A tragic incident occurred when a young girl passed away several days after her and her three sisters were shot by their mother in a heartbreaking murder-suicide.
Olivia Blackmer, aged 7, had been bravely battling for her life at a hospital in Salt Lake City, Utah for five days following the shooting by her mother Tranyelle Harshman, 32, at their residence in Byron, Wyoming on February 10.
She had called the Big Horn County Sheriff’s Office at around 1.30pm that day to report the shooting, but did not admit to firing the weapon.
Instead, she just said that a shooting had occurred at her home and she thought all four of her children were dead.
Harshman also told a dispatcher that two of her daughters could be found upstairs in their cribs, while the other two were in a downstairs bedroom.
Upon arrival at the scene, authorities discovered that two of the girls, a 2-year-old and a 9-year-old named Brailey Blackmer, had tragically lost their lives due to gunshot wounds to their heads.
Two other children, another 2-year-old and 7-year-old Olivia, also had gunshot wounds to the head but were still alive.
Harshman was also found in her bedroom with a gunshot wound to the head but was still alive when cops moved in.
Olivia Blackmer, 7, succumbed to her injuries at a Salt Lake City, Utah hospital on Saturday
She had been fighting for her life since her mother shot her and her sisters in the head inside their Byron, Wyoming home on February 10
She succumbed to her injuries at a local hospital, and the surviving 2-year-old died a short while later at the scene.
Meanwhile, Olivia was airlifted to Primary Children’s Hospital in Salt Lake City, Utah, where she underwent brain surgery and spent days under heavy sedation to reduce swelling in her brain.
But her father, Quinn Blackmer, wrote on Thursday that Olivia’s situation was rough as he urged anyone with ‘a pulse’ to plead to God to help keep her fighting.
‘This is not an ask, this is a demand,’ he posted on Facebook, according to Cowboy State Daily.
‘We are running out of medical choices for her and we truly need a miracle,’ he said.
‘Her brain is continuing to swell and then react positively to the medication, but this is not long term.’
Doctors could no longer consider surgery to remove a portion of her skull because there was too much pressure inside her brain and it ‘would be catastrophic,’ Blackmer explained.
Wyomingites answered the call, organizing candlelight vigils across the state on Friday to pray for Olivia’s recovery, Cowboy State Daily reports.
Tranyelle Harshman, 32, called the Big Horn County Sheriff’s Office at around 1.30pm on Monday to report the shooting, but did not admit to pulling the trigger on her four daughters
Officers arrived on the scene minutes later and entered to find two of the young girls, ages 2 and 9, dead with gunshot wounds to their heads
An evangelical teacher in Uganda even organized a prayer service last week. Videos from that service showed dozens of children praying for Olivia and sending messages of love.
But tragically, the young girl died at the hospital on Saturday.
‘Olivia is with her sisters now. She gained her angel wings yesterday at 3.49pm. She fought so hard up til the last minute,’ her stepmom Katelynn Blackmer wrote in an update on an online fundraiser set up to help with Olivia’s medical expenses and Brailey’s funeral.
‘Her body and her brain had been through too much, medication helped, but we reached a point where medical options were exhausted and her body only continued to get worse,’ she explained, noting that Olivia ‘kept fighting through it all, though, until her heart stopped.
‘We are grateful she hung on as long as she did so we could get some valuable time with our sweet baby girl the last five days.
Quinn Blackmer, the father of Olivia and 9-year-old Brailey, begged for prayers as Olivia remained in the hospital and her condition worsened
‘We want to thank each and every one of you for your prayers and support for our family,’ she continued.
‘We are in a rough spot with the tragic passing of both daughters. We took time as a family to grieve and be in the moment before letting the world know, but wanted to let you all know as we are thankful for all that you have done,’ Katelynn wrote as the fundraiser netted nearly $106,000 for the family.
‘Olivia and Brailey know how loved they were by all of us!’ she insisted.
‘This is going to be extremely hard, please keep our family in your prayers as we figure out how to grieve this horrific tragedy day by day.’
She concluded her post with a bible verse, ‘I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith.’
Harshman’s husband, Cliff, the biological father of the two younger girls, defended his wife as he urged the public not to rush to judgment
Quinn had previously said he was ‘furious’ about what happened.
‘I’m trying my hardest to bury that for a while and to focus on the now, because that anger isn’t going to bring my child back,’ he said.
But Harshman’s husband, Cliff – who raised Brailey and Olivia from the time they were two and four and was the biological father of the two younger girls, Brooke, who was almost three, and Jordan, two – defended his wife as he urged the public not to rush to judgment.
He and Harshman’s friends have said she had mental health issues and had been suffering from post-partum depression.
‘People don’t understand how mental illness isn’t just a willpower thing. It’s chemical imbalances in your brain. It’s damaged pathways in your brain,’ Cliff told KTVQ.
‘She was an incredible mom and she loved those kids,’ he said of his wife.
Still, he admitted he is ‘so angry with her for the decision that was made.’
An online fundraiser has now been set up to help widowed husband, raising more than $127,000 for him as of Sunday.
‘This devastating event has left Cliff and his loved ones reeling in grief, struggling to come to terms with the immense void left in their lives,’ it says.
‘The financial burden of funeral expenses, ongoing family support, and other related costs only adds to their pain.’
