In a quiet Meridian, Idaho neighborhood, the morning of March 5, 2019, gave no indication of the tragedy that would unfold later that day. Christine Steiner, a 41-year-old Caucasian woman, was at home on East Chateau Drive, a place that would soon become a crime scene. Later that day, she was found deceased on the floor of her master bathroom. The cause of her death was a gunshot wound to the head.
The events leading to the discovery began to unfold around 3:30 p.m.
when Christine was attacked by her husband, Eric James Steiner. The initial assault involved a crowbar, with which he struck her in the forehead. When that didn't prove fatal, he used a 9 mm handgun, a pistol he already had in his waistband, to shoot her. For nearly six hours, Christine's body remained in the bathroom while life outside the home continued with an unsettling normalcy. Eric even picked up their 4-year-old son from daycare and a 17-year-old exchange student from lacrosse practice, telling them that Christine was diabetic and sleeping.
At approximately 9:15 p.m., the veneer of normalcy was shattered when Eric Steiner himself dialed 911. In a calm and matter-of-fact tone, he told the dispatcher, "I killed my wife." He also admitted that he had considered killing the children but couldn't go through with it. When police arrived at the well-kept home, a residence they had never been called to before for any violent incidents, Eric Steiner surrendered without resistance. Inside, officers found Christine's body, and the two children were discovered asleep in their rooms, unaware of the violence that had transpired.
Eric Steiner was taken into custody and charged with first-degree murder. During his confession to police, he showed no remorse for his actions. He cited financial strain and an argument with his wife over him smoking cigarettes as the catalysts for his decision to kill her, a thought he claimed to have had around noon that day. In February 2020, Eric Steiner pleaded guilty to first-degree murder. Following his plea, he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. The judge described the murder as "cold-hearted" and "cold-blooded," noting a lack of genuine remorse from Steiner.
