“I’ve lived here my whole life,” Barker said. “We’re a small community with people who don’t always see eye to eye, but when it comes to families in need, we’re there to help. The way that people come together in times like this is what I love about this place. We stand for each other.”

A GoFundMe site has been established to help pay for Wahl's funeral expenses. It can be found under "Funeral Expenses for Marisa Wahl" or by going to https://bit.ly/2voCh6u.

Lori Grannis of Missoula has known Wahl since she was 5 years old.

In an Instagram post, Grannis said she was “deeply shocked and saddened to learn of the passing of a young woman so so dear to my heart … Wahl was murdered by her children’s father, who then turned the gun on his own mother and children’s grandmother.”

“Their young daughter … and infant son … (just a week or so shy of his first birthday) have now lost both parents — one to death and the other to the legal system. Their young lives are changed forever.”

“Domestic violence is an epidemic,” Grannis wrote. “Drug use is epidemic. I’ve known this beautiful, gentle, young woman since she was 5 years old — one of the first little souls I met upon moving to Montana. Now she is gone, and I’m left questioning if there were signs I missed. I am so broken tonight. I loved this little girl like a daughter.”

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