Transcript
Emily (0:00)
Foreign we are thrilled to announce that this episode is brought to you by Lagoon Pillow. As women in our 40s who are trying to take care of our health and wellness, we know that good mornings start with optimal sleep and Lagoon pillows are made just for that. They're customizable, supportive, and will have you waking up feeling your best. I personally am an otter head to lagoonsleep.com take the sleep quiz and use Code Book Club for hi, I'm Emily. I'm Ashley and this is Books with youh Besties. Hey friends, welcome back to Books with youh Besties, the show where we dive deep into the darkest corners of the human mind and the justice system that responds to it.
Ashley (0:45)
I'm Emily.
Emily (0:46)
And I'm Ashley and today's case is absolutely chilling.
Ashley (0:49)
We want to give a heads up if any true crime case could be too much for you. This is the one. This episode contains graphic descriptions of violence and mental illness that may be disturbing to some listeners. Please use discretion.
Emily (1:02)
Let's start the story with who really matters here. On April 14, 2013, police officers responded to a call requesting a welfare check on Oliver Chip Northup, 87 years old, and his wife Claudia Maupin, 76 years old. Going forward in this episode, we will refer to them as Chip and Claudia because that is what their loved ones called them. Family members had grown concerned about the couple because Chip was a musician, member of a local folk group and and had no showed for an event that day which was completely unlike him. Upon entering the home, police encountered an absolutely brutal scene. The description of said scene lives in my nightmares. Chip and Claudia had both been stabbed to death in their condo in the very early morning hours that day. To get a picture of who Chip and Claudia were, Chip was born on April 26, 1925 in Grand Island, Nebraska. Chip served in the United States Navy during World War II. He was a prominent attorney receiving his undergraduate degree from ucla. He continued working as an attorney until his death. Additionally, he was a musician for the Pewtah Creek Crawdads. I love that name and a founding member of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Davis. Chip met Claudia at the Unitarian Church and they got married in 1996. She was born 5-15-36, was a pastoral associate and she was really active in the local theater. She was 76 years old at the time of her death. Claudia had three children while Chip had six children along with two stepchildren from a previous marriage. Their joint family included 11 children and 14 grandchildren, eight great grandchildren. Chip and Claudia were a wonderful Match. Both Chip and Claudia's families were thrilled when they decided to get married in 96. The Davis community was absolutely shocked by the gruesome murders and left terrified about who could have forged such an attack. This is an idyllic small town with a vibrant college community as it's the home of UC Davis. As a small college community, the town in 2013 had a very, very low rate of crime and especially violent crime, typically a murder rate of 0 to 1 per year. Nobody knew why this would ever happen until police were given a lead.