Less than a month after Columbine survivor Anne Marie Hochhalter died at the age of 43, the cause of her death has been revealed.
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According to NBC News, Hockhalter was discovered dead in her home in Westminster, Colorado, on Feb. 16. An autopsy report conducted by the Jefferson County Coroner’s Office revealed that the Columbine survivor passed away due to sepsis, which causes the body to respond to an infection improperly, leading to organ failure, tissue damage, and death. Her “manner of death is best classified as homicide,” since the wounds she suffered in the Columbine attack contributed to her cause of death.
Hochhalter was shot during the infamous Columbine High School shooting multiple times, leading to her being paralyzed and wheelchair-bound for the past 26 years. The autopsy report that the gunshot wounds were also a “significant contributing factor” in her sudden death.
Hochhalter’s passing brings the death toll of the 1999 Columbine High School shooting to 14 people. The victim count does not include the shooters Dylan Klebold, 17, and Eric Harris, 18. Both killed themselves before law enforcement was able to arrest them.
Hochhalter was a junior at Columbine High School when the infamous high school massacre occurred. She was one of the 23 people who were injured during the shooting.
Hochhalter experienced even more tragedy months later when her mother, Carla, committed suicide. She had struggled with depression before the shooting, but her condition significantly worsened after her daughter’s injuries led to her being paralyzed.
The Columbine Survivor Recalled Initially Thinking the Shooting Involved Paintball Guns
During a 2004 interview with People, Hochhalter recalled being at Columbine High School when she heard a popping noise. Although she was shot in the back by bullets, she initially thought they were from a paintball gun.
“I was bleeding to death,” she recalled. “It didn’t look bad on the outside, but inside it felt wrong — it felt wet.”
Despite being paralyzed and wheelchair-bound, Hochhalter considered herself one of the lucky ones to survive the shooting.
“If the ambulance had come two minutes later — even two minutes — I would have died,” she said. “A lot of evil happened that day, but a lot of things went so right.”