Community mourning loss of Merlin woman in murder-suicide

MERLIN, Ore. — A Merlin community is dealing with a devastating loss.

Kristina Mehaffey was killed earlier this month, but her life has left a lasting impression on many people she loved.

“I look at this place and it brings sadness to my heart, she didn’t have to go…,” said Shawn Wise, Mehaffey’s neighbor.

Shawn Wise says he was the last person Kristina Mehaffey texted before she died.

“I got a text message from her basically stating that she needed help,” Wise said.

According to police, Mehaffey was shot multiples times by her ex boyfriend, Jeremy Sweet, on July 11th. They say Sweet then turned the gun on himself.

“I don’t know what’s going on and then, seconds later…,” said Wise.

He says he walked outside after hearing all the commotion, but didn’t realize Mehaffey texted him until it was already too late.

“I could hear the yelling. I walked out there. Didn’t see him, thought situation had come to a head,” he said. “I made it halfway back to trailer and then gun shots ran out.”

Mehaffey’s body was later found inside her car outside a property she, Sweet, Wise, and others all shared in Merlin.

Wise says Mehaffey had broken up with Sweet, but still lived in a separate trailer on the shared property.

“She wasn’t free from it though, even though she was 100 yards away from him…same piece of property,” Wise said. “He could still walk over here at any time and harass her.

It’s a situation Jennifer Harp and Christy Borri say they never saw coming.

“She wanted to put her kids first and was trying to rebuild herself to give her kids the life that they deserve,” Harp said.

Harp says she was like a surrogate mother to Mehaffey, and Mehaffey’s two kids are still living with her today.

“They’ve lost her mom who was trying to do everything she could to have a better life.”

Both say they knew Mehaffey’s relationship with Sweet was rocky, but never anticipated anything like this.

“A lot of that was mom and dad I got this. She didn’t want us knowing what was going on,” said Harp.

Still, one thing they’re all feeling is guilt…that maybe they could have done more to help.

“Stay active in your kids lives. Know who they’re with and what they’re going through…because that’s where I failed,” said Harp.

Borri and Harp have setup a gofundme page for Mehaffey’s two kids who are 4 and 6 years old.

You can find the link here.

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