand how he did what he My name is Victoria Hurd, and Claudia was my mother. I'm her eldest daughter. My mom was my best friend.
Erin Moriarty
In 1995, Claudia Maupin packed up her bags and left her home in Fairfield, California to move 30 miles northeast to Davis. In her late 50s, she was looking to start a new life.
Victoria Hurd
She had been single for a while and she had decided that she was ready to settle down.
Erin Moriarty
When I talked to Claudia's daughter, Victoria, she was sitting with her own daughter and they couldn't stop giggling as they recounted the move.
Victoria Hurd
I remember very well. It was very intentional.
Erin Moriarty
Oh, really? Yeah.
Victoria Hurd
She was ready to have a companion and she knew that she wanted somebody smart and she knew that she wanted somebody who lived in Davis.
Erin Moriarty
Claudia was fun loving with a boisterous laugh. She wanted to be somewhere young, progressive and full of life. And the city of Davis was kind of a paradise. Located in the Central Valley of Northern California, it's home to the University of California, Davis. It's also rich in farmland, nature preserves and towering trees. There's greenery everywhere. Claudia was also drawn to the spirituality there.
Victoria Hurd
She had been A spiritual traveler through many different religions and denominations. And she just had fallen in love with the Unitarian Church. So she said to me, my husband is at the Unitarian Church.
Erin Moriarty
And she was right. Only a few months later, Claudia called Victoria to tell her that she had met someone there. His name, Oliver Chip Northup.
Victoria Hurd
He was so smart and brilliant, and they were like Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy meeting over the pews at the Unitarian Church.
Erin Moriarty
I mean, was this true love?
Victoria Hurd
I think it was true friendship. I don't think it was youthful passion. Let's put it that way. I think it was the recognition of a kindred soul.
Erin Moriarty
The next year, Chip and Claudia got married. The church was packed. They blended their big loving families in a joyous ceremony. Chip had eight children and Claudia had three.
Victoria Hurd
Two big families. What a gift. What an absolute gift. And we were older, we were adults when they got together. So I think both families were very appreciative that the other had come into their parents lives.
Erin Moriarty
Time passed, and by 2013, they had been together for 17 years. Their family had grown to include a whopping 22 grandchildren and seven great grandchildren. Claudia was 76 and Chip 87.
Victoria Hurd
They had an idyllic life. They did what they wanted. They had so many loved ones around them. They had so many great neighbors. They lived in Davis.
Erin Moriarty
Every evening, Claudia looked forward to being home with Chip. It didn't matter what she was doing or who she was with.
Victoria Hurd
She'd say, 9:30, have to go home to Chip. Our programs are on. Have to get my feet rubbed. And Chip would watch with his headphones and rub my mother's feet every night. They adored each other in that way. They loved going to movies, holding hands, and just being with each other and being with each other's families.
Erin Moriarty
That's exactly how they were together. On a beautiful night in April, home from a long day of activities, Claudia and Chip left their window open as they drifted off to sleep in the cool of the evening. Hours later, a figure appeared outside their window.
Lieutenant Paul Durashov
When you think about the terror that these two people just asleep in their own bed where we all feel the most secure, and you wake up to this horror movie happening to you.
Erin Moriarty
I'm 48 Hours correspondent Erin Moriarty. I've been reporting on murder cases for over three decades. So you probably think that after all this time, I've seen it all. And actually I thought I had too, until I encountered two senseless, inexplicable murders.
Mary Northup
Just the torture of the bodies, the.
Lieutenant Paul Durashov
Postmortem cutting, you know, putting inanimate objects.
Erin Moriarty
In their body and the mastermind behind them.
Mary Northup
Has anybody even had the strength to do that? And why wouldn't somebody want to do that?
Erin Moriarty
This is 15 Inside the Daniel Marsh Murders, episode one. A Quiet Life shattered. Before we begin just a trigger warning. The following episode contains references to graphic physical violence. Please listen with care.
Mary Northup
My parents started the Unitarian church here in Davis back in the 50s. And it was a very big part of my life growing up. And theirs and my father and mother continued to be active even after they were divorced.
Erin Moriarty
This is Chip's daughter, Mary Northup. When Chip met Claudia at the church he helped start, he was actually married to his second wife, Marlon, and was still on good terms with his first wife. But Marlon was now dying of cancer.
Mary Northup
He had supported her in her wish to die at home, and it had been hard for him. Claudia had started attending church while Marlon was still alive. And so she watched my father go through this. And when Marlon died, she gave him a shoulder to cry on. I don't think her intent was, oh, now I'll go grab him. As much as that. She was that compassionate person and she saw this and wanted to help him through that grieving.
Robert Northup
I think he was a little embarrassed because it was barely six months after his second wife had died. But we were all incredibly supportive. Yeah.
Erin Moriarty
Chip's son, Robert Northup, said that even though his father's relationship with Claudia moved quickly, the whole family was on board. When you talk about Claudia, how would you describe Claudia?
Robert Northup
An angel who walked the earth.
Erin Moriarty
Really? An angel. Why do you say that?
Robert Northup
Even just the sensation you could get from a distance, just the serenity in her face, the welcoming smile, just putting people at ease. Even from 50ft away, she could do that.
Erin Moriarty
Chip's family knew Claudia was good for him. Chip was used to running non stop, and Claudia reminded him to take time for the most important people in his life.
Robert Northup
And she also often acted as sort of a liaison, ensuring that he remembered to communicate with people.
Erin Moriarty
Because I heard he worked a lot.
Robert Northup
Yes. Yes, he did.
Erin Moriarty
Chip had spent decades working as a lawyer. Even after he retired, he still worked part time as an appellate attorney to keep his mind sharp. His daughter Mary said he was kind and dedicated to doing the right thing.
Mary Northup
Every once in a while, there was an injustice. And it was important to him to make sure that when he found that he did the best he could to get them a fair trial, to get them a fair hearing in the justice system. A lot of the times he told me, I get one or two years shaved off because there have been errors. That's a victory.
Erin Moriarty
Even in his late 80s, Chip stayed incredibly active in the broader Davis community. He had been a proud member of the Rotary Club and the school board and worked the Sunday barbecue at the county fair. He was also a founding member of a local folk band, the Puda Creek Crawdads.
Mary Northup
He had a beautiful voice. He really had a beautiful voice that gave him the most joy. All my siblings kids really loved. Whenever Grandpa Chip came, they would say.
Erin Moriarty
Sing us a song.
Mary Northup
And of course he would carry his guitar with him. He got to that point.
Erin Moriarty
Chip also performed music at his church, which was like a second home to both him and and now Claudia. So when they didn't show up to the service that second Sunday in April, friends and family knew immediately that something was wrong.
Victoria Hurd
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Mary Northup
I can tell you what happened from my view. April 14th. I was supposed to be seeing my father at church.
Erin Moriarty
On the morning of April 14, 2013, Chip Northup's daughter Mary and her mother, Chip's first wife, Peggy arrived at the Unitarian church expecting to meet Claudia and Chip there.
Mary Northup
He's part of this group, the musical group. They've been together since, literally since the late 60s, part of the church. And he didn't show up. And that was very unusual. It was unusual enough that my mother said to me, you need to try to find your father. So I said, you guys have been divorced for 40 years. Let it go. But it sat in my brain. So I went to try to call him, but our church is sort of out in the country here and didn't get any cell reception. So I let it go until we went home afterwards. And I called and I called his number and I called Claudia's number and they both went to voicemail.
Erin Moriarty
How unusual is that?
Mary Northup
It was very unusual. Claudia always answered her phone.
Erin Moriarty
Peggy then called her son Robert.
Robert Northup
And I tried to reassure her that she was overreacting, that, oh, there's all kinds of reasons he might have missed that performance. And I dutifully went to check, but everything I saw indicated they were out of town.
Erin Moriarty
It was evening when Robert rang his father's doorbell. No one answered. He looked through the front windows and didn't see anything out of the ordinary.
Robert Northup
I didn't realize they had their car locked in the garage. If they were home, the car would have normally been in the driveway. And then there were some newspapers piled up, and I thought, oh, that's proof that they're out of town.
Erin Moriarty
Robert decided if no one was home, it wasn't worth going inside, so he left. Another hour passed, but still no one could get in touch with Chip and Claudia. Around 7:30pm Claudia's daughter Laura decided to visit the house. Like Robert, she rang the front doorbell and again no one answered. But Laura wasn't satisfied leaving it at that. She walked around the back of the house. She saw a few lights on inside. And that's when she noticed that one of the back windows wasn't just open. The screen had been meticulously cut. She stepped forward to get a closer look. She could just barely see into Chip and Claudia's shared bedroom. But even in the dim light, she could see something wasn't right.
Robert Northup
I think she saw blood stains, but she didn't see bodies. She saw enough that she made a call to get other people over there.
Erin Moriarty
It wasn't clear to her what had happened or whose blood it was, but it was enough to make her call 911. Several officers from the Davis Police Department arrived at the scene. They tried to get into the house, but couldn't gain entry through the front door. They went around to the back to look at what Laura thought she had seen through the window. As they shined their flashlights through the screen, it became very clear that they had stumbled upon a crime scene. Inside were two bodies completely covered in blood. Police forced their way inside. Hours later, Laura got in touch with her sister Victoria.
Victoria Hurd
And I pick up my phone and there's 12 missed calls from my sister. And so that was really strange. I called her back and she was sobbing and she said, something's wrong with mom and Chip. And I said, what? What's wrong with mom and Chip? And she said, well, honey, there's been a break in. And there Are two dead bodies in the house.
Erin Moriarty
Victoria was in disbelief.
Victoria Hurd
I thought somebody had broken into the house and Chip had killed them. I didn't think. I really didn't think it was mom and Chip and Laura didn't say that they were dead.
Erin Moriarty
Laura asked Victoria to pass the phone to Victoria's partner, Casey.
Victoria Hurd
So I'm starting to shake, right, and break down. And I run to Casey and I hand her the phone.
Mary Northup
Phone.
Victoria Hurd
And I sat there just. And I'm hearing Laura talk to Casey. And I sat there, and I feel myself, like, falling to the floor, But I don't know why I'm falling to the floor, but I'm falling. And I. I feel her spirit. It's almost like she's standing there. And she says, you have a choice in this moment. You can stay on the floor, or you can get up and face this with love. It was so clear.
Erin Moriarty
From your mother?
Victoria Hurd
From my mother. And then I was like, got up. Like, her words infused me. And I said, okay, let's go. Let's go right now.
Erin Moriarty
Did you know?
Victoria Hurd
In that moment, I just knew that something was wrong.
Erin Moriarty
Victoria and Casey made their way from Sacramento to Chip and Claudia's house.
Victoria Hurd
We went and made the turn onto their street, and the coroner's van was there. And I still didn't know. I get out of the car, and I go marching to the police officer, and I said, I'm Claudia's daughter. I need to see Claudia. And he said, you can't go in there. That's a crime scene. And I got angry and started pushing him and said, I need to see my mother. I need to see my mother. She needs me.
Erin Moriarty
No one would tell Victoria anything. Instead, she was told to get into the police car and wait.
Victoria Hurd
My partner was pre law, so she said, is she under arrest? And the officer said, no. And then we said, well, we're not getting in the car. We'll meet you at the police station. And as we were getting into the car to go to the police station, I saw the coroners bringing out their bodies, and I still didn't know it was them.
Erin Moriarty
Victoria and Casey rushed to the Davis police station. But still, no one seemed willing to share any information with them. So Casey began asking yes or no questions.
Victoria Hurd
She asked, is Victoria's mother dead? And then they said, yes. And then I lost it. My brain couldn't process that. I was in complete shock. She said, was Victoria's mother shot? And the officer said, no. Was Victoria's mom strangled? The officer said, no. Was Victoria's mother stabbed? And then the officer lowered his head and I started screaming because I couldn't imagine. I couldn't imagine. It's impossible even now and everything we've been through and seen to imagine anybody doing that to somebody who was so kind and so precious.
Erin Moriarty
Meanwhile, Chip's children still had no idea that anything was wrong. Chip's daughter Mary hadn't heard anything since her brother went to check on Chip the night before. The next morning, she turned on the TV to watch the news.
Mary Northup
I noticed there was this shot with police caution tape from a tree to the garage. And it says double homicide in Davis. And I'm like, wow, that's. That's unusual. So the next time it came on, I looked at it again. I said, that looks like where my dad lived. So I paused it and rewound it. And at this point, I'm calling the kids and my wife to come out and look. I said, is that Grandpa Chip's place?
Erin Moriarty
She was finally able to see the number by the door. And it confirmed the unthinkable. It was Chip and Claudia's house. She called the police to see if they could tell her what was happening.
Mary Northup
It took them about 10 minutes before they would tell me, well, yes, that is the house where they found bodies. But they wouldn't tell me it was my father. They wouldn't tell me anything. They said I had to come down to the police station. But at this point, I started calling my family because I didn't know. I didn't want the rest of my family to find out this way.
Erin Moriarty
That's a horrible way to find out.
Mary Northup
I cannot. I mean, I literally nearly collapsed on the floor when I realized that it was their house that I'm watching this on television to start from there just made everything. All of the events that began to unfold worse and worse.
Lieutenant Paul Durashov
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Erin Moriarty
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Erin Moriarty
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Mary Northup
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Mary Northup
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Erin Moriarty
Okay, give it a try.
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Lieutenant Paul Durashov
It was very unusual homicide.
Erin Moriarty
What do you mean?
Lieutenant Paul Durashov
The victims were an elderly couple, which didn't seem to make a lot of sense. It was a very brutal murder.
Erin Moriarty
Lieutenant Paul Durashov was one of the Davis police officers who arrived on the scene that April day. He would later become one of the leaders in the investigation.
Lieutenant Paul Durashov
The couple was still in their bed and, you know, multiple cut, stab type murder. It was horrific. Much more so than, let's say, a bullet wound.
Erin Moriarty
Chip had been stabbed 61 times and Claudia 67.
Lieutenant Paul Durashov
It was something that it was up close and personal.
Erin Moriarty
The cause of death was clear, but the how and why would take a lot more time to determine. How did the killer or killers get in?
Lieutenant Paul Durashov
Yeah, through the window.
Erin Moriarty
It didn't look like a typical burglary. There was no sign of ransacking and nothing of value appeared to be missing. Both bodies were still in bed. No evidence that either victim tried to escape. And there was another odd thing about the crime scene. Was there a lot of evidence left behind by the killer?
Lieutenant Paul Durashov
Not really. We were coming up pretty dry on the crime scene.
Erin Moriarty
Any fingerprints that seemed clearly connected? DNA left at the scene?
Lieutenant Paul Durashov
No.
Erin Moriarty
Did you have the weapon?
Lieutenant Paul Durashov
We didn't have the weapon, no.
Erin Moriarty
Still, while the crime scene was unusually clean, the bodies were anything but. Both victims had stab wounds everywhere in their necks, the torso, the legs. And that wasn't even the most horrifying part. It was a very bloody scene.
Lieutenant Paul Durashov
Right.
Erin Moriarty
And there were some strange details too, weren't there?
Lieutenant Paul Durashov
Yeah, there were. There were a couple objects inside the bodies. One of them being a shot glass or glass of some sort put inside.
Erin Moriarty
The body and a cell phone in the other.
Lieutenant Paul Durashov
Right.
Erin Moriarty
I mean, who does something like this?
Lieutenant Paul Durashov
Like I said, we didn't know. The first thing we thought is perhaps looking at people they know that are connected Especially strongly connected to the victims, where there would be feelings involved.
Erin Moriarty
I mean, it sounds like a lot of anger toward these people.
Lieutenant Paul Durashov
Sounded like it, yeah. Yeah, absolutely.
Erin Moriarty
Police believe that whoever attacked Chip and Claudia may have had a personal vendetta.
Lieutenant Paul Durashov
I think even one theory was because he was a defense attorney, perhaps someone who was in his life as a client that, you know, felt like they were wronged and he didn't do a good enough job fighting for them. So we were kind of looking at everything.
Erin Moriarty
But neither Chip nor Claudia had any obvious enemies in town.
Lieutenant Paul Durashov
No, you know, everybody liked them. They were involved in music, they were involved with a lot of people in the community, and we were just coming up with everybody who really liked them.
Erin Moriarty
The police department had to start piecing together a story based on statistics and crimes they had dealt with previously. They had to ask, was one of the victims having an affair? Could they have had a falling out with a close friend or family member?
Lieutenant Paul Durashov
Usually to us, when it's that violent, there's anger behind it, some type of feeling. You'll see it with domestic violence, family related murders, things like that. But usually we felt like, okay, maybe there's a connection between the suspect and the victims here.
Erin Moriarty
With little to no evidence to lead them, the police started their investigation by looking close to home, very close to home.
Robert Northup
I understand that they had few options. They had very, very little in the way of good evidence to work with. So they had to make the best they could with very few clues.
Erin Moriarty
Chip's son Robert was one of the first people they talked to at that point.
Robert Northup
Then those clues pointed us, we lived in the same town, not very far away, that we would have certainly no motive, but easily had the opportunity.
Erin Moriarty
Coming up on the next episode of 15 Inside the Daniel Marsh Murders. And what did they think when they heard you had just cleaned the carpet?
Robert Northup
It looked like I was covering up. Removing evidence.
Erin Moriarty
This series was reported by me, Erin Moriarty. Alan Peng is our producer. Maura Walls is our story editor, and Jamie Benson is the senior producer. Meghan Markus is the vice president of podcast editorial for CBS. Special thanks to 48 Hours executive producer Judy Tygard, along with 48 Hours producers Judy Ryback, Stephanie Slifer and Greg Fisher from Goat Rodeo. This podcast was written and produced by Kara Schillin, Max Johnston, Jay venables, Isabel Kirby McGowan, Megan Nadolski and Ian Enright. Additional reporting and recording by Kara Schillen. Our executive producers at Goat Rodeo are Megan Nadolski and Ian Enright. Original theme and music by Hans Del she with Additional music from Paramount Final Mix by Rebecca Seidel. Fendel Fulton is our fact checker. Our production manager is Kara Schillen. Erin I'm Erin Moriarty. If you're enjoying this show, be sure to give it a rating and review. It helps more people find it and hear our reporting. If you liked 15 inside the Daniel Marsh Murders, check out the rest of our 48 Hours podcasts by searching 48 Hours on your favorite podcast app. Thanks for listening.
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Podcast: 48 Hours
Host: Erin Moriarty (CBS News Correspondent)
Episode Date: September 6, 2025
In this chilling episode, Erin Moriarty revisits the haunting case of Claudia Maupin and Oliver “Chip” Northup, an elderly, beloved couple brutally murdered in their home in Davis, California. Through interviews with family members and key investigators, Moriarty unpacks not only the lives lost but the sense of safety forever changed in a peaceful college town. The episode chronicles the victims’ backgrounds, discovery of the crime, and early confusion in the investigation, setting up the story for how a baffling, senseless double murder led police to an unthinkable suspect.
Episode one of “15 Inside the Daniel Marsh Murders: A Quiet Life Shattered” sets the stage for a shocking investigation into the senseless slaying of a cherished couple. The episode immerses listeners in the rich, loving lives brutally ended, the disbelief and trauma of their families, and the bewilderment of investigators faced with a clean crime scene, no clear motive, and a town’s innocence lost. The story promises to delve even deeper into how justice is sought—and whether it is found—after such darkness.
Next Episode Teaser:
“And what did they think when they heard you had just cleaned the carpet?” “It looked like I was covering up, removing evidence…” (29:01–29:18)
Produced by Erin Moriarty and the CBS News/48 Hours team.