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An Idaho man who police said killed his estranged wife allegedly sent her mother a text afterwards, apologizing for his actions and explaining to her, “Satan got ahold of me,” according to reports.
Christopher Moon, 43, shot his 23-year-old wife, Cassandra Clinger, to death on the morning of Wednesday, January 21. Moon then died by suicide, police have confirmed.
“You were right,” wrote Moon, according to a screenshot of the exchange the family shared with Cowboy State Daily. “Satan, got ahold of me. I’m so sorry, I love her so much.”
When the texts came in, Cassandra’s mother, Cynthia, was home with the divorcing couple’s three children at her rural home in Freedom, just west of Idaho’s border with Wyoming.
Moon sent Cynthia other messages, urging her to take care of the kids, who are ages 4, 2, and newborn.
“Don’t do it,” answered Cynthia in a text message, according to Cowboy State Daily. “Your kids need you. All of them.”
“Just tell them that we love them and take care of our kids,” Moon responded. “We know they’re in good hands with you and [Jared], you’re amazing.”
Before he started texting Cynthia, Moon called 911 to say he had just shot his wife, according to a statement by the Bonneville County Sheriff’s Department.
Moon told 911 dispatchers “he had a gun” and was going to die by suicide.
Cynthia called 911 herself, and a SWAT team responded to the neighborhood, Cowboy State Daily reported.
Responding officers managed to speak with Moon briefly by phone and told him to surrender peacefully. Moments later, law enforcement said Moon was dead.
Deputies found their bodies inside their parked cars.
The oldest of Clinger’s five sisters, Alexa Edwards, told Cowboy State Daily that there were red flags that popped up after Cassie moved in with Christopher the week she graduated from high school. She alleged he lashed out at her about money, and could be physically, mentally and verbally abusive.
Doors in their home were damaged from punches and Christopher allegedly screamed at Cassie.
Moon has no prior domestic violence charges but did violate a domestic violence protection order in 2005, when he was his wife’s age.
The couple welcomed their first child in 2021, when Cassie was 19. Cassie delivered their second son in June 2023.
But Cassie left in 2024, prompting Christopher to propose. They got married in July 2024 and had a third child in August 2025. Cassie struggled with postpartum depression. The week after Thanksgiving 2025, Cassie left Christopher for the last time, and moved in with her parents, after he allegedly called her “worthless.”
Cassie obtained a protection order against Christopher, but he was later granted court permission to interact with her if it pertained to their children. Soon after, Cassie found a tracking device on her car.
Cassie filed for divorce and primary physical custody of the children on December 30, 2025, according to the site. In her petition, she urged the court to give Christopher “reasonable visitation rights.”
Christopher Moon conceded in his answer, filed on January 6, that they had irreconcilable differences.
Alexa called her sister “the best mother. She didn’t feel like it all the time, but she was such a good mom.”
Alexa hopes Cassie’s story reminds people to check on each other, and to alert their loved ones of relationship red flags.
“They may not want to listen, but at some point, that seed will plant,” said Alexa. “We have a broken system, but we just need to build awareness around it. Because the silence is what keeps this domestic abuse going.”
If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
