The Byron, Wyoming, woman who shot her four children then herself last month had both ketamine, a drug for post-traumatic stress disorder and depression, and clonazepam — an anti-anxiety drug — in her system, the coroner’s office says.
The Big Horn County Coroner’s Office released relevant toxicology results and other details on Thursday about 32-year-old Tranyelle Harshman’s death to Cowboy State Daily after the outlet requested them.
Harshman suffered what has been described as a mental health break Feb. 10 at her home in Byron, Wyoming. She shot her four children, then she shot herself. Three of the girls died on scene and another one died in a hospital in Utah six days later.
Tranyelle Harshman survived long enough for five of her organs — her heart, lungs, liver, kidneys and spleen — to be given to five people in desperate need of organ donations, her husband Cliff Harshman told Cowboy State Daily.
Ketamine is a rapid-acting dissociative anesthetic. It’s been used as a battlefield anesthetic because it can help wounded soldiers disassociate from their pain without depriving them of their consciousness, says a 2016 study examining the ethical implications of prescribing the drug.
Common side-effects can include hallucinations, delirium and irrational behaviors, the study says. Some psychiatrists prescribe it off-label to treat depression.
Clonazepam is believed to enhance the activity of certain neurotransmitters in the brain and is commonly used to treat panic disorder and anxiety.
Some people have thoughts of suicide after taking Clonazepam, Drugs.com warns.
‘Her Last Grasp At The Rope’
Tranyelle Harshman had been wracked with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), postpartum depression, and depression for years, her husband noted.
She had tried numerous treatments – after enduring a traumatic incident involving a person outside her family, having a miscarriage, hysterectomy and gallbladder surgery, and struggling with mental health conditions and financial difficulties after delivering her two youngest children, Cliff Harshman said.
On Thursday, Cliff Harshman voiced frustration with the continuing coverage of the tragedy. He said he hopes the world will give him a chance to grieve – and he hopes the aberration now associated with his wife’s chemical mental health treatments won’t discourage other people from obtaining treatments that may work for them.
“I’m bitter that this has had to continue to be a thorn in my side, when I need to just… grieve my family’s loss,” Cliff said. “I also want people to understand that this isn’t a chance to demonize different therapies. This works for a lot of different people. This was her last grasp at the rope, if you will, to hang on.”
Cliff Harshman remembers his wife as a loving mother and devoted life partner. He told the outlet that, like the children’s passing, Tranyelle’s death was a loss to him too. Cliff prayed to God to help him forgive Tranyelle, moments before she died that week in a hospital in Billings, Montana, he said just after the tragedy.
“I need to be able to – just accept that they’re gone, and not have to… continue to defend them even though they’re gone,” Cliff said Thursday.
Benadryl
The children were home sick with the flu that Monday.
The three children who died on scene (and therefore became subject to Big Horn County death investigations) had “unusual(ly) large amounts of Propanolol – beta-blocker – and Diphenhydramine – antihistamine which causes drowsiness – in their systems,” the coroner’s office told Cowboy State Daily in a Tuesday email containing the children’s death-investigation summary reports.
The propranolol is commonly used to treat high blood pressure.
Diphenhydramine is a key ingredient in Benadryl, which is an allergy antihistamine that causes drowsiness.
Contact Clair McFarland at clair@cowboystatedaily.com
Cliff Harshman lost his entire family last week when his wife, suffering from postpartum depression, shot her four young daughters then herself in their Byron, Wyoming, home. He tells Cowboy State Daily he’s just living one breath to the next. (Courtesy Photo) 
Tranyelle Harshman (Courtesy: Facebook) 
Cliff Harshman with his stepdaughters Olivia and Brailey, and their home in Byron, Wyoming.
Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.
