--- description: New details about the mother who shot and killed her two young daughters offer new insight into her mindset leading up to the attack. title: What Led Texas Mother to Shoot Her 2 Daughters image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt001d60c1d0cd13a3/69889a76f887dc203ae967d5/christy_sheats.jpg?branch=production ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # What Led Texas Mother to Shoot Her 2 Daughters  by [Justin Worland](/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent Jul 1, 2016 9:20 PM CUT  Christy Sheats of Houston, Texas, is shown on a Facebook page, June 29, 2016. Christy Sheats of Houston, Texas, is shown on a Facebook page, June 29, 2016.REUTERS  by [Justin Worland](/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent Jul 1, 2016 9:20 PM CUT New details about the Texas [mother](http://time.com/4384415/texas-mom-shot-daughters-dead/ "undefined") who [shot and killed](http://time.com/4386252/texas-mom-christy-sheats-taylor-madison-sheats/ "undefined") her two daughters have begun to shed light on her mindset leading up to the attack, according to a [report](http://www.people.com/article/christy-sheats-jason-sheats-marriage-shooting "undefined"). Christy Sheats, 42, had been on a downward “spiral” since the deaths of her mother and grandfather several years ago, her husband told investigators, according to a report in _People_. Recently she had taken medicine for depression and anxiety. Sheats shot her daughters, 22-year-old Taylor and 17-year-old Madison, on June 24 after calling a [family meeting](http://time.com/4384861/christy-sheats-texas-mom-daughters-family-meeting/ "undefined") ostensibly to talk about her impending divorce from her husband Jason, 45\. She [reportedly told her husband](http://time.com/4389591/christy-sheats-jason-sheats-daughters/ "undefined"), “you made me do this.” Christy was shot and killed by police when they responded to the family’s home. [Read the full report at ](http://www.people.com/article/christy-sheats-jason-sheats-marriage-shooting "undefined")[_People_](http://www.people.com/article/christy-sheats-jason-sheats-marriage-shooting "undefined")_._ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4392085/christy-sheats-texas-shooting/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4392085/christy-sheats-texas-shooting/"},"headline":"What Led Texas Mother to Shoot Her 2 Daughters","datePublished":"2016-07-01T21:20:25.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T23:01:22.115Z","description":"Christy Sheats, 42, had been on a downward \"spiral,\" her husband told investigators","url":"https://time.com/4392085/christy-sheats-texas-shooting/","keywords":["Crime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt001d60c1d0cd13a3/69889a76f887dc203ae967d5/christy_sheats.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Justin Worland","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/justin-worland/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt001d60c1d0cd13a3/69889a76f887dc203ae967d5/christy_sheats.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Christy Sheats of Houston is shown on a Facebook page","caption":"Christy Sheats of Houston is shown on a Facebook page","creditText":"REUTERS","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4392085/christy-sheats-texas-shooting/","name":"What Led Texas Mother to Shoot Her 2 Daughters"}}]}] ```