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THE EMPTY CHAIR

By Andrew SHEBAY

True Story - Completed 2022

America’s most prolific and unknown
serial killer is set to be released from
prison unless Harriett Semander, the
mother of one of his many victims,
can find a way to keep him behind
bars.

- Year of production
- 2022
- Genres
- True Story, Crime, Drama
- Countries
- USA
- Languages
- ENGLISH-UNITED STATES
- Budget
- 0 - 0.3 M$
- Duration
- 22 mn
- Director(s)
- Andrew SHEBAY
- Writer(s)
- John SEMANDER
- Cast
- Robyn LIVELY, Chris MULKEY, Justin HURTT-DUNKLEY
- Producer(s)
- Andrew SHEBAY (Pipeline Films)
- Synopsis
- When Elena Semander is brutally murdered in 1982, her family’s whole world is tragically turned upside down. But that’s really just the beginning. Her mother, Harriett Semander, will soon uncover startling revelations about the case, and eventually learn that the man who killed Elena is scheduled to be the first serial killer ever released from prison.
  
  On August 9, 1982, the authorities in Houston, TX, are numb with the knowledge of discovery as they hear the confession of Coral Eugene Watts... the most prolific, and yet unknown, serial killer in America. He admits to killing 13 women in exchange for a lighter sentence of 60 years for the attempted murders of Lori Lister and Melinda Aguilar, two of his “luckier” assault victims... both of whom miraculously survived.
  
  The EMPTY CHAIR that sits at the Semander’s kitchen table is a constant reminder to the entire family of what they have lost. As they try to move on with their lives, the memory of Elena looms heavy.... especially for Harriett, who simply can’t escape the presence of her daughter’s empty seat at the table. She tries to navigate through the five stages of grief, but refuses to accept peace just yet. At the expense of the rest of her family, she sacrifices decades of her life on a crusade to shed light on the case and all that went wrong. In the end, Harriett will realize that she is fighting something much more powerful than just Coral Eugene Watts. She is battling a broken criminal justice system that is intent on releasing her daughter’s killer back into society... and the clock is ticking.