Quick favour from me—Listener’s Choice voting is now open for the True Crime Awards. If you’ve been enjoying the podcast, I’d be so grateful if you could take a few seconds to vote. Just click the link and type in True Crime with Elli Mac:

https://truecrimeawards.co.uk/truecrimeawards2026/en/page/listenerschoice

It really means a lot, thank you so much.

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On July 10, 2022, just after 5 p.m., police were called to a home on the 800 block of Orange Avenue in Helena, Montana, after a man dialled 911 and told dispatchers he had just opened fire on people inside his own home, claiming they had been trying to attack him.

Within moments, a second call came in from the same address, this time from another person inside, reporting that a woman had been shot.

When officers arrived, they stepped into a scene that was already unravelling, with multiple people inside the property and clear signs of violence having just taken place.

Seven people had been in the house at the time, four of them under the age of 18.

Among them was eight-year-old Arianna Frankie Louise Valez.

And her mother, Heather Hall.

As first responders moved through the home, they found Arianna suffering from a gunshot wound to her back, having been struck as she tried to get away from the chaos unfolding around her, while Heather was also found injured nearby.

Both were rushed for emergency medical treatment as officers worked to secure the scene and understand what had just happened inside that house.

Because at that moment, all they had was a 911 call from a man claiming self-defence… and a home filled with victims.

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