Christa Higgins Chidester
34-year-old Christa Higgins Chidester’s ordeal has finally ended after almost two years in a divorce battle with 52-year-old Mark Chidester, her now ex-husband.
And the divorce process really was an ordeal for Christa Chidester, who suffers from fibromyalgia, severe back pain and depression, because the unemployed housewife with no high school diploma was representing herself – against the Charlotte law firm James, McElroy & Diehl, who had been hired by Mark Chidester, a vice president of the Family Dollar chain of stores.
As you can see, the law firm that Mark Chidester hired has a web page, which proclaims:
We know that clients do not really hire a law firm to file pleadings or draft contracts. They hire a law firm to solve problems and hopefully to avoid problems or minimize their consequences. Whether for a corporation seeking to protect its intellectual property, a real estate seller seeking to lawfully avoid unnecessary taxes, or an individual daunted by the prospect of divorce, we focus on trying to achieve the greatest possible level of satisfaction for the client.
We’re going to guess that Mark Chidester is feeling fairly satisfied right now, considering that Christa Higgins Chidester killed herself and her daughter, 9-year-old Sarah Higgins, on the 4th of January, 2008, after being ordered by the court to vacate their home.
We mention satisfaction because, when you look at Mark Chidester’s history, you can see that he was convicted of domestic assault in February of 2006. And, since the divorce was reportedly pretty nasty, I’m sure that a little bit of dark glee shot though his heart when he found that the source of his problems was now dead – at least for a moment or two.
He’s only human.
Regrettably, Christa Chidester took Sarah Higgins, her daughter from a previous marriage, with her into death, suffocating Sarah in her bed before going up into the attic and hanging herself.
Christa Chidester left a note to the man she had conceived Sarah Higgins with, explaining to him that she couldn’t face starting over and that she thought it would be less painful for Sarah in the long run to die now, rather than to live without a mother.
As a side note, Christa Chidester lost her mother when she was a teenager, which might have been a contributing factor to her thought processes.
As for whether or not Christa Chidester deserves Hell – it’s entirely up to you.
Does Christa Higgins Chidester deserve Hell?
- No (72%, 210 Votes)
- Yes (28%, 82 Votes)
Total Voters: 292
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102 Comments »
I dont even know what to say…
Except for the poor kid.
Why do parents have to take their kids along with them when they go crazy?
Unfortunately I don’t think she deserves hell. I think she had a few disorders and it probably was the only light she saw.
I think her taking her daughter with her was based from her past expirience and because of that (even though it’s not an excuse) I don’t think she deserves hell. I wish she could’ve gotten some help but at the same time everything was being pulled out from underneath her from her rich ass husband.
Who am I to sit in judgement and say if she belongs in heaven or hell? I will say that her past experience was growing up with a normal family, 3 sisters, and unfortunately her mother had cancer and died at age14. She left home after that, to live on her own. Although I agree there were childhood issues, but saying she grew up without a mother is a bit questionable.
As far as getting help. She had 3 sisters, a father and even my brother (her first ex-husband) trying to help her move and start a job. She went through the studying to become certified in selling insurance. She had options. She just didn’t like them. She considered moving out of a 3500 SF house to a beautiful 2 bedroom condo a step downward. Having a life with my daughter in a nice area of North Florida with family in the area is a step down to her. She obvioulsy did not live in reality!
For those of you who thought you knew what Christa went through as a child is completely wrong !!! Yeah she had 3 sisters, but what are 2 of those younger sisters going to do to raise her ? They were trying to get by themselves. Since when do younger siblings raise the older ones. family went through a lot, and you have no idea what impact a girl has losing a mother at the age she did. And for anyone who thought she did is out of spite for Patrick not to have Sarah you are so WRONG !!!!!!
i really dont believe that you brother was there when her mother passed away and wasnt there for quite some time
I’d like to vote for Mark Chidester’s fate as well.
Given that it sounds like he makes a good salary, the least the court could do is order him to buy her a double wide and pay some minimal alimony given his past.
Coud we also send the Atty that handled the divorce to hell was well?
I feel that there is a special place in hell for attys. – deeper, darker and hotter – even Satan does not want to see some of them!
Mark offered her More than $65K and she refused the settle. The judge did not believe she was entitled to live there without paying anything (which is what she wanted) because she was receiving full chiild support for her daughter (from my brother). She sank her own ship by refusing to consult with an attorney.
These are people’s lives you are all talking about. There are several families who will be FOREVER affected by this. I personally have developed severe depression and anxiety disorders as a result of this tragedy. The fact that there is even a website like this that exists for you to judge people or situations you know nothing about is horrific. A little girl was murdered, STOP making a spectacle out of this!
It’s a little disingenuous of you to pretend you represent the entire family by calling yourself ‘Sarah’s Family’. That said, the only person that you should be blaming for any of this is Christa Higgins Chidester. Don’t blame us if we’re disgusted by the fact that she murdered her 9-year-old daughter. We don’t suffer baby killers lightly here at PYSIH, and we don’t tolerate excuses either. So my advice to you is not to come to this site anymore. Otherwise, plan on reading more of the same, especially since you started up a whole new round of comments about this case with your selfish, self-serving comment.
Well the Good Book says if ya off yourself yer goin’ down south fo’ sho, and she’ll prolly be on the black diamond express train cuz she took the life of her babe too.
But it looks like she really got the shaft from her old man, and was obviously in extreme distress. Maybe she’ll have to pass some in purgatory.
Him on the other hand….?
Good point Fred. I do too think there’s a certain afterlife for attorneys.
I never understand things like this. This man obviously had some sort of money- why put out your wife and her child because your mad?! This is whats wrong with people today, absolutely no consideration or compassion just REVENGE. Well I hope Mr. Chidester is feeling great about himself now that he led his poor ex-wife to suicide… wasnt beating on her enough for him? Hopefully now that this happened some investgations will happen because I am sure there is more to this story then what people know right now…
She had a job prior to her SECOND divorce, and made a very comfortable salary. She also had a daycare center in her home at one point. Take my word for it, he didn’t lead her to suicide – she was crazy in the first place. Further, I only met Mark Chidester once, but he was the gentlest man I ever met. Something tells me the abuse case was something like he was reaching for the phone and accidently knocked her over.
More to the point, does Krista deserve Hell? No, she deserves to be put in a cell for the rest of her life where she would be forced to listen to the people tell her over and over again how deeply she hurt them by killing her daughter. After she did that for 500 years, Hell won’t seem so bad.
Brittany:
yeah – I don’t agree.
Explain MURDERING your daughter at the pearly gates.
hotmichelle:
I didn’t say I agreed with it. I didn’t say it was ok and that I would do the same. I said I can understand her point of view with what she’s been through and what not.
she knew what it was like to have no mother and didn’t want to inflict that onto her own daughter.
Brittany
I understand.
Murder is the answer to what?
I am upset that she selfishly took her daughter out. The kid had no choice. Hell with a mom like that maybe she would have been better off without a mom.
What makes some people snap while others don’t. I know stories of people who have had it so much worse and they don’t commit suicide or murder.
I’m just saying.
Being that I am in almost the exact same situation right now- My divorce has been dragged out for over 2 years by my ex now, I really can sympathize.
I also have Fibromyalgia, Chronic Epstein Barr and Chronic Myofascial pain. While my ex does not own the ‘Dollar’ stores, he does make more money than his own atty and most doctors. I was not able to return to work after the birth of our last son, due to the combo of my medical problems, and ongoing surgeries to correct malpracitce injuries I received during our first boy’s birth.
I thought my ex had become intolerably mentally and verbally abusive when we filed for divorce- I had no idea how much worse he could get. How petty and vindictive. How long his atty could drag this out for. Responding to every little paper, meeting, call, has wiped out the savings I had put away before I met my ex, the funds from the house I owned and sold to finance the new house he wanted, and now it’s eating into what is left of the malpractice settlement I was awarded, and which I’d planned to help with my present and future medical problems.
It’s called ‘bleeding’ the other spouse out, and it’s pretty effective at being able to ‘punish’ your ex for years after you’re split. And yes, he is also pushing for sale of the house that I paid all the down payment on, and live in, though since our split he’s bought a brand new truck, a boat…blah blah, even though I had agreed to go 50/50 custody- rich people don’t act any nicer than poor people in a lot of divorces, especially if they worship money.
Sad thing is, even if I lose my house, go completely bankrupt, continue to have custody games go on for years… I would still never go back with him. That’s what fuels most of his rage. Thank goodness I don’t date- I can’t imagine how ugly he’d be.
I go to a counselor regularly, to help me deal with the frustration of all of it, and to help me deal with the issues it’s caused in our boys, as he is fighting against allowing the boys to have their own counselor.
I can abslutely understand how overwhelming it is to have something that nasty drag out for years, and to be worried that you will be homeless or not be able to pay utilities. But since he is the one who has gone about this aggressively and intends to cause as much destruction as possible, I don’t think I should be the one to kill myself. With all his money, and all the damage he’s caused, he’s losing nothing and I’m slowly being bled dry… he tells the boys his life sucks and he wishes he was dead, while I do not. Maybe it’s because I’ve sought counseling and he refuses? Maybe if the mom had gotten support/help, she might not have chosen such a drastic way of ending things. It’s hard- it took me over a year just to get a referral from the local women’s shelter for the counseling.
Regardless of my sympathy for her, it was the worst wrong she could have done to have killed her own daughter. Would she have wanted her dead if she’d been killed in a car accident instead of a suicide? Very selfish for her to tell the b-dad that she thought the girl was better dead with her- I’m guessing the b-dad would have disagreed, and no doubt the girl would have, also.
It is too bad people spend so much time and energy making their divorces as bitter as possible. Such a waste of time. Hell for the POS ex-husband, yeah. Sad to say, I think the mom deserves a little of it, too… for murdering her own daughter.
People, please- if you are going to kill yourself, do not take your children with you. That makes it murder.
c
hotmichelle – my outlook on life and things like this is what may seem simple and petty to you could be completely draining on someone else. For some reason the things that don’t seem like a big deal for me or you could be a huge deal to another person. certain things affect people differently and what not.
ok glory – you and I tend to be on the same page usually except this one for some reason. I don’t think the girl would be better off if she walked up stairs and saw her mom hanging there? Dead? Cold?
I think it would’ve been more harmful that way.
uuuhhhh. Brittany…
you must be extremely mentally unstable if you “don’t think the girl would be better off if she walked up stairs and saw her mom hanging there? Dead? Cold?” as opposed to being better off dead herself. Do you honestly think that the pain she would have endured realizing that her mother had taken her own life would exceed the loss of her own? You_are_completely_ridiculous.
SO. Now, this comes from lending credit to what [Sarah's] Aunt has said here — it seems as if this woman was behaving like a spoiled brat with a false sense of entitlement. Just because your husband divorces you and behaves like an asshole — that should give you no right to expect to be fully taken care of for the rest of your life. Now, do not misconstrue what I have just said — to be very specific let me just clarify that I mean yes, you should be entitled to your share of the liquefiable assets, but you should not expect to not have to lift a finger to support yourself or your children– esp. when that child is from another marriage! I have two children from two separate marriages and I would NEVER, EVER, EVER expect anyone else to be responsible for supplying the means necessary to take care of them. I brought them into this world, and — regardless of the sperm donors take on the situation — it is MY responsibility to see that they are afforded the best that I can provide. Which, btw, would not EVER, under any circumstances, include taking their life. This bitch was obviously one tenor short of a choir and did this selfishly as just a way to make it all about her. I see it as her attempting to extract the ultimate revenge and ruining many innocent people’s lives in the process.
As for GloryBug, none of this was directed toward you. As in any situation (esp. divorce) there are two extremes and I am very sorry to hear about what you have to deal with. Even though this post comes late – I hope that you have come closer to some sort of resolution that you can feel comfortable with.
Brittany
I completely understand your point of view and the relevance of a persons problem is subjective. Still wonder what makes some persons resolve so much stronger, while others are weak. Just a observation on the human condition.
In my opinion dead is worse. Dead is dead. No more choices.
If she had jsut killed herself, I could feel more sympathy. But to take away your daughter’s chance to experience the world is jsut plain selfish. Despite the horrors we read on here, there are also many good things in the world and to deny her child a chance to experience those is selfish and cruel.
What a sad situation. Clearly this woman was unstable and someone should have recognized that. While I don’t necessarily hold the ex-husband or his retinue of lawyers responsible in any large part, they should certainly think carefully about how they proceed in the future. I have a fundamental problem with suicide in that I think it is the single most selfish act there is. I know that this opinion may offend people and for that I’m sorry. Even though her reasoning for taking her daughter does follow a certain logic (albeit twisted), I still can’t understand why people committing suicide choose to take folks with them. It’s the only way to make suicide even more selfish! The only person in this situation for whom I feel pity is that poor child. She didn’t have a chance. I’ll be praying for her.
Brittany- I understand what you are saying, but I do not agree. If she stumbled upon her mother’s body, yes, it would be traumatic. But she’d be alive.
Better yet, the mother could have returned her daughter to her ex and THEN killed herself. Mom is dead, but daughter did not have to see it.
I do not agree in any way that it was better for the innocent daughter to have been killed. Lots of kids survive and do well after their parents die, even if they commit suicide. I have known a couple of people whose parents died accidentally, as well as a couple whose parents killed themselves. They had good support systems, and as of today I don’t think they are any more fucked up than people’s parents who are still alive and very hellbent on making their divorces as excruciating as possible for their ex and their children.
I seriously doubt that if she was asked, the daughter would have said, yes… that she’d prefer to be dead. That’s the bad thing about murder- you rarely end up killing people who were just jonesing to die already.
c
I think the husband killed her! He certainly had motive!
The husband did not kill her or the child. The motive was week, and didn’t fit the crime with the suicide notes and documentation. She definitly planned to poison her daugher, when that didnt work she then smothered her. They the sick woman combed her hair, put on a pretty dress and arranged her dolls perfectly next to her. A perfect angel,,, only what a loving mother could do, right? She was very evil, for years. And had our family (from her first marriage) had any clue to this evilness, we would have stopped it at all costs.
And actually, she might have set it up that way, for him to be charged. The seen was more obviously self inflicted, and yet she at least wanted blame to go to him in the note. Mark, the exhusband was wonderful in helping sort through personal things and assisting the family. He and his family are heartbroken about Sarah and the situation.,
Further, Krista’s husband had been calling there to pick Sarah (the daughter) up. It was his weekend for visitation. It would have been a whole lot better if she turned the daughter over to the father and THEN hung herself.
from glory
I seriously doubt that if she was asked, the daughter would have said, yes… that she’d prefer to be dead. That’s the bad thing about murder- you rarely end up killing people who were just jonesing to die already.
I agree. Mom flipped? Really? Actually why?
She had a job, guess she didn’t want to live without what? A cushy life?
I’m wondering if she thought when she was a teenger that she felt that she wanted to die after he mother died and projected those feelings on her daughter thinking “my daughter probably wouldn’t want to live if i died” ,not really thinking maybe her daughter would want to live. Not sure though, it’s pretty difficult to understand what she was thinking. I wish she had been able to have found some kind of help instead of resorting to killing herself and her daughter or as other people have written at least left her daughter with the biological dad.
What I don’t understand is why, if you are going to kill your own daughter, and then commit suicide… why would you even bother leaving a note to the biodad explaining why?
How is leaving a note helpful? I doubt biodad said after reading note, ‘Oh, well ok then. Glad she had a reason for murdering my daughter’. Seriously, what point did the note serve at all?
I like to get my kid’s input when I make decisions. ‘I’m going to make soup for dinner- would you like lentil soup or barley soup?’,
‘I’m planning on committing suicide today- would you like me to suffocate you first, or would you rather just go on living?’.
It’s the polite thing to do. If you’re the murdering, suicidal sort of parent, that is.
c
Because she is a spiteful B*tch. Trust me, I knew her, albiet briefly. She staged it so husband # 2 would find her hanging there.
There is no way Mark would have risked going in that house and she knew that. You clearly have no idea what you are talking about.
No Christa was never a spiteful person in anyway. She was a very loving and caring mother. So what if she had a moment of insanity what business is it of yours ? If you only knew her for a brief time you dont know s#@t !!! Her family saw it completely different, that she thought there was no other choice !!!
Maybe this woman felt that hell could not be that much worse and also figured that her child would be in a better place. Thus the mother may have felt that she was “making the ultamate sacrifice” of her soul! I am NOT agreeing with this, just stating another possible point of view that this woman MAY have had.
As far as the atty’s go there is a tale of a farmer and his two sons The farmer dies and the two sons argue for the cow – one pulling the head the other the tail and the attys. sat there and milked it!
In any divorce when there are children, the divorce is NEVER final. Attys will LOOK for a hot ember and pour GASOLINE on it. Why? Money – when one is burning hot & pissed, when one feels wronged they will fight back.
The court system is controled by the new royalty – and us peasants are looked upon as fools should we not align with one of their class and instead fight our own battle.
If the husband were to do what he did directly, he’d be in jail and possibly charged with some type of responsibility for what happened. But because he hired a mercenary from the royal class (lawyer), it’s OK (legally)..
My ex put me through hell after he got remarried and the new wife decided he shouldn’t be paying child support so they tried to take the kids from me. Two years and $20,000 in legal fees later, I won the case. He thought he would “bleed me out” financially too, but he didn’t. Since then I’ve paid off almost all my bills on a secretary’s salary and he’s sitting on two houses that he can’t afford, two new cars, and about 10 credit cards maxed out. THAT is my revenge, knowing I’m free to do what I please and he is a slave to his possessions.
All through the trial I had some bad moments, horrible really, but I never thought of taking my life or my kids’ lives. I could never do that.
She should have taken the girl to her bio-dad, or better yet, find a way to hire an attorney so she didn’t have to go to court alone and maybe none of this would have happened. Attorneys will stomp all over someone who is representing themself, and judges will too.
I know her and I am shocked at what happened. None of the family had any clue what-so-ever. And if any of us had we would have stopped her and got her help. There were no signs. We do not understand nor do we get the rationel to take Sarahs life especially with what she had to do to complete that task. There were willing family memmbers who would have willingly taken care of her and she would have been fine.
That is the understatement of the year. 50 people would have GLADLY taken Sarah.
One of my old girlfriends who I stayed in touch with slept with her divorce atty for a great discount!
What horrible things to assume about a man who is in horrible mourning and had nothing to do with the mental instability of a woman he once loved.
you must’ve been the women he left her for.
I worked with Christa and I can say with some degree of certainty that she was not exactly what I would consider to be normal. Not that she was a bad person, simply someone that most people would meet and say that they could tell she had her demons. If I only knew… That being said, her husband IS a snake. No two ways about that, I knew him as well(work). If you don’t think so, you don’t know him. I believe she’ll go to hell as that’s what I was taught about suicide, but if I had a vote, she’d not. I believe she was a good person who just had instability issues. Seeing her name on a site called “People you’ll see in Hell” caught me completely off guard. I know she loved her daughter dearly and I can’t understand what would drive someone to that end. Please don’t misunderstand, I can’t and don’t excuse her killing her daughter. I just know that when I heard of this happened (just last night), I said a prayer for their souls, and I hope that all of you will do the same.
It’s usually hard to tell if and when we should have stepped in until it’s too late. How many time in our lives have we done something only to be told to mind our own business? Then when we do, we will come to an incident, like this, where we wished we had put ourselves on the line.
When I was 19 or so I got a job selling jewlery at a mall cart part time, so I really did not have a need to take the job seriously. But on day one I did. In a group of my first customers there was a rather cute girl who was very upset, and I was tempted to answer a few of her questions that she seemed to be asking her friends, but may have been instead also a cry for help / validation, etc… which was intended to reach beyond the few friends she was with. She had asked something like “who is going to think I am nice?” or something as such. I kept quiet, but inside I was screaming ME!
When the mall was closing, there were ambulences on the lower level of the parking garage, a circle of people around and she was on the ground in the middle. I do not know is she jumped, O.D.ed, drunk or what. To this day I am curious as to what really happened, but also haunted by the fact that I could have done something that MAY have made a difference.
The person in this story that deserves hell is her ex husband Mark Chidester-I worke at the Eckerd corporation as a mailroom clerk when Mark Chidester worked there as a H.R. director-this guy was an abuser then too. The way he would trest the women who worked for him was just awful-he would scream in their faces, lean into their space to intimidate them sarcastic putdowns,on and on.
You know, he met Christa here in Florida and actually got her a job at Eckerd making 50 a year -she was not qualified for the job but he pulled some strings and got her the position-he married her soon thereafter. When they moved to N.C. he insisted she not work-keeping her dependant on him-this guy is a classic woman abuser-he tried to bully me once as well because I screwed up an overnight package delivery but when he moved into my space,I moved even closer to him and he got a scared look in his eyes-bullyboy-he is the one that deseves hell-he is directly responsible for her death.
Tim -
Thanks for giving us a story behind the story.
did you really think that he wasn’t abusive?
Fred- “As far as the atty’s go there is a tale of a farmer and his two sons The farmer dies and the two sons argue for the cow – one pulling the head the other the tail and the attys. sat there and milked it!”
Thank you for that. I’m going to remember that.
And, I do know someone that has slept with more than one attorney to get a ‘discount’ as well.
I hope someday to be sitting where SnowBot is. I’m 2 years in and almost $30k down. It’s hard to describe how stressful it is to have some new legal crap everyday. Regardless, even if I ever chose to check out (though I think that would be selfish towards my boys), I’d never kill my kids, too. I’ve seen so many cases where the person does this to pay back the other parent…. dead ex, dead kids. Finis.
But, in this case the girl was not even this ex’s child, so it doesn’t fit the standard suicide/kill the kids scenario. There has to be more to this story, IMO.
c
You forget this little girl has a dad who will be without her till eternity. I pray for your mercy all those who placed themselves in God’s seat of Judgment. I actually know of the Dad. He is broken over this loss. The girls real dad.
Thank you Jack, My brother is getting through this the best he can,
I don’t think anyone is forgetting that this girl had a dad.
In fact, I think it’s what bothers a lot of people. I don’t like it, but don’t hold it against anyone who commits suicide- my own little brother did.
But to take someone with you? No. Bad. I wish there was a way to learn more about this story, because it makes no sense to me that the suicide mom couldn’t have just returned the girl to her other parent before she checked herself out.
But since the news reports give no info about the girl’s dad, there’s no way for anyone to know why she didn’t. But it’s not like nobody has thought about the dad.
What is stupid is that suicide is actually a pretty stupid thing to do just because someone else is making your life miserable. Mostly because people like that would be more likely to just be happy that you killed yourself before they had to. Suicide as a way to punish other people is pretty misguided. You aren’t going to hurt anyone who treated you like crap- you’re just making their life easier because you are out of the way.
And, if this guy was as big of an ass as people on here who claim to know him say he was…. he just won the jackpot. No ex to split possessions with, go to court with… and no pesky kid waiting in line for inheritance from mama.
Suicide is a permanent solution to an impermanent problem. Murder? In this case, both selfish and hellworthy.
c
I’ve been reading these message posted for 2 months now. Sarah (the murdered girl) is my brother’s daughter. I will tell you that this was they most horrific & heinous act that our family has ever had to endure. We have been very involved with the case and know much more than the media. I couldn’t look at these blogs at first. But know I find it helps me to answer questions and provides me to closure. I will start by saying that everyone is entitiled to an opinoin, and my opinion is based on have Christa & Sarah in my life for 12 years.
I’ve been in touch quite a bit with thie ex that people have been disparaging. I have not seen that side of him, and he and is family are grieving for Sarah, who they loved very much. People don’t know about Christa’s intentions. She never wanted to work,, ,wanted to be a stay-at-home wife/mother to be like s Stepford wife. People also don’t know that she instigates violence , physical domestic violenece to call the police and establish a history. It’s part of the master plan at divorce. I’ve personlly seen her in action. Bottom line, this is not some sweet girl that some guy manipulated and plucked her out of Eckerd Kingdom with promises of grandeur. I guaranty you she chose him, determined his compensation & assetts, then began executing her plan.
She had more than just a dad (although, his pain will be the greatest). She had uncles and aunts and cousins whose hearts were all broken the day we got that phone call.
Will start by saying that the divorce was not easy for Christa and her latest ex-husband. My brother (her first ex-husband) knew nothing of their personal situation, but shared custody with Sarah and visitied as schedule. Sarah had a loving family on her dad’s side. 4 Aunts, 4 Cousins, Grandma and we are all very close. Sarah’s favorite time of year was an annual family picnic in Wisconsin. There was nothing but love and fun times in our family. And certainly several options for custodial care. Christa also had 3 sisters, all very close relationship, but in a different way.
When pursuing attorneys for her case, Christa opted to forgo an attorney to represent herself. Much to the judge’s dismay, she refused council. Christa always believed she was smart enough to handle court battle, and in her mind, how could a judge through her out of a house with a little girl? Well what didh’t appear in the media is that she was offered $68.000, plus $10,0000 moving expenses. The money for what she bought into the house and extra. But she was so snide, that she actully believed she could win. So when it came down to it, the judge did not rule in her favor and she needed to vacate by 1/4. After being a the chrime scene, it was apparrat she had a verywell thought plan of execution, SHe had places to go to start over,,, she didn’t need to kill her child (that she obviously didn’t love the way a mother should). Her daugher saw her as perfect. And if she lives, Sarah will see how far from perfect her mother really was. She may have people believng she was a wonderful mother, but hte relationship was very strange. Christa was Sarah’s best friend. They did homework together, played together, shared a bedroom (even while married) and slept in a king size bed together. I’m no inferring abuse, I believe she was living like a big sister with Sarah. When she decided to take her own life, she could accomplish a couple of things: 1) by killing Sarah, it would hurt all the men in her life, 2) by killing herself it would hurt her father and sisters, 3) by killing Sarah, she’ll never have to know the truth bout her mother’s past, and the crimes, the men. That’s why she needed to kill her, so she could appear to have been a perfect mother that just snapped becuase of a divorce.
I would like to comment on the aunt who really has no knowing of Christa in the last 12 years. Christa divorced her brother when sarah was a baby. She has no idea of her childhood or how her mother died not cancer but systemic lupus. She watched her mother die slowly. Those girls had no normal childhood and frankly Tricia has no clue so she should not speak as she does. I know this is hard for everyone involved but let’s not cloud the public with lies and our own assumptions. She has no idea about Chirsta being evil except what her brother has told her. Yes Patrick did pay full child support in the sum of $500.00 a month. How far does that get a single mom? And just as she has said even her brother had no idea of her personal life with Mark so how could she know? As Patrick said himself and I quote..” Christa always loved Sarah, Sarah only had one bad day in her life..the day she died” With him saying that it is very clear to anyone involved that Christa hid her sickness from everyone. No one was aware. Christa was a mom that all of us could aspire to be, it’s a tradgey she couldn’t or wouldn’t or purely didn’t know how to get help. She was always a determined person to succeed and do the best for Sarah. Maybe she was ashamed of her illness and sadly thought it would be better to handle it on her own. She was always that way. To speak of Christa brushing her hair and putting a pretty dress on and putting her 2 favorite dolls Glenda and Rosie under her arms which her brother have and hold dear to his heart like that’s a bad thing. I guess she should have left her in a wreck and that would have made it easier both families to handle? You put such personal details of the crime as if you own them. I would bet that Patrick doesn’t know you have even wrote these things, maybe he should? Be mad at Chirsta but I’ll side with Your Brother, Sarah’s Dad..Christa made Sarah to be the beautiful princess she is..and she only had one bad day. I know Sarah and Christa look down on all of us and smile. They are together eternally.. Sarah wouldn’t have it any other way.Christa was Sarah’s hero and anyone who knew them know that..Even you Trisha. You can’t rationalize the crazy as Patrick has said many times..I love you Christa and Sarah and miss you both more than words could ever express. Let’s all take a moment to remember how beautiful they are instead of all the judging because I know with all my heart Sarah would not appreciate it. I’ll see you in the moon and the stars!
Grief is a difficult thing! Obviously all who know both Sarah and Christa are still grieving and will always. Christa did murder her daughter and Tricia was venting. She didn’t say Christa was evil because she grieving. Give Tricia a break. She and the rest of Patrick’s family have had a difficult time, as I am sure Christa’s family has had. “She watched her mother die slowly.” Obvioulsy, you feel you can defend Christa’s actions by blaming her watching her mother’s death. Many people, including Christa’s sisters have watched a mother die. In no way does that excuse or explain her actions. Christa obviously had issues that no one including her own family knew about. The were also angry at her for taking Sarah with her. They also have grief caused by Christa that no one should have.
Sarah loved her aunt and would never hold that against her.
“Yes Patrick did pay full child support in the sum of $500.00 a month. How far does that get a single mom?”
Child support is for the child to suplement thier income. You have to work to have an income. She was capable of working, no doctor, judge, or lawer has said otherwise. $500 goes a long way when you have an income and a job. SHe also lived for free she and Mark bought. You normally have to pay rent or a mortgage to live in a house.
“And just as she has said even her brother had no idea of her personal life with Mark so how could she know?” Christa has a history with men. Why should her patteren be different with Mark? She had issues with no man being perfect enough for her. Hey tha’ts the way men are! Mark was so kind to both Patrick’s and Christa’s family. He allowed both familys to go into the house and gather belongings. The courts said it was his house. He could have put everything out in the trash. He love both Christa and Sarah. You cannot blame him for Christa’s mental issues. Christa would get ideas in her mind and you couldn’t change them. She was right. That doesn’t go far in any relationship, family, friend, husband.
“Christa was a mom that all of us could aspire to be, it’s a tradgey she couldn’t or wouldn’t or purely didn’t know how to get help. She was always a determined person to succeed and do the best for Sarah. ” She didn’t do what was best for Sarah. She was certainly not a role model for anyone.
I sure hope you don’t aspire to be Christa, she is a murder.
“To speak of Christa brushing her hair and putting a pretty dress on and putting her 2 favorite dolls Glenda and Rosie under her arms which her brother have and hold dear to his heart like that’s a bad thing. I guess she should have left her in a wreck and that would have made it easier both families to handle?” The details haunt us. None of us can understand her actions. Her house was staged. Christa staged her house and planned her crime. How can anyone not be haunted by the images!
” I would bet that Patrick doesn’t know you have even wrote these things, maybe he should? Be mad at Chirsta but I’ll side with Your Brother, Sarah’s Dad..Christa made Sarah to be the beautiful princess she is..and she only had one bad day.” You know nothing of Patrick! He is forgiving, unlike Christa. He is grieving and suffering. He loves his sister and his family. He is not capable of murder or understading how someone he loved could murder.
“I know Sarah and Christa look down on all of us and smile. They are together eternally.. ” That is exactly what Christa wanted. Is that a good thing?
Tricia vented so what! Christa cause alot of pain for everyone involved.
“Sarah wouldn’t have it any other way.” I believe Sarah could have been quite happy and had a normal life if her mother had killed herself and spared her. I don’t think anyone believes she is better off dead.
Tricia vented so what! Christa cause alot of pain for everyone involved.
Watching her mother die slowly is not an excuse for Christa. I do not defend her actions. I could not imagine doing what she did to my child no matter how hard life gets. I only defend that in no way did she have a “normal” childhood as tricia has said. I miss Sarah horribly but I will still say Christa was a great mom that put all she could into Sarah. Her sickness got her and in her state she felt it was the best thing for her do I agree ofcourse not but to say she was a bad mom before this tradgey is just wrong. Anyone who has commented that personally knew them know different. I do believe for Sarah and Christa to be together now is a great thing. I know they are. Eternally they play together. I also share the same view Sarah would have missed Christa but would have changed the world with her sweet soul. Honestly, I think she is changing the world teaching us all to love a little harder, hold a little tighter, and try not to grieve too hard. I didnt attack Tricia, I as everyone else just had to state my thoughts. I see Sarah in every butterfly that passes. I wish all of this didn’t happen. I refuse to be negative about Christa because I know Sarah wouldn’t like it .
And actually no Mark couldn’t have thrown everything in the trash. It becomes Christa’s estate. He was instructed to let her next of kin retrieve her items. There would have been heavy ramifications if he had even tried to do that.
Actually, he could of thrown it in the trash if he wanted to. It was his house and she had been ordered out. By committing suicide she abandoned the property.
How about if he charges her estate for cleaning up the mess she made in that house? Or the time he had to take out to deal with her family traipsing through the house?
You can say I am cold if you like but a couple things remain as facts:
1. She murdered her daughter
2. She committed murder and suicide
3. She is in hell. She is not and never will be with her daughter.
You people need to grow up and quit your bickering. No wonder she was under the impression her daughter couldn’t live without her. Look at what the poor girl would have had to listen to if she was alive today and her mother had only committed suicide.
I just see a bunch of money grubbing pieces of garbage.
Not cold Danger. You just keep it real and say it as it is.
Everyone seems to get caught up in the emotional side of things and forget that this woman killed her daughter.
It is very clear you know nothing of North Carolina Estate Laws why dont you take some time to look them up before you comment making yourself look ignorant..You have no idea.. it has nothing to do with money at all..If you believe in heaven and hell then you must know that only god judges.. period no one else.
Your right Clair, God judges (Please capitalize his name when you say it, it’s very disrespectful and hypocritical of you to say you believe and then not give him the respect he has earned.) And I am correct when I say she is in hell because you have until the moment you die to repent of your sins, accept Christ into your heart and admit “ALL OF YOUR SINS”.
Now, with that in mind: Thou Shalt Not Kill is one of the Ten Commandments God gave to us and she violated this commandment when she killed her daughter and herself. Exactly when did she repent these last sins? Prior to committing them?
Does anyone know the bible well enough to clear up if you can ask forgiveness for a sin before you commit it and then go on and still commit it? I’m thinking the answer is no, but I’m not a Theology Scholar so I could be wrong.
I’m curious though Clair. You say that “…he was instructed to let her next of kin have her items. There would have been heavy ramifications if he had tried to do that.”
Did you guys file court motions as soon as she died to get your hands on her personal effects? Who gave him these instructions? The police? They don’t have the authority to do that, not even in North Carolina. Only a judge can do that.
This makes it look even more like it’s just a bunch of money grubbing white trash scum to me.
First I didn’t say I believed in god..I said if you believed in heaven and hell. Really Mark’s going to make Sarah’s family file motions to get her pictures and videos? That would really confirm what so many people have said about him. And again you keep saying things about money there is no money involved. It’s very clear you are completely ignorant on the facts of the case. Thought to ponder..Thou shall not kill.. does that mean the people that hit the button for lethal injections or pull the switch for old sparky…Are they damned to hell too? His attorney instructed him.
So his attorney instructed him. And you were present during this instruction by his attorney because you are the exception to the attorney client confidentiality rule. I will remember that, after all, that makes you more powerful than the Supreme Court that can’t even break that one.
Seriously, you said he was instructed or there would be ramifications. This means you threatened him in the minds of those of us who are reading your words.
Second, you say there is no money involved. Come on. Mark is loaded and you guys are all suddenly so concerned now that she has offed herself and her kid and want to blame Mark. What other reason do you have for throwing this huge fit.
If you were so concerned for your sister and your niece, then why didn’t you offer them a place to live? Could they not stay with you, the loving sister and aunt? Could you not spare a little bit a month to help her out? Why did she turn down the 65k if it wasn’t about greed and keep trying for more?
The facts point to a truth and that truth is that you were not involved in their lives on a regular basis and it appears refused help to them when you were confronted. I’m not making a huge jump here.
The woman offed her child and then herself because she felt she had no options left to care for her child. This is not justified in any way, but it is the facts. Had you offered her a solution then they would both be alive today.
Sleep on that tongiht. On second thought, read this every night before you go to sleep for the rest of your life.
Thank you so much for your kind words !!!
She didn’t say Christa was evil because she grieving. type “did”
You know what, family members? It really would be better if you wrote as if we didn’t have any clue who these people are. Because, believe it or not, we dont! (And, probably most of us doen’t really care so much, either).
Anyway, you guys sure seem to live a soap opera. I guess that’s where the murderess got her need to be a drama queen, and take the kid with her.
Christa deserves hell. Killing yourself? – eh, not my business. Killing a kid? That’s my business, and that pisses me off.
Note to Hell: please prepare a “special” room for Crista – real close to the flames. Thanks!
Hey i agree that Christa should have never taken her childs life.
But i dont think the ex husband is pure white either. There was a history of physical abuse, documented.
Christa was mentally unstable, but that will never excuse the murder of her child. The husband was a abuser. He should never have lifted his hand to a woman, the mother of his child.
NOT saying he is partly to blame for the daughters death, that was Christa’s decision.
But he is no angel.
Sarah’s father never abused Christa. There is a court record of her 2nd husband abusing her. However knowing how Christa operates; I wouldn’t be surprised if it was made up to generate sympathy in court. It is a he said she said. No one except Christa and Mark would ever know what really happened. Even if he did abuse her, that is not an excuse for what she did. There seem to be lots of reasons/excuses for Christa’s actions and none of them explain murdering your child; just a selfish and cowardice act.
So was she living in the first or the second husbands house? Was Mark Sarah’s paternal father?
Not that it makes a difference. A child is dead and nothing will change that.
She was living in the 2nd husband’s house and Mark was the 2nd husband.
Who is the childs paternal father????
Patrick Higgins
So please let me know if i have gotten this wrong.
Christa was living in Marks house who is NOT the father of the child.
They divorced and Christa decided to kill herself and her child rather than get out of the house.
Marks family is on here saying that Mark is greiving the loss of his daughter…but she is not actually his daughter.
Im sorry, i realize that im a bit slow to catch on sometimes.
I could understand him letting Christa live in the house if the girl was his child. But she wasnt. Was he supposed to be running a charity?
In light of my new understanding of events, Christa definately deserves hell.
We are not Mark’s family. We are the family of Sarah’s bio dad.
Patrick is Sarah’s dad. He and Sarah didn’t deserve this ending.
Your right, you did not deserve this. Sarah did not deserve this. You have my condolences.
Christa should burn in hell.
Selfish, ridiculous,whatever…Weak ass child murderer.
Christa’s siblings can try to rationalize her actions all they want – Christa murdered my beautiful and talented niece Sarah. It was the most extreme act of selfishness and cowardace a mother can do. She selfishly had chosen to take her own life and in that state of seflishness would not let Sarah experience life without her. She was a pure coward because the only way she could go through with hanging herself from the attic was to kill Sarah first. There was no way out once she did that – it had to force her hand. The autopsy reports show she was alive many hours after she murdered Sarah. They also show that Christa had half moon nail gouges in her hands showing that Sarah put up as much of a fight as she could after being drugged with a lethal dose of ambien. The reports also showed that Christa’s neck did not snap when she hung herself, so she died a slow suffocating death, just like her daughter. In one of her last letters Christa wrote that Sarah’s last words were I hate you mommy. I wonder what Christa’s last words were.
There is no reason to believe that a murderer would take the side of her victim in heaven. And Sarah is an angel in heaven. She had so much to share with the world and was such a good person. Reading notes from her classmates they all said how Sarah was everyone’s freind. One little boy wrote that when no one would play with him Sarah would. Sarah’s principle said that she was a talented writer and was confident that she would be a published writer one day. I will share with you all a poem she wrote that we put on the back of the memorial cards we made for her:
Roses
Roses try to bloom
uncovering one petal
after another
finally
after forty petals
come out from hiding in their home
the pretty roses
bloom
into a garden
of luscious
roses
and
slowly Mother Nature
smiles
because she knows
she did her homework.
by
Sarah Higgins
Sarah’s death is such a tragic loss to the world. Sarah’s poem “Roses” is beautifully written. She was amazingly talented and had a unique way with words for a 9 year old child. It breaks my heart to know that she will never be able to share her gift of writing with the world. My condolences to ALL of Sarah’s family members that are grieving because of this tragedy. RIP Sarah!
Wow, this poem stirred emotions in my withered black little heart. I actually have a tear rolling down my cheek. I HATE PEOPLE WHO HURT CHILDREN!!!!!!! Everytime I hear about child abuse, I want to kill the perpetrators.
NavyCop…How are you doing this fine morning? Hope your having a good day.
When I read this poem, it made me cry and I felt like my heart broke into a million little pieces. Sarah had a natural gift for writing. I can’t believe she was only 9 years old and had such a beautiful way with words. Sarah’s ability to write poetry surpasses many adults. My heart aches to think about all of the poems that she could have written and shared with the world. My heart aches to know her life was stolen from her and she was not given a choice. My heart aches for her in so many ways, but I am pissed off for Sarah to know that her mother took her life. I’m sure Sarah loved her mother, but I can guarantee you that Sarah wanted to live. Damn….this is making me fucking cry. Christa…..why did you take this beautiful child from this world? WHY?
Well, right now I am half-way through a box of Kleenex. Little girls are precious. I spend every minute with my daughter that I can. As a matter of fact, she took the batteries out of my alarm clock last night. She told me “Took battrees, so Mommy no go work anymore! No go work all day. Miss you too much, Mommy!” It tore at my heartstrings to hear that.
Why anyone would want to snuff out such a beautiful life is beyond me. Even if suicide was the Christa’s only answer, she had absolutly no reason to steal that Sarah’s life. Sarah had other relatives. Yes, no child should go without her mother, but that should be all the more reason to not commit suicide.
This makes me sick.
It is safe to say that when severe mental problems are not addressed that psychosis takes hold..I rationalize this with the help of professionals and When a person gets to the endless pits of depression psychosis begins and its only a matter of time before the person will do things that no one could ever see them doing. I believe this is the case. No one on either side of the families could have seen this happen or Any one of us would have stopped it. It goes way beyond being a coward or being selfish.
Grief is the agony of an instant, the indulgence of grief the blunder of a life.
(Benjamin Disraeli)
This is one of the worst uses of internet communications I can imagine.
First of all the premise of this whole site:”People you’ll see in Hell…”
Those people posting on this site voicing an opinion about who belongs in Hell should remember that it is not up to them to judge that fate. That final judgment belongs to God alone.
Even more disturbing is the back and forth on this type of site between the family members who all suffered in the loss of this little girl and her mother.
Does hurting each other by saying mean and vengeful things help any of you come to terms with what happened?
Those of you related to Christa will always have to live with your feelings for her and despair at what she did. You also have to deal with Sarah’s death. That’s a horrible situation for anyone to have to come to terms with.
Those of you not related to Christa can only feel anger at her, because she is the one who took Sarah from you and beyond that you have to feelings for Christa. When you vent your sorrow by attacking Christa, you force her relatives to try to defend her memory in some way, when there is no way to defend her actions.
Does coming on to this website and attacking/defending Christa and each other help any of you heal?
It seems to me it’s like rubbing salt into a wound.
Dwelling on this anger everyday is a big mistake.
It’s almost been a year.
What happened is tragic, awful, beyond comprehension and not meant to be understood. It is certainly not meant to be aired in public on a chat site that quotes Charles Manson!
Stop hurting each other. Try and come to terms with both your losses, as much as anyone could come to terms with this kind of tragedy.
But above all, show some dignity and respect for each other and the two souls now gone from all of your lives!
A Friend
Yeah cause we all really think that pressing that button is REALLY gonna send someone to hell.
I wish!
If this is one of the worst uses of Internet communications than what the #@%$ are you doing on it?
When complete strangers attempt to guess at what happened then yes, it does help me to set the record straight.
Do you really think because it’s been 91/2 months since this tragedy happened that we should just be over it? You NEVER get over the murder of a family member.
It’s bad for both Christa’s family and our family – we all have to live with the pain. We all are dealing with it in our own way.
I would have thought that one of the worse uses for the internet would be distributing child porn…. but thats just me.
One of the best ways to heal is to talk about your grief and pain. Whether it be over a cuppa with a friend, in a councellors office or on the internet….how someone chooses to deal with pain is a personal choice.
Thank you Amy for stating the obvious!
Well I guess if attacking other mourning relatives and splattering painful details as to how your niece and her mother died all over the internet is your idea of “coping”, you’re right. After all you’re certainly providing a ton of entertainment for “Amy” who didn’t even know the family relationships and who’s voyeuristic interest in this ought to be disturbing to anyone who is involved. But hey, if hurting others is how you make yourself feel better, perhaps a website about Hell is a perfect venue for you!
I’m curious why you think this is any of your business? If Loving Aunt wants to come here and give Christa a verbal beat down until the end of time, then I say go for it. I personally have zero compassion for the baby killing witch myself. Even if her motive wasn’t to spite Sarah’s father, I’ll bet dollars to donuts it was on her mind the whole time. So unless you can bring the dead back to life, uou’re about as useful around here as those proverbial Tits on that Bull
And you can bring the dead back to life? How useful is your comment?
Got a bumper sticker for you: “Mean people Suck”
As a matter of fact, I can bring the dead back to life. It’s one of the benefits of being God Almighty. And I’ve got a bumper sticker for you.
Jesus Is Coming, And Boy Is He Pissed!
Well that is good news Max, cause one of the kids fav goldfish died this morning and they are kinda upset. Any chaance of a miricle mate? Your gonna have to head down the toilet drain to perform the miricle though.
As for A Friends comment saying that this is entertainment for me…FUCK OFF. You think i find the death of a child entertaining? Your a real fuckhead.
It is makes you feel better Amy I don’t think that about you.
Whats with the family members coming her and pissing at everyone? Got no life? What should you people care about a bunch of strangers (like myself) say? Please grow the hell up and move on with your lives.
I have burried friends and family myself. I don’t mourn the loss. I celibrate their life. I think about the great times we had together. The talks and fights we had together. Pissing sobbing and moaning? Fuck no thats for loosers and the weak.
the mother killed a child then herself. She is rotting in hell right now. The child is in heaven.
husband #2 is scum and should be hung.
Thanks Mulch. This is actually the second comment of its kind in the past few weeks. One other moron said that because of a childs suffering that i was provided with entertainment.
I would never…could never, find the suffering of anyone, let alone a child entertaining.
Some people will say anything to get a reaction. Mostly i ignore them…this time i got pissed off.
No probs Amy. Only proves Aussies are human too!
I really miss Sarah. She was so beautiful, smart, sassy and funny! We just had a family event in which her participation was greatly missed. We cry both for our joy and our sorrow during celebrations. I’m not the only one who misses her. I’m not the only one who is completely changed by the loss. And this is my focus – I don’t care who is burning in hell. I only miss the beautiful angel who left earth too soon.
Your welcome my sister in the LORD and friend, I know that it is hard to lose a loved one and I am glad to hear your brother is well. We all love him and care for him those in SWG. You are remembered little Angel
I will never understand why these people feel the right thing to do is kill their kid. Wouldn’t the best thing you can do for them is give them a chance at life?