Tiffany Nicole Rowell, an 18-year-old Black woman from Houston, was one of four people found killed in a Clear Lake City home on July 18, 2003. Tiffany, described as a talented actress and a social work aspirant, was found alongside Marcus Precella, Adelbert Sanchez, and Rachael Koloroutis. The victims had been bludgeoned and shot in the middle of the afternoon in a neighborhood that was usually quiet.

Police arrested Christine Paolilla, a former classmate of Tiffany’s, and charged her with capital murder. The case narrative says Paolilla carried out the killings with her boyfriend Christopher Snider; Snider was at large for several years before being captured. Christine Paolilla was tried, found guilty of capital murder, and the verdict was widely publicized.