Whether viewers admire him or can’t stand him, Piers Morgan remains one of the most recognisable figures on British TV.
The ex-Good Morning Britain presenter has built a reputation for combative interviews, fiery exchanges, and opinions that frequently divide audiences.
With the broadcaster turning 61 today (March 30), attention has turned back to a past moment when he named the most unsettling person he’d ever interviewed across a 35-year career.
Over the years Morgan has faced off with an array of headline-grabbing names, including Andrew Tate, Kanye West, and Fiona Harvey, who is believed to be the real-life inspiration for the alleged stalker storyline in the hit series Baby Reindeer.
But before he became a familiar destination for controversial celebrity sit-downs, Morgan spent much of the 2010s fronting true-crime programming such as Killer Women, Confessions of a Serial Killer and Psychopath with Piers Morgan.
It was in that era that he interviewed Erin Caffey, a teenager who was later characterised by Morgan as ‘probably the most dangerous person in the world’. Caffey was 16 in 2008 when she persuaded her boyfriend, Charlie Wilkinson, along with Wilkinson’s friend, Charles Waid, to kill her family.
The former pianist had reportedly pushed the plot after claiming her parents wouldn’t let her continue seeing her partner.
In a 2016 appearance with Lorraine Kelly, the presenter reacted with disbelief as the case was discussed, remarking that Caffey looked ‘innocent’ and like ‘butter wouldn’t melt’.
However, Morgan then explained why the interview had left such a lasting impression on him.
“She basically masterminds the annihilation of her family,” he told Kelly. “You know, she sends in the boyfriend with his mate while she waits outside with the mate’s girlfriend, and they go in with machetes and guns.
“They kill the mother, they riddle the father with bullets, they go and kill the two younger brothers, and there was no warning, no suggestion of anything coming.
“And, you know, as I sat there, looking at her, I just thought, ‘My God, you’re probably the most dangerous person I’ve ever been this close to in my life’. And I have no explanation after an hour of interviewing her for why you did this.”
Investigators said Wilkinson and Waid went to the family’s home in Emory, Texas, where Caffey’s mother, Penny, was attacked and the property set alight. Her brothers, Matthew, 13, and Tyler, 8, were also killed during the assault, which involved a samurai sword.
Caffey’s father, Terry, was shot multiple times but survived after pulling himself outside before the fire took hold.
Following their arrests, both Wilkinson and Waid maintained that the murders had been Caffey’s plan.
During Morgan’s interview with her after the killings, Caffey offered her account of events, saying: “I was shocked, angry and hurt. This was the guy [Wilkinson] I was supposed to spend the rest of my life with, and he loved me. We were going to get married.
“When I look back on it now, this was all just stupid. I mean, for what? They weren’t beating me, they weren’t starving me to death. I had it made.”
Caffey and Wilkinson were each sentenced to 40 years in prison, avoiding the death penalty after Terry Caffey urged the court to show mercy. He said he wanted them to ‘find remorse’, and argued that his daughter had been vulnerable.