The cellphone was lying near Rachael Koloroutis. At 3:12 that afternoon, she had tried to call 911. But help never reached her in time.
It was the afternoon of July 18, 2003, and four young people in a comfortable suburban home near Houston were caught completely off guard. The television was still playing. Tiffany Rowell and Adelbert Sanchez were seated on the sofa and apparently never had time to stand. Investigators believed Rachael had answered the door and then attempted to run when the attack began.
Whoever entered that house had been welcomed inside.
Then two guns opened fire. Twenty-one shots were fired in a matter of seconds. Seventeen struck their targets.
Eighteen-year-old Tiffany Rowell never made it off the sofa. Neither did twenty-one-year-old Adelbert Sanchez. Nearby were Tiffany's nineteen-year-old boyfriend, Marcus Precella, and her close friend and roommate, eighteen-year-old Rachael Koloroutis.
All four had been shot repeatedly. Marcus had also been struck in the head with a gun. But Rachael had survived the first barrage. Badly wounded, she had somehow begun moving toward her cellphone. She was still conscious. Still trying to summon help.
Before she could finish the call, one of the attackers returned. Rachael knew the person standing over her. According to testimony, Rachael looked up at someone she had once considered a close friend and asked:
Why are you doing this to me?
There would be no answer.
Join Cam and Jen on this episode of Our True Crime Podcast entitled ‘From Miss Irresistible to Murder: Christine Paolilla.’
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All music by our EP/ editors @theinkypawprint
Sources:
Phelps, M. William Never See Them Again. Pinnacle Books. p. 403. ISBN 978-0-786-03055-2.
https://abcnews.go.com/2020/miss-irresistible-high-school-murders/story?id=8612993
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