“His favorite thing to do was just drive around with his dog,” said Crystal Michaels, Catelli’s half-sister. “That was his best friend and really, it was, like, pretty much his only friend other than talking to us.”
Catelli, 35, was shot and killed in June. His mom, 58-year-old Christine Catelli, confessed to eliminating her kid, cutting off his head and discarding his body in Whitman County.
His body was not found up until last month, when Christine Catelli admitted to the killing and led authorities to her kid’s body. According to court files, Christine Catelli’s sibling convinced his sibling to turn herself in after she informed him Jan. 14 she killed her kid prior to she went into drug rehab last summertime.
Christine Catelli said in court files she shot her kid several times due to the fact that she “didn’t want him to suffer.” The shooting took place at her sweetheart’s Spangle home, where, according to Michaels, Chase Catelli likewise lived off and on.
Michaels, who resides in Georgia, said Chase Catelli had a rough youth.
“I knew all about his life,” Michaels said. “He would tell me stories about everything his mother did to them, and they were horrible.”
Still, Michaels said her sibling had plenty of life and love, consisting of for his mom.
Michaels and Chase Catelli share the exact same dad, Robert Edinger, who Michaels referred to as an embellished Vietnam War veteran. She said she has actually not talked to Edinger in a lots years.
“His main concern in life was his mom,” Michaels said of Chase Catelli.
In November 2020, he composed a Facebook post stating he wished to one day purchase a home for his mom. Chase Catelli typically composed on his Facebook page about anxiety, solitude and how he missed his family. His posts dropped in December 2020.
Michaels said she consulted with her sibling often up till about the last 1½ years of his life. She understood he had a drug issue.
“He was really calm, sweet and passive for the most part,” she said.
Michaels said Chase Catelli had 5 kids. He enjoyed animals and outside photography, taking images of animals and landscapes. She said he would stop his vehicle on the side of the roadway and take photos if he saw an animal.
She said he had fun with reptiles like turtles and snakes, and revealed her, by means of video calls, that he made buddies with animals, like chipmunks and raccoons.
“Pretty much every animal would just follow him around, I think,” Michaels said. “He was like an animal spirit.”
She said she and others attempted to get in touch with Chase Catelli in 2015, however he never ever responded to. She feared something bad might have taken place to him, or possibly that he remained in prison.
Michaels said her sibling took trip with his dog, taking images and hanging out by himself throughout the journeys, which might have likewise explained why she might not reach him.
“We tried like crazy to get in touch with him,” she said.
Michaels said she was ravaged when she learnt what took place.
“The same woman that I knew that destroyed his whole life is the same one who’s gonna take it,” she said.
Christine Catelli remains in the Spokane County Jail dealing with a second-degree murder charge. She is scheduled for an arraignment Tuesday in Spokane County Superior Court.
