Mom MURDERS Four Daughters—Experimental Drug Blamed

Spilled prescription bottle with white pills.

A Wyoming mother with over four times the mind-altering threshold of ketamine in her system killed her four young daughters and herself, and now a wrongful death lawsuit claims experimental psychiatric drug cocktails without proper supervision drove the unthinkable tragedy.

Story Snapshot

Tranyelle Harshman, 32, shot her four daughters in February 2024 before taking her own life in Byron, Wyoming, with toxicology revealing lethal levels of ketamine and clonazepam in her system
Harshman received unsupervised at-home ketamine lozenges and off-label clonazepam from Sage Psychiatry Services despite reporting side effects like heart palpitations and disconnection from reality
Her mother filed a wrongful death lawsuit alleging the psychiatric practice failed to warn of risks or assess suitability for the experimental drug combination
The children had high levels of sedatives in their systems when they died from gunshot wounds to the head
Advocacy groups are pushing Wyoming lawmakers for transparency in psychiatric drug testing following violent deaths

The Unsupervised Prescription That Turned Deadly

Tranyelle Harshman struggled with depression, PTSD, and postpartum depression for years, cycling through treatments that reportedly failed to provide relief. When nurse practitioner Krista Blough at Sage Psychiatry Services prescribed ketamine lozenges and clonazepam as a last resort for treatment-resistant conditions, Harshman began taking the drugs at home without supervision. The ketamine was prescribed on an as-needed basis despite its experimental status for mental health treatment, while clonazepam was used off-label for PTSD without FDA approval for that condition. Before the February 2024 tragedy, Harshman reported disturbing side effects including heart palpitations, an inability to focus, and feeling disconnected from reality.

Four Little Girls and a 911 Call

Jordan Basil Harshman, Brooke Seline Harshman, Braylee Shae Blackmer, all nine years old, and seven-year-old Olivia Harshman died from gunshot wounds to the head in their rural Byron home. Toxicology revealed the children had high levels of propranolol and diphenhydramine, drowsiness-inducing drugs, in their systems at the time of death. Olivia survived for days in critical condition before dying in Salt Lake City. Tranyelle Harshman called 911 before turning the gun on herself. Big Horn County Coroner Bill Brenner confirmed that Harshman’s system contained ketamine levels over four times the threshold for mind-altering effects and impairment, alongside therapeutic levels of clonazepam.

A Lawsuit Demanding Accountability

Seven months after the tragedy, Rhonda Coplen, Harshman’s mother, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Sage Psychiatry Services and Krista Blough. The suit alleges the defendants failed to meet standards of care, provided inadequate warnings about the risks of combining ketamine with clonazepam, and improperly assessed whether Harshman was suitable for unsupervised ketamine therapy at home. Sage Psychiatry and Blough deny the charges, asserting that Harshman was fully informed of the risks and benefits and consented to treatment. The lawsuit remains active as of March 2026, with no resolution reported. The case raises critical questions about who bears responsibility when experimental psychiatric drug combinations are prescribed to vulnerable patients without rigorous oversight or clear diagnostic markers.

The Dark History of Ketamine and Psychiatric Cocktails

Ketamine, developed in the 1960s as a battlefield anesthetic, has gained traction as an off-label treatment for treatment-resistant depression despite significant risks including hallucinations, delirium, and dissociation. It remains unapproved by the FDA for mental health conditions. Clonazepam, a benzodiazepine, carries its own warnings for confusion, suicidal ideation, and mood changes, and is not FDA-approved for PTSD treatment. The combination of these drugs in unsupervised settings multiplies the dangers, particularly for patients like Harshman who were labeled treatment-resistant without objective medical tests confirming their psychiatric diagnoses. Advocacy organization AbleChild points to patterns of psychiatric drugs appearing in suicides, homicides, and murder-suicides, citing high-profile cases like actor Matthew Perry’s ketamine overdose death.

Wyoming’s Silence and the Push for Transparency

AbleChild testified before Wyoming’s House Labor, Health and Social Services Committee, urging lawmakers to require comprehensive drug testing in autopsies involving violent deaths and to mandate informed consent policies for experimental psychiatric treatments. Despite the advocacy, Wyoming has seen limited legislative action. In January 2026, AbleChild criticized the state’s silence after another murder-suicide occurred, arguing that officials prioritize protecting the psychiatric industry over public safety. Media coverage from Cowboy State Daily highlighted systemic gaps in drug testing for violent deaths, echoing concerns that psychiatric medications often escape scrutiny when tragedies unfold. The Harshman case spotlights the real-world consequences of prescribing experimental drug cocktails to desperate patients without adequate safeguards or accountability.