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The father of 7- and 9-year-old girls shot Monday in a murder-suicide in Byron, Wyoming, is praying frantically for the one of four young children who survived.
Quinn Blackmer was in Salt Lake City, Utah, on Wednesday morning with his 7-year-old daughter Olivia — the only survivor in an apparent murder-suicide that claimed the lives of three other kids and their mother.
The girls’ mother, Tranyelle Harshman, 32, is believed to have shot all four of her children in their heads Monday afternoon, called 911 to tell law enforcement where they were, then shot herself.
Harshman, who was rushed to care, died Tuesday afternoon.
Olivia, who was rushed by ambulance then flown to care, was still fighting for her life Wednesday morning, Blackmer told Cowboy State Daily.
She pulled through a brain surgery earlier this week and had a CT scan at about 8 a.m. Wednesday. The surgeon told Blackmer at 8:20 a.m. that the little girl didn’t appear to have major blood vessel damage.
The surgery was largely exploratory and involved some cleanup in the little girl’s brain, Blackmer added.
“Everyone here is optimistic,” he said.
The girl is heavily sedated as medical professionals monitor her brain swelling. But she’s been twitching her feet; she responds to pain reception tests, and at one point when Blackmer told her he was going to go to the bathroom, she squeezed his hand as if to say, “stay.”
‘Praying For My Baby’
If her brain swelling continues, doctors may have to induce a coma to ride it out, said Blackmer.
“I need the world praying for my baby,” Blackmer told Cowboy State Daily during a Wednesday-morning phone interview. “I need her to pull through. I don’t have my (older) daughter anymore and this is all I have left.”
The oldest girl killed in the shooting, 9-year-old Brailey, died on scene. She and Olivia are Blackmer’s girls, while the younger two girls who died on scene, ages 3 and 2, were Cliff Harshman’s.
Though Blackmer and Cliff Harshman weren’t “best buds” following Blackmer and Tranyelle Harshman’s divorce, this tragedy has brought them close, said Blackmer. He urges the world to pray for Cliff, too.
Blackkmer confirmed to Cowboy State Daily that a Gofundme campaign by Wendy Rupper dedicated to Olivia’s recovery is legitimate. He said another one dedicated to supporting Cliff Harshman is also legitimate.
The page for Olivia’s recovery fund had raised $20,690 as of Wednesday morning, while the one dedicated to Cliff Harshman had raised $74,065.
Blackmer said Olivia’s tenacity is helping her through as well.
“She’s a sassy redheaded little baby,” he said. “She’s got spunk and she’s a fighter.”
‘Wonderful Man’
Blackmer called Big Horn County Sheriff Ken Blackburn a “wonderful man.”
The sheriff was among the first agents to arrive on scene Monday.
As they arrived, they knew Tranyelle Harshman had been indicating to a dispatcher that she was about to shoot herself, but they didn’t know for sure whether she had, or whether they may be walking into an ambush.
They treated their entry as a tactical response.
Big Horn County Sgt. Jeff Angell was the first one to enter. When he saw the children in the home, images of his own grandchildren flashed through his head, he told Cowboy State Daily on Tuesday.
From talking to the sheriff, Blackmer related that Sheriff Blackburn had found Olivia still alive — and she’d squeezed his hand.
Blackburn has been “extremely transparent and as comforting as a person can be at a time like this,” said Blackmer.
Olivia, 7, left. At right is Olivia, her older sister Brailey and their baby brother. (Courtesy Quinn Blackmer) 
Quinn Blackmer with his dauthers, Bailey and Olivia. (Courtesy Quinn Blackmer) 
(Clair McFarland, Cowboy State Daily)
Fighting
Blackmer said he had been fighting for full custody after his divorce of about four years ago, because he believed his daughters would thrive in a long-term living arrangement with him. But he never imagined such a tragedy could happen to them.
Their custodial arrangement, established via mediation in Wyoming, had the girls spending most of each summer, spring break, Christmas break and some weekends with him. Plus, he could visit them in Wyoming with notice, he said.
“I did worry that something bad would happen in the future,” said Blackmer. “But I had no idea — I could never imagine this.”
Singing
Blackmer has been singing to his daughter.
Olivia moved her fingers and hands as he sang the praise song “I’m a Child Of God,” he said.
That’s a song he would always sing to both of his daughter when they were at his home as part of their bedtime routine, which also included hugs, kisses and secret handshakes, he said.
Blackmer isn’t interested in eating or drinking right now, but he’s forcing himself to stay hydrated and stay focused on what matters, he said.
His body is torn between urgently watching and caring for Olivia and grieving the loss of Brailey.
Brailey was smiley, sweet and smart, said Blackmer.
“She’s the kid that every parent hopes they have,” he said, tearfully. “She was so smart and so loving and so understanding to everyone. And she was just such an angel that didn’t deserve this at all. None of those kids did.”
Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.
