The demise of a lady who was partially paralyzed within the Columbine Excessive College taking pictures has been dominated a murder, elevating the demise toll of the 1999 assault to 14.
Anne Marie Hochhalter died Feb. 16 of sepsis — an excessive response to an infection — and problems from her paralysis have been a “important contributing issue” in her demise, the Jefferson County Coroner’s Workplace stated in an post-mortem report obtained Thursday. She was 43.
Twelve college students and one instructor have been shot and killed on April 20, 1999, within the assault on Columbine. The 2 scholar gunmen took their very own lives.
Hochhalter’s brother, Nathan Hochhalter, stated a stress sore, a typical drawback for individuals dwelling with paralysis, led to sepsis.
He stated he knew that his sister’s life would seemingly be shorter due to her paralysis however her demise this early was sudden.
“We didn’t assume it might be this dangerous this quickly,” he stated.
Hochhalter struggled with intense ache from her gunshot wounds within the years following the taking pictures, however fought exhausting to beat the problems of her accidents and stay optimistic, household and mates stated.
She was tireless in her drive to assist others, together with individuals with disabilities and members of her household, and he or she cherished canines, they stated.
Hochhalter selected to forgive the mom of one of many gunmen, writing in a 2016 letter to Sue Klebold: “’A superb good friend as soon as informed me, ‘Bitterness is like swallowing a poison capsule and anticipating the opposite particular person to die.’ It solely harms your self. I’ve forgiven you and solely want you the most effective.”
Hochhalter’s personal tragedy was compounded six months after the taking pictures, when her mom, Carla Hochhalter, died by suicide.
Anne Marie Hochhalter stated her mom suffered from melancholy and didn’t consider the shootings have been on to blame for her mom’s demise.
After her mom’s passing, she grew to become the “acquired daughter” of one other household that misplaced a toddler within the Columbine taking pictures, Lauren Townsend.
Townsend’s stepmother, Sue Townsend, reached out to assist Hochhalter as a approach to deal with her personal grief, however finally Hochhalter was coming over for household dinners and becoming a member of them on holidays.
“She introduced a light-weight to our lives that may shine for a very long time,” Townsend stated.
Hochhalter attended a vigil marking the twenty fifth anniversary of the taking pictures final 12 months, after skipping an identical occasion 5 years earlier due to post-traumatic stress dysfunction, she stated in a social media submit.
This time she stated she was flooded with joyful reminiscences from her childhood and stated she wished these killed remembered for the way they lived, not how they died.
“I’ve really been capable of heal my soul since that terrible day in 1999,” she wrote.
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