Wyoming Mother and Three Daughters Dead in Tragic Murder-Suicide
A mother and three of her daughters are dead after a heartbreaking incident in Byron, Wyoming. Tranyelle Harshman, 32, shot herself on Monday after calling 911 and reporting that her children had been shot, stating that she was “going to do the same to herself.”
Harshman succumbed to her injuries after shooting herself in the head. Authorities were notified around 1:30 p.m. when Harshman made the 911 call, alerting dispatchers to gunshots in her home and the shooting of her daughters.
The Big Horn County Sheriff’s Office reported that Harshman told dispatchers that she believed her daughters were dead. She also gave the locations of the victims—two of whom were found in their cribs upstairs and two others in a shared bedroom downstairs. In her final moments, she allegedly told dispatchers she was in her upstairs bedroom and intended to harm herself. Despite the dispatcher’s attempts to keep her on the line, the call was disconnected before help could arrive.
When authorities arrived “within minutes” of the call, they found two children, aged 2 and 9, dead from gunshot wounds to the head. A 2-year-old and a 7-year-old were also found with gunshot wounds. The 2-year-old girl died on the scene, while the 7-year-old was rushed to the hospital and later airlifted for advanced care.
Harshman was found in her bedroom with signs of life, despite a gunshot wound to the head. She was transported to a hospital but was pronounced dead on Tuesday.
As of Tuesday, the surviving 7-year-old girl remained in critical condition after surgery, with her family cautiously optimistic. A GoFundMe page set up to help the family shared that the young girl is suffering from a severe brain injury and is “fighting for her life.” The fundraiser highlighted the difficult journey ahead for the girl and her family, saying, “This loss and hurt is unimaginable.”
Friends of Harshman told the Scripps News Group that she struggled with mental health issues, including post-partum depression. One friend, Briana Baker, reflected on the tragedy, saying, “Everything can change in an instant. Never allow yourself to think, ‘It couldn’t be me.’ Stay humble and kind. You never know what someone is struggling with inside of their mind. Tranyelle was not the monster this tragedy makes her seem to be. Her loved ones don’t want her to be remembered for her darkest moments. She was sweet, loving, and funny. Her children were her main focus in life.”
