My sister, Nikki Addimando, was at the police station. I needed to pick up my nephew Ben, who was 4, and his sister Faye, who was 2. Over the course of the day I learned that my sister had shot and killed her partner, the father of her children, a person I had known for a decade. Eventually, I would learn that her partner, Chris Grover, was horrifically abusive, and she killed him to save her own life. It's easy to tell kids things are fine and they are safe.

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Persons: Michelle Horton, Nikki Addimando, Ben, Faye, Chris Grover, Noah, Nikki, hadn't, Nikki wasn't, they'd, he'd, I've