Cliff Harshman said he is struggling to comprehend the actions of his wife, Tranyelle Harshman, who he said was battling mental illness. A Wyoming mother killed her three young daughters in the family home before turning the gun on herself in a horrifying case that has left her devastated husband reeling. Cliff Harshman said he is struggling to comprehend the actions of his wife, Tranyelle Harshman, who he said was battling mental illness.
![[Cliff Harshman said his wife, Tranyelle, was suffering from PTSD and had been getting help]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/02/14/4/24/Tranyelle-Harshman.jpg)
“People don’t understand how mental illness isn’t just a willpower thing,” he continued. “It’s chemical imbalances in your brain. It’s damaged pathways in your brain. She was an incredible mom and she loved those kids.”. He is grieving the loss of his 2-year-old twin daughters Brooke and Jordan, and his 9-year-old step-daughter Brailey. Harshman told the State Daily that his wife was undergoing treatment for her mental health issues, and explained that she was dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder and post-partum depression.
“My wife was not a monster,” he said. “This is so out of character. It’s unbelievable what had happened. We’d been getting her help, and along the way something didn’t work. As angry as I may be with her, I still love her – and I lost her as well.”. The Big Horn County Sheriff Office’s shared the harrowing details of what unfolded in a media release. The events immediately leading up to the killings are unknown, but after Tranyelle shot her daughters, she called 911.
Police said that Tranyelle told the call dispatcher where they could locate the bodies of the children. “She told the dispatcher two children would be located upstairs in their cribs and two children would be downstairs in their shared bedroom,” Big Horn County Sheriff Ken Blackburn said in the media release. “The caller further stated she could be found in her upstairs bedroom and that she was going to do the same to herself,” Blackburn continued.
The dispatcher pleaded with Tranyelle to remain on the line until emergency services arrived at the scene, but the mom said it was “too late.”. First responders found her still alive when they arrived at the house, but she later died from her injuries in a local hospital. Little Olivia was airlifted to a hospital where she remains in critical condition. Olivia’s biological father, Quinn Blackmer, has been keeping vigil by her bedside while grieving the loss of his other daughter, Brailey.
