"Those babies will never know how much Ashely loved them," the fundraiser reads.
Trigger Warning: The following content contains mentions of intimate partner violence, suicide, and gun violence, which may be distressing to some readers.
A family in Oklahoma is grieving the tragic death of a mother of two small children who was shot and killed by her estranged husband earlier this month.
Konrad Pfannenstiel fatally shot his wife Ashley Pfannenstiel on April 8 in Blanchard, Oklahoma, a town located about 30 miles south of Oklahoma City. The man then repeatedly shot a responding policeman before turning the gun on himself, McClain County Sheriff's Office said, per PEOPLE.
The officer was shot numerous times but is making a full recovery, per ABC affiliate KOCO News. Ashley, 30, described as a "great mother," leaves behind two kids, Fallon, 2, and Karson, 5 months old.
Anything helps. Even a share. As the page mentions, this beautiful woman’s life was taken by her husband before he ended his life. my heart breaks for her family and the babies she left behind. She deserved so much better ❤️ https://t.co/7oqMoX7HgY
— ReallyMimo💀 (@ReallyMimo_) April 10, 2023
In order to assist the family with funeral costs and financial support for the kids, a friend of the Pfannenstiels started a GoFundMe page. "Ashley had two babies, Fallon and Karson, that was her life," the page, created by family friend Kenny Rodgers, says. "Ashley would constantly show off pictures of her kids to family, friends, and anyone that would listen. She was a great mother, with a big heart that did not deserve what happened to her and now those babies will never know how much Ashely loved them."
Family members talked about Ashley with the local media. "She was fun," her mother, Stephanie Poole, told local KFOR. "She was the life of the party. She was absolutely everybody's best friend."
Kristy McKinney, Ashley's sister, told KOCO that the family was appalled by Konrad's actions. "This is a person who we respected in our family — who we really liked — that we trusted with our sister and her kids," McKinney told the outlet. "We all celebrated when they got married. We supported [him] as a person in our family, and we loved him like he was ours."
They disclosed to KOCO that on March 29, Ashley had requested a victim protective order be placed against her husband. Konrad was apparently required to surrender his firearms to local law enforcement as part of that directive. He never did, though. "I couldn't be more proud of this family for sticking together to ensure the children of this senseless tragedy are taken care of," the family's lawyer Kim Rennie wrote on social media this weekend, adding, "RIP Ashley Pfannenstiel, your babies are well loved and safe."
If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
References:
https://people.com/crime/murder-suicide-leaves-two-young-oklahoma-children-without-parents/
https://www.koco.com/article/oklahoma-blanchard-man-shoots-wife-murder-suicide/43545726
https://www.gofundme.com/f/honoring-ashley-pfannenstiel
https://kfor.com/video/family-mourns-loss-of-ashley-pfannenstiel/8559666/
Cover Image Source: GoFundMe
