Decades after massacre, deadly shooting rampage has another victim

Friday, 14 March 2025 08:09

Anne Marie Hochhalter was paralysed in the notorious school shooting. Twenty-six years later, her death has been ruled a homicide.

The death of a woman who was partially paralysed in the Columbine High School shooting in the US has been ruled a homicide, raising the death toll of the 1999 attack to 14.

Anne Marie Hochhalter died February 16 of sepsis – a reaction to infection – and complications from her paralysis were a "significant contributing factor" in her death, the Jefferson County Coroner's Office said in an autopsy report obtained overnight.

She was 43.

At the time, her family and friends suspected her death was due to natural causes related to her injuries in the shooting, which immediately led to the deaths of 12 students and a teacher.

The two student gunmen died in the attack.

Due to the role her paralysis was suspected of playing in her death, the investigation was transferred to the office that also reviewed the deaths in the school shooting.

Hochhalter struggled with intense pain from her gunshot wounds in the years following the shooting, but fought hard to to overcome the complications of her injuries and remain positive, family and friends said.

She was tireless in her drive to help others, including people with disabilities and members of her family, and she loved dogs, they said.

Hochhalter chose to forgive the mother of one of the gunmen, writing in a 2016 letter to Sue Klebold: "'A good friend once told me, 'Bitterness is like swallowing a poison pill and expecting the other person to die.' It only harms yourself. I have forgiven you and only wish you the best."

On the 25th anniversary of the shooting, Hochhalter posted on Facebook, "This anniversary has been the most healing for me."

"25 years have gone by but it doesn't seem that long.

"I wasn't able to attend the ceremony for the 20th anniversary 5 years ago due to PTSD, but I attended the vigil last night. I've truly been able to heal my soul since that awful day in 1999."

The shooters, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, shot and killed 12 classmates, a teacher, and then themselves.

Hochhalter advocated for victims of mass violence, attending a vigil for the victims of the Aurora theatre massacre in 2012.

She said she wanted to offer hope to the victims' loved ones and survivors.

At the vigil, she advised that "trying to figure out the shooters' motives was a waste of time, and it gives them exactly what they want."

She forgave Klebold's mother, who released a book about her own experience, stating she was happy the profits from the book would be donated to charities focused on mental health.

-with CNN.

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