A close friend of Tranyelle Harshman, the Wyoming mother who tragically took her own life and those of her four young daughters, has come to her defense, saying she wasn’t a monster.
Nicole Jensen told Daily Mail UK that Harshman is a “fierce mama bear protector” who had been struggling with her mental health following a bitter custody battle.
Jensen believes that Harshman’s final act was her way of protecting her children.
“I will defend her and her memory until the end of my days,” Jensen said. “I know that she felt she couldn’t live anymore but also couldn’t abandon her children without her to fight for and care for them.”
On February 10, Harshman fatally shot her daughters, Brooke and Jordan, both two, Olivia, seven, and nine-year-old Brailey, inside their family home in Byron, Wyoming, before turning the gun on herself.
The mom had called the Big Horn County Sheriff’s Office to report the shooting but did not admit to firing the weapon.
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When officers arrived, they found the two youngest girls dead in their cribs, and Brailey suffering a gunshot wound in a downstairs bedroom. The three girls were pronounced dead at the scene, while seven-year-old Olivia succumbed to her injuries five days later. Harshman died in the hospital two days later from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Jensen, who met Harshman at a Mormon church in Oregon, defended the troubled young mom. “She spent the past nine years fighting every day for her daughters,” Jensen said. “As a mother, you are rarely given the support you need, anytime you ask for help you are told that you chose to be a mother and to suck it up.”
Jensen described Harshman’s struggles with mental health and her determination to protect her children. “She struggled but she was also the first person to jump in and help when she saw someone in need,” Jensen said. “In a weird way, I understand why she felt like she had to do what she did.”
Harshman was also suffering from polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), a common female reproductive disorder that affects how well the ovaries work, impacting fertility. A 2024 study found that women with PCOS are eight times more likely to take their own life than those without it.
Jensen claimed that her friend was under added pressure after her divorce and became embroiled in a bitter battle with her ex-husband over custody for the two older daughters. “That was part of the struggle,” she added. “PCOS messed with her hormones, and then you add postpartum depression and anxiety on top of two very quick pregnancies, a nasty court battle for custody of her oldest two, while she was pregnant with her youngest.”
