MURDERER: Christine Paolilla & Chris Snider
A couple planned to steal drugs from their friends, leading to the murder of four young adults.
Christine Paolilla was born on March 31st 1986 in Long Island, New York to a stay-at-home mother Lori and a construction worker dad, Charles. At just two years old Paolilla’s life was drastically altered when her father Charles passed away in a tragic worksite accident. Her mother, Lori, spiralled in her grief, relying on drugs to get through the day.
Paolilla was soon put into her maternal grandparents’ custody.
In kindergarten, Paolilla was diagnosed with alopecia, causing her to lose her eyelashes, eyebrows and all her head hair. This coupled with having poor eyesight and needing thick glasses, the kids relentlessly bullied her.
By the time Paolilla was ready to start high school, Lori had gotten sober and remarried. Paolilla went back into the custody of her mother and stepfather, the family moved to Salt Lake City, Texas for a fresh start. Paolilla enrolling at Clear Lake High School.
At this new school, Paolilla met and befriended two of the “popular” girls. Tiffany Rowell and Rachel Koloroutis. They helped Paolilla with her appearance, which in turn helped build her self-confidence after years of bullying.
In 2003, the student voted Paolilla ‘Miss Irresistible’.
It was that year that Paolilla began dating a 21-year-old man called Christopher Snider. Her friends, mom and stepfather all disapproved of the relationship because of Snider’s frequent drug use and lengthy criminal record. It was through her relationship with Snider that Paolilla began to use drugs.
Lori, Paolilla’s mother, later described the relationship as abusive and dysfunctional, Snider isolating Paolilla from her friends and family. Paolilla had also indicated that Snider raped her but she never directly said that this was the case.
Snider’s family members have also said the relationship wasn’t healthy, describing it as tumultuous. They said that Paolilla was prone to jealousy.
Once, after an argument with Snider, Paolilla stayed on the family’s front lawn overnight, threatening to kill them.
On the 18th of July 2003, tragedy struck. Tiffany, Rachel, Tiffany’s boyfriend Marcus Precella and Marcus’ cousin Adelbert Sanchez were hanging out at Tiffany’s home when Snider and Paolilla entered. The couple went with the intention of robbing the drugs that Paolilla knew were being kept in the home.
An argument between Snider and Marcus erupted that led to the shooting of all four in the home. Tiffany, Marcus and Adelbert were shot multiple times and died almost immediately. Rachel, however, was also shot multiple times but survived her injuries for a short while. She crawled to try and call for help but she was spotted, Paolilla going over with a 38-calibre revolver. Paolilla repeatedly beat her friend around the back of the head until she stopped moving.
With all four dead, Paolilla and Snider left the home, leaving behind minimal evidence. Paolilla an hour after brutally murdering her friends was at Walgreens, working her shift behind the make-up counter.
Police were left grasping for leads in the murders, eventually landing on the murders being related to Marcus, rumours saying he sold drugs from the home. The one thing that went against this theory was both Tiffany and Rachel were shot in the crotch which was said to be a sign of sexual jealousy.
The neighbours gave basic descriptions of the two that they saw leaving the home, this being the only solid piece of evidence that was found.
A fact that was found out after the murders. Adelbert had only just moved to Clear Lake, a week or two prior, he had been attempting to escape the violence up north.
Years would go by and the case would remain unsolved.
Away from the police’s investigation, Paolilla and Snider had broken up in 2004 after Snider was arrested in Kentucky for car theft. Paolilla checked herself into rehab in Kerrville, Texas. There she met Stanley Rott, the began a relationship soon after meeting.
They married in March 2005 with Paolilla coming into a $360,000 trust fund that her biological father had set up for her. A portion of it was used to buy an apartment for herself and Stanley.
On the second anniversary of the murders, Paolilla saw a newscast of the case. Rather than getting upset over the fact that people she claimed to love were dead, Paolilla was upset over the sketch that was released. She ended up telling Stanley what happened, or at least she told him her version of what happened that day.
The couple went into hiding together, and for the next eight months, they hopped between different motels. The entire time they relapsed on heroin and cocaine. They were in San Antonio, Texas by November 2005.
Back in the police investigation, they received a tip via Crimestoppers from an unknown male on July 8th 2006. The caller told them he’d been in rehab with Paolilla, she confessed to being an active participant in the crime. It was later revealed that the caller wasn’t Stanley.
July 19th 2006, Paolilla and Stanley were arrested inside their motel room. Stanley was arrested for the 70 vials of heroin inside the room.
Stanley confessed that Paolilla had told him she was an active participant in the murders, Paolilla initially denied having any involvement. She confessed fairly quickly into her interrogation, admitting involvement but placing all the blame on Snider.
Speaking of Snider, he was at this point living in Greenville, South Carolina with a woman he met off the internet. Snider was called by a family member after Paolilla’s arrest, warning him about the warrant that had been put out for his arrest.
The police received a tip that Snider may have committed suicide in a wooded area of Greenville. That tip led to the police finding Snider’s decomposing body on August 5th 2006, in a heavily wooded area. He had overdosed on prescription medication.
Paolilla was sentenced to life in prison, she will be eligible to parole in 2046 when she is 60 years old.
