Category: Metro

SALT LAKE CITY (TCN) — The last surviving victim of a murder-suicide involving a mother and her four children died over the weekend after suffering traumatic brain injuries.

Olivia Blackmer’s family announced on GoFundMe that the 7-year-old died Saturday, Feb. 15, at a hospital in Salt Lake City after her mother, Tranyelle Harshman, fatally shot herself and her kids. Blackmer underwent brain surgery and other procedures in the days preceding her death.

The family wrote in an update, “She fought so so hard up til the last minute! 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 kept fighting through it all though until her heart stopped.”

On Feb. 10 at 1:30 p.m., the Big Horn County Sheriff’s Office Public Safety Communications Center received a call from a woman who said her daughters had been shot, and that two were in their cribs and the other two would be in a bedroom downstairs. The caller told the dispatcher she “could be found in her upstairs bedroom and that she was going to do the same to herself.”

The sheriff’s office wrote in a news release that the dispatcher “pleaded with the female caller over the phone for the female caller to remain on the line until responding units arrived,” but the caller “stated multiple times that she could not do that and that it was too late.”

The line ultimately went dead.

Several law enforcement units responded to the home and entered, where they found a 2-year-old and 9-year-old deceased with gunshot wounds to the head and another 2-year-old and 7-year-old, Blackmer, still alive but with shots to the head. The 2-year-old died at the scene from her injuries. Officials located the caller, Harshman, with “signs of life” and began rendering aid.

Paramedics transported Blackmer and Harshman to nearby hospitals. Blackmer was air lifted to another hospital for advanced care, then taken to Salt Lake City. Harshman died from her injuries.

Harshman’s husband, Cliff Harshman, told Cowboy State Daily that Tranyelle Harshman was coping with postpartum depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and depression.

He shared, “My wife was not a monster.”

Cliff Harshman said Tranyelle Harshman’s actions were “so out of character” because they had been getting her help, “and along the way, something didn’t work.”

Cliff Harshman was the father of the two younger kids, while Quinn Blackmer was Olivia Blackmer and 9-year-old Brailey Blackmer’s father. Harshman’s daughters were identified as Brooke and Jordan.

The four kids were reportedly home from school that day because they had the flu.

Cliff Harshman told Cowboy State Daily, “As angry as I may be with her, I still love her — and I still lost her as well.”

MORE:

• Help Olivia Fight After Tragic Loss – GoFundMe
• Tragic Shooting Incident – Big Horn County Sheriff’s Office
• Husband Of Woman In Byron Murder-Suicide Says She Was Depressed, Struggling – Cowboy State Daily
• Wyoming mother allegedly shot her 4 daughters, called 911, and then shot herself – TCN

Source: True Crime Daily

SULLIVAN COUNTY, Tenn. (TCN) — A judge sentenced a 23-year-old woman to life in prison after she was convicted of killing her toddler daughter, leaving her body in a trash can, and covering her remains with foil.

Sullivan County court records show a jury convicted Megan Boswell of three counts of first-degree murder, two counts of aggravated child abuse, one count of tampering with evidence, 11 counts of false reports to officer, one count of abuse of corpse, and one count of refuse/neglect to comply death under suspicious circumstances in connection with the death of 15-month-old Evelyn Boswell. WJHL-TV reports Boswell was sentenced to life with the possibility of parole for the murder charges, but she will be sentenced in May for the others.

Evelyn Boswell was reported missing to the Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office on Feb. 18, 2020, but family members said she had not been seen since Dec. 26, 2019. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) issued an Amber Alert the next day. On March 6, 2020, TBI detectives executed a warrant at one of Boswell’s family’s properties and discovered the girl’s remains.

TBI Agent Brian Fraley testified at a hearing in September 2022 about how Megan Boswell’s father reached out to the agency and requested they search a shed on his property. WJHL reports Fraley said the father “believed it may have been valuable for us to look in it,” and when they did, they discovered the toddler’s remains in a trash can behind a playhouse.

Evelyn Boswell was placed in a trash bags and blankets underneath additional layers of bags.

The Tennessee Lookout reports forensic pathologist Dr. Darinka Mileusnic-Polchan described Evelyn Boswell as being “tightly wound” in a blanket and wrapped in aluminum foil. Mileusnic-Polchan said Evelyn Boswell was “sort of compressed in the can” and her facial features were “pretty much flattened.”

Boswell reportedly claimed she was co-sleeping with her daughter and her boyfriend, and when they woke up, Evelyn Boswell was unresponsive.

The girl’s cause of death was listed as asphyxiation.

TBI Director David Rausch said in a statement following Boswell’s verdict, “Five years ago, we began working alongside the Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office, the FBI, and the Office of the 2nd Judicial District Attorney General to pursue justice for Baby Evelyn. Today, justice was finally served. Every single person who worked on this case should be commended. It was both challenging and heartbreaking, but they never wavered from their mission to ensure the person responsible for Evelyn’s death was held accountable.”

MORE:

• State of Tennessee vs Megan Boswell
• Jury hands Megan Boswell life sentence after guilty verdict – WJHL
• Missing toddler was reportedly wrapped in blanket and tinfoil, placed upside-down in trash can, 9/27/2022 – TCN
• Mom pleads not guilty to killing daughter who was suffocated by foil, placed upside-down in trash, 6/21/2024 – TCN
• AMBER Alert: Evelyn Mae Boswell, 2/22/2020 – Tennessee Bureau of Investigation
• TBI agent describes finding Evelyn Boswell’s body, 9/23/2022 – WJHL
• Testimony reveals Sullivan County toddler died after being placed in trash can, 9/23/2022 – Tennessee Lookout

Source: True Crime Daily

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Source: True Crime Daily

This Week on True Crime News The Podcast: An argument between socialite Penelope McGee and her politically prominent ex-husband, Andrew Savitz, ended with Savitz dropping dead and McGee charged with manslaughter. McGee was ultimately found not guilty, but that leaves one major question: who should be accountable for the man’s untimely death?

Luis Bolaños joins host Ana Garcia.

YouTube: Socialite acquitted in ex-husband’s death after fatal argument

Source: True Crime Daily

CANANAIGUA, N.Y. (TCN) — Five people have been arrested and charged with murder for allegedly subjecting a missing 24-year-old trans man to ongoing physical abuse for several months and disposing of his body in a field.

According to New York State Police, Sam Nordquist traveled to New York from his home state of Minnesota in September 2024 and last spoke with his family in January. They reported him missing to New York State Police Troop E on Feb. 9 after asking troopers to conduct a welfare check at a lodge where Nordquist had been staying with some of the suspects.

Investigators discovered Nordquist’s remains in a field in another county and later arrested Precious Arzuaga, Jennifer Quijano, Kyle Sage, Patrick Goodwin, and Emily Motyka on charges of second-degree murder — depraved indifference.

In a press conference, Kelly Swift, captain of the Bureau of Criminal Investigation of Troop E, said investigators executed a search warrant at the lodge and uncovered a “deeply disturbing pattern of abuse that ultimately resulted in Sam’s tragic death.”

Swift said Nordquist “endured prolonged physical and psychological abuse at the hands of multiple individuals” between December and February. She described it as “repeated acts of violence and torture.”

Swift called this case “one of the most horrific crimes I’ve ever investigated.”

Ontario County District Attorney James Ritts also spoke at the press conference and said, “The facts and circumstances of this case are beyond depraved. This is by far the worst homicide investigation that our office has ever been a part of.”

He added, “No human being should have to endure what Sam endured.”

Swift said investigators “haven’t ruled out” whether Nordquist’s death was a hate crime.

The five suspects are in custody and are being held without bail.

MORE:

• New York State Police Seek Public Assistance in Locating Missing Person – New York State Police
• NYSP Missing Person Press Conference – WHEC-TV

Source: True Crime Daily