Sadly, the public will probably never know the true way that events played out on July 18, 2003, when Christine Paolilla and Christopher Snider murdered four innocent victims in Clear Lake, Texas. There were no surviving eyewitnesses to the murders except the killers, and Snider would die before being interrogated. When talking to investigators, Paolilla repeatedly lied and gave several different versions of the incident, which also varied from the tale she had previously told her husband Justin Rott, putting into doubt which rendition is actually the truth.

When the police were first interrogating Paolilla, who was withdrawing from heroin at the time, she told them that Snider had gone into the house but did not say anything about a massacre. A few hours later, she admitted that Snider had in fact killed the inhabitants of the house, but denied any involvement. Finally, that night she acknowledged that she too had played a part in the murders, but somewhat implausibly claimed that Snider had pulled the trigger while she was holding the gun, denying responsibility for actually firing the shots.

She would later tell detectives that she only participated in the shootings because of Snider's repeated domestic violence against her, which made her frightened for her life. She also claimed that as soon as Snider started shooting she got onto the ground in the fetal position, and Snider picked her up and forced her to help carry out the killings.

If you or someone you know is dealing with domestic abuse, you can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1−800−799−7233. You can also find more information, resources, and support at their website.

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