We Came Together To Lay to Rest a Beautiful Soul Today
Kansas City Star Article:
Pregnant woman killed in Olathe home on the day she was to learn her first baby’s sex
BY MAX LONDBERG
jlondberg@kcstar.com
January 31, 2018 11:18 PM
Updated February 01, 2018 06:18 PM
The day she was killed, Ashley Harlan of Olathe had plans to learn the sex of her first baby.
Instead, the 23-year-old was found dead Tuesday afternoon inside a house at the Westerfield Townhouses off East Westerfield Place. Olathe police said one day later that Harlan’s death is being investigated as a homicide.
Sgt. Logan Bonney, a spokesman with Olathe police, said the department had no new details to release on Thursday. He added that officers have received multiple tips, but he encouraged others with information to come forward as well.
Harlan had moved into the Olathe house earlier this month from Manhattan, Kan., to be nearer to her baby’s father, friends said. She was living with her grandfather.
Harlan was about 20 weeks along in her pregnancy.
She had not had an easy life, according to Kaitlin Beeton, 22, and Tabitha Brown, 23 — both of whom described themselves as close friends of Harlan’s since grade school. Harlan attended Spring Hill Middle School with Beeton, and the two quickly became close in the town south of Olathe.
Harlan’s mother died when she was “very young,” Brown said, which resulted in her entering the foster care system. Harlan and Brown once lived together for a few months in the same foster home.
“She had a hard time finding her way,” Brown said.
But eventually, she did, Brown added.
Tabitha Brown (left) lived with Harlan for a short time when the two were children in the same foster home. Brown said Harlan was turning her life around before she was killed. “I was so proud of my sister.”
Tabitha Brown
Though Harlan struggled with drug addiction after running away from her foster home, Brown said that with the help of friends she had gotten clean and begun working on behalf of victims of sex trafficking at Homestead Ministeries, a Christian-based organization in Manhattan.Though Harlan struggled with drug addiction after running away from her foster home, Brown said that with the help of friends she had gotten clean and begun working on behalf of victims of sex trafficking at Homestead Ministeries, a Christian-based organization in Manhattan.
Harlan had attended classes at Kansas State University and her goal was to become a social worker to “help kids who’d gone through things like her,” Beeton said.
“She’d been doing so well, working hard on her future.”
Harlan planned to start a job in the coming weeks as a mentor to foster children.
She was living with her grandfather until she and her boyfriend could “get back on their feet,” Beeton added. They were hoping to one day rent an apartment together in Olathe.
Harlan’s grandfather was out of town in Las Vegas when his granddaughter was killed, Beeton said.
Brown, who was to be the godmother to Harlan’s child and planned to accompany her to the ultrasound appointment, said her friend never did learn the sex of her baby.
“I don’t know who would want to hurt her,” Brown said. “She was the sweetest person I think I’ve ever known.”
Those with information are encouraged to contact Olathe police at 913-971-6950 or the TIPS Hotline at 816-474-8477.
Wednesday
I got a text at work Wednesday morning from Deb that said something horrible had happened. I called her and she said Ashley had been found shot and was gone. I was in shock. I told her we needed to gather the girls together. I felt like a zombie while finishing a meeting and a few things to get ready to go. In the parking lot I texted Scott and called PD to pray with me.
At the house, the girls were crying. I was in shock. We sat together and tried to process it. I just couldn’t get it to sink in. We looked through her Facebook page and tried to piece it together. We started contacting past girls to let them know. A few local ones came. It was comforting to sit together. We laugh d about Ashley’s loud squeal, her favorite outfits of leopard pants and a lime green sweater.
I returned to work and felt like I was in a dream state all day. After work Erin called as I was leaving and I dumped on her. Then I processed it with Heather during clinical supervision. I went to my work out class and felt like I wasn’t there. At home I texted with Pepper and Heather, former Homestead girls and talked with Sandy, our first Homestead mom which helped. Sarah (clinical supervisee/friend) called and that also helped. Scott came home and took care of me and I cried.
Thursday during group, I felt better but the girls were really struggling. Another previous girl came. We talked and prayed and remembered and laughed.
Today was the funeral. We all met at Homestead and carpooled. 30 of us. Current and previous girls, mentors, volunteers. It was so good to just be together and to know we were all hurting so much. Sandy and her daughters came. Pepper flew in from Detroit. We met Ashley’s boyfriend and he had nothing to say. No one knows why this happened or who could have done it.
The girls who came today:
The service was nice, done by her youth Pastor at Life Mission Church. And Deb spoke. The family sat like zombies.
The graveside service was awful. Crying and freezing and staring at the casket. At the end, each of the girls took a flower from the large arrangement to keep.
The lunch was prepared by Ashley’s uncle’s men’s group and was delicious. Each of our girls spoke eloquently about Ashley and their memories of her.
After the funeral, as life goes on, we drove to Missouri to pick up a new Homestead girl. She seems very sweet and grateful to be at Homestead. We drove back to Manhattan and sat around laughing and remembering and just comforting one another again.
I met Ashley as a Homestead girl but she became a friend. We went for walks together and had amazing talks. I met her aunt and uncle. She came every day last semester and let our dogs out. She stayed here a few times. She called me many times to talk and problem solve while she was filling in as house manager. She told me she considered me one of her moms. I can still hear her voice, her laugh, and see her face. It still hasn’t completely sunk in that she’s gone. I keep going back and forth from deep, exhausting sadness to disbelief. Below is what I wrote and sent to the aunt.
I have watched Ashley grow from a scared, rebellious, impulsive teenager when she first came to Homestead to the beautiful, loving, caring woman she was just yesterday. When she first came, she was sure she had all the answers, for herself and for everyone else. All of a sudden she was surrounded by all these mom’s who loved her and she wouldn’t listen to anything we said. And then she did. And she grew. She softened and let us love her. And she matured and made sense of her story. And she fell in love with God.
Ashley had such a giant heart. She loved God so much. And she loved every single person she met. Fully loved. Her life has touched so many people. She lived to help others and sacrificed so much to be able to pass on the love she received from God and us to others. She was so real, so genuine, so fun-loving, so giving.
Words cannot express how special she was to all of us who knew and loved her.
. The process is simple and efficient. I go into a dressing room and strip from the waist up and don a comfy gown. Then I head into the room where I lie down, put my arm in the mold, they line me up and then they leave. A big door closes (apparently they can see and hear me so it doesn’t feel scary). The machine makes some beeps and then moves to the other side and makes some more beeps and I’m done. Takes about 5 minutes tops. 
a giant spoonful and getting it into his mouth with little mess.
dianegclark 