In the quiet hours before dawn on a Thursday in early October, two young brothers were shot and killed inside their Waxahachie, Texas home — allegedly by their own mother. Colleen Nichole Lemmon, 42, was found wounded at the scene and told officers plainly what she had done. The oldest, Christopher Scott Pitre, was 21; his brother had just turned 15. What drives a parent to such an act remains one of the darkest and most unanswerable questions the human condition can pose.
Texas mother charged with capital murder in deaths of two sons
Two sons killed: Christopher Scott Pitre, 21, pronounced dead at scene; 15-year-old brother died in hospital after gunshot wounds.
She told officers: I shot both my kids.
Mark
What do we actually know happened that morning?
Mimi
Deputies got a call about an unknown emergency just before 4:15 a.m. When they arrived, they found two gunshot victims inside the house. The older son was already dead. The younger was alive but critical, and he died later at the hospital.
Luke
And the mother's statement—she told officers she shot both her kids. That's her own words, not an inference from the scene?
Mimi
Yes. According to the arrest affidavit, she said it directly: "I shot both my kids."
Mark
What about the self-inflicted injuries? Was she trying to end her own life?
Mimi
She had lacerations on her wrists and was found covered in blood. They appear to be self-inflicted, but the affidavit doesn't say whether she was attempting suicide or whether it was something else.
Luke
So we know she confessed and we know she had injuries. We don't know her state of mind or what led to this moment.
Mimi
That's right. The charging documents establish probable cause for capital murder, but they don't explain why it happened.
Mark
What do we know about the boys themselves?
Mimi
The older son, Christopher Scott Pitre, was 21. The younger had just turned 15. Their father is alive and has said he wants justice.
Luke
And the bond is $2.5 million. That's a very high bond, which reflects how serious the charges are.
Mimi
Capital murder is the most serious charge in Texas. The bond amount reflects that weight.
Mark
What happens next?
Mimi
The case moves through the Ellis County legal system. She's being held pending trial. The father and family are seeking justice, though what that means in a case like this—where the defendant is the mother—is something the courts will have to work through.
Le Pouls
- Deputies arriving at a Big Sky Drive home after 4 a.m. found two brothers shot — one already dead, the other clinging to life before dying at the hospital.
- The mother, found bleeding from self-inflicted wrist wounds with a handgun nearby, told officers directly that she had shot both her sons.
- Ellis County authorities charged Lemmon with two counts of capital murder — the most serious charge Texas law allows — and set her bond at $2.5 million.
- The boys' father, Scott Pitre, has spoken publicly, demanding justice for his sons as neighbors and the sheriff's office offer condolences to a shattered family.
- The legal machinery is now in motion, but those closest to the victims know that no verdict can return what was lost in the space of a few minutes.
In the quiet hours before dawn on a Thursday in early October, two young brothers were shot and killed inside their Waxahachie, Texas home — allegedly by their own mother. Colleen Nichole Lemmon, 42, was found wounded at the scene and told officers plainly what she had done. The oldest, Christopher Scott Pitre, was 21; his brother had just turned 15. What drives a parent to such an act remains one of the darkest and most unanswerable questions the human condition can pose.
Just after 4:15 a.m. on a Thursday in early October, deputies responded to a home on Big Sky Drive in Waxahachie, Texas, and found two young men with gunshot wounds. Christopher Scott Pitre, 21, was already dead. His 15-year-old brother was rushed to a hospital in critical condition but did not survive.
Inside the house, officers found the boys' mother, Colleen Nichole Lemmon, 42, with blood on her and cuts on her wrists that appeared self-inflicted. A handgun lay nearby. When questioned, she told officers she had shot both her sons. She was arrested and transported to a local hospital, where her injuries were treated — they were not life-threatening.
The Ellis County Sheriff's Office charged Lemmon with two counts of capital murder. The evidence at the scene — her statement, her presence, the physical surroundings — gave investigators the probable cause they needed.
The younger boy had just turned 15. His father, Scott Pitre, spoke to local media and said he wants justice for his sons. A neighbor called the killings heartbreaking and said she was praying for the family. Sheriff Brad Norman offered his condolences publicly. Lemmon remains held on a $2.5 million bond as the case moves forward through the Ellis County courts — the legal process underway, but the loss it follows irreversible.
Deputies arrived at a house on Big Sky Drive in Waxahachie, Texas, just after 4:15 a.m. on a Thursday morning in early October to find two young men with gunshot wounds. The older, Christopher Scott Pitre, was 21. He was dead at the scene. His younger brother, 15 years old, was rushed to a hospital in critical condition but did not survive.
The woman found inside the house was Colleen Nichole Lemmon, 42, the boys' mother. She had blood on her and cuts on her wrists that appeared to be self-inflicted. A handgun lay nearby. When officers questioned her, she told them plainly: she had shot both her sons.
Lemmon was arrested and taken to a local hospital for treatment of her injuries, which were not life-threatening. The Ellis County Sheriff's Office charged her with two counts of capital murder. The evidence gathered at the scene—her presence, her statement, the physical evidence—gave investigators probable cause to believe she was responsible for both deaths.
The younger boy had just turned 15. His father, Scott Pitre, spoke to a local news station and said he wants justice for his sons. A neighbor, Ida Brown, called the killings heartbreaking and said she was praying for the family. Sheriff Brad Norman released a statement offering condolences to the father and family members, saying they would remain in the department's prayers.
Lemmon is being held on a $2.5 million bond. The case will move through the Ellis County legal system as a capital murder prosecution—the most serious charge available under Texas law. Two young lives ended in their own home. A family fractured in the space of minutes. The machinery of criminal justice has begun its work, but nothing it does will restore what was lost.
Citations marquantes
I shot both my kids.— Colleen Nichole Lemmon, alleged statement to officers
My deepest sympathies go out to the victims' father, family members, and loved ones involved in this tragic incident. They will remain in our prayers during this difficult time.— Sheriff Brad Norman
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