Wyoming
Father of 4 kids shot by Wyoming mom in murder-suicide is ‘so angry’ — and ‘a mess’ that depression drove her to such horrors
The father and stepfather of the four little girls shot by their mom before she turned the gun on herself says he is “so angry” — but also “a mess” because she was a loving, “incredible mom” destroyed by mental illness.
Cliff Harshman lost his 2-year-old daughters, Brooke and Jordan, and 9-year-old stepdaughter Brailey in the bloodbath Monday, while his other stepdaughter Olivia, 7, is still fighting for her life.
His wife Tranyelle Harshman, 32, shot all four of her kids at their home in Byron, Wyoming — then turned the gun on herself after calling 911.
The grieving husband and dad told KTVQ the overwhelming loss was “something beyond what I can comprehend.”
“I’m a mess,” he said in a phone interview. “I’m so angry. I don’t even know how to explain this to you. I’m so angry with her for the decision that was made,” he said.
But much of that anger was directed at the mental health issues he believes drove his wife to such horrors, similar to other cases, such as Lindsay Clancy, who is accused of killing her three kids while suffering postpartum depression.
“People don’t understand how mental illness isn’t just a willpower thing. It’s chemical imbalances in your brain.” Harshman told KTVQ of the post-traumatic stress disorder and postpartum depression his wife had battled for at least five years.
“She was an incredible mom and she loved those kids,” he insisted.
Cliff Harshman was helping to raise the two older girls, Bailey and Olivia, with his wife after she split from their dad, Quinn Blackmer, who is also struggling to comprehend the violence.
“I’m furious. 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,” Blackmer told KTVQ.
“There’s no textbook. There’s no playbook. There are very few people who have gone through this,” he said.
His younger daughter Olivia has been sedated and will be placed in a longer-term coma as doctors battle to lessen the swelling in her brain she suffered as a result of the gunshot.
Blackmer said the early signs were positive after a CT scan on Wednesday showed no serious blood vessel damage. He added that she had been semi-responsive to touch.
Blackmer said he had been singing to his daughter every night in her hospital bed to try and keep a connection to her.
“It makes all of us here very optimistic that things are trending forward,” Blackmer told KTVQ.
Blackmer, a member of the Church of Latter-day Saints, said Brailey was looking forward to being baptized into the church.
He said he had relied on his faith to get him through the unthinkable tragedy.
The horrific case has eery similarities to that of Lindsay Clancy, the mom accused of strangling her three kids in a fit of postpartum depression in 2023 inside their home in the Boston suburbs,
Recently, a judge ruled that The New Yorker must release all the audio recordings from its interview with Clancy’s husband, Patrick, regarding her mental state in the run-up to the tragedy.
The magazine’s publisher, Conde Nast, was hit with a summons this Monday to hand over the interview with Patrick Clancy in which he said she’d heard a voice telling her to kill their three children, the Boston Globe reported.
“She did not sound like my wife,” he was quoted as saying at the time.
The 2026 postseason has arrived for Wyoming High School boys’ basketball teams in Class 3A and 4A. They participate in regional tournaments from Thursday through Saturday. The regionals will be in Buffalo, Evanston, Gillette, and Lovell. Three sites will use the format: two wins qualify a team for the state tournament next week in Casper, or two losses eliminate a team. The 4A East Region has three loser-out first-round games on Thursday, followed by two days of games for seeding. The 4A East Regular Season champ draws a first-round bye and has qualified for the state tournament.
WYOPREPS 3A-4A BOYS BASKETBALL REGIONAL TOURNAMENT SCHEDULES
Except in the 4A East Regional, Friday starts with elimination games. The regional semifinals are on Friday night. The final seeds for next week’s state tournament will be determined on Saturday. The schedules below for this weekend are based on the brackets sent to WyoPreps. It is subject to change.
THURSDAY, MARCH 5:
Final Score: (3) Pinedale 58 (6) Mountain View 40
Final Score: (2) Cody 58 (7) Powell 46
Final Score: (1) Lovell 75 (8) Lyman 43
Final Score: (4) Lander 65 (5) Worland 40
FRIDAY, MARCH 6:
Game 5: Mountain View vs. Powell, noon – loser out
Game 6: Lyman vs. Worland, 1:30 p.m. – loser out
Game 7: Pinedale vs. Cody, 6 p.m. – semifinal
Game 8: Lovell vs. Lander, 7:30 p.m. – semifinal
SATURDAY, MARCH 7:
Game 9: Winner Game 5 vs. Loser Game 8, 11 a.m. – loser out
Game 10: Winner Game 6 vs. Loser Game 7, 11 a.m. – loser out (at LMS)
Game 11: Winner Game 9 vs. Winner Game 10, 5 p.m. – 3rd Place Game
Game 12: Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8, 2 p.m. – Championship Game
THURSDAY, MARCH 5:
Final Score: (3) Douglas 85 (6) Rawlins 50
Final Score: (2) Wheatland 57 (7) Burns 40
Final Score: (5) Torrington 35 (4) Newcastle 28
Final Score: (1) Buffalo 69 (8) Glenrock 44
FRIDAY, MARCH 6:
Game 5: Rawlins vs. Burns, noon – loser out
Game 6: Newcastle vs. Glenrock, 1:30 p.m. – loser out
Game 7: Douglas vs. Wheatland, 6 p.m. – semifinal
Game 8: Torrington vs. Buffalo, 7:30 p.m. – semifinal
SATURDAY, MARCH 7:
Game 9: Winner Game 5 vs. Loser Game 8, noon – loser out
Game 10: Winner Game 6 vs. Loser Game 7, 1:30 p.m. – loser out
Game 11: Winner Game 9 vs. Winner Game 10, 7:30 p.m. – 3rd Place Game (if necessary)
Game 12: Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8, 4:30 p.m. – Championship Game
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THURSDAY, MARCH 5:
Final Score: (NW-3) Kelly Walsh 64 (SW-2) Riverton 49
Final Score: (NW-1) Natrona County 77 (SW-4) Jackson 23
Final Score: (NW-2) Green River 50 (SW-3) Evanston 40
Final Score: (SW-1) Star Valley 62 (NW-4) Rock Springs 60 – Erickson makes a turnaround jumper at the buzzer off an offensive rebound for the Braves.
FRIDAY, MARCH 6:
Game 5: Riverton vs. Jackson, noon – loser out
Game 6: Evanston vs. Rock Springs, 1:30 p.m. – loser out
Game 7: Kelly Walsh vs. Natrona County, 6:30 p.m. – semifinal
Game 8: Green River vs. Star Valley, 8 p.m. – semifinal
SATURDAY, MARCH 7:
Game 10: Winner Game 6 vs. Loser Game 7, 11:30 a.m. – loser out
Game 9: Winner Game 5 vs. Loser Game 8, 1 p.m. – loser out
Game 11: Winner Game 10 vs. Winner Game 11, 4:30 p.m. – 3rd Place Game (at EMS)
Game 12: Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8, 4:30 p.m. – Championship Game
THURSDAY, MARCH 5:
Game 1: (1) Sheridan = Bye
Final Score: (2) Cheyenne Central 75 (7) Cheyenne South 35 – Bison are eliminated
Final Score: (3) Thunder Basin 75 (6) Laramie 59 – Plainsmen are eliminated; Bolts qualify for state
Final Score: (4) Campbell County 59 (5) Cheyenne East 39 – loser out; Thunderbirds are eliminated; Camels qualify for state.
FRIDAY, MARCH 6:
Game 6: Cheyenne Central vs. Thunder Basin, 4:30 p.m. – semifinal
Game 5: Sheridan vs. Campbell County, 7:30 p.m. – semifinal
SATURDAY, MARCH 7:
Game 7: Loser Game 5 vs. Loser Game 6, 11:30 a.m. – 3rd Place Game
Game 8: Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6, 2:30 p.m. – Championship Game
James Johnson Winter Showcase Basketball Tournament 2026
Photos from game action at the James Johnson Winter Showcase tournament in Cheyenne.
Gallery Credit: Courtesy: Shannon Dutcher
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