Friends mourn domestic violence victim who died 'with a 4-year-old in her arms'

A mother of three is being mourned after she died in what police are describing as a murder-suicide that happened in Vancouver last month.

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — A mother of three is being mourned after she died in what police are describing as a murder-suicide that happened in Vancouver last month.

New details are also emerging about that horrific incident, including that the woman was with her four-year-old at the time.

Carissa Larkin lost her life after her estranged partner, Kyle Palmer, allegedly showed up to her house on the morning of July 25, shot and killed her in the driveway of her home and then turned the gun on himself.

"I got a phone call from the 11-year-old daughter, screaming, uncontrollably, I couldn't understand what was being said," said Larkin's best friend, Baylee Gonzalez.

Gonzalez said Larkin was with her four-year-old in front of her car and Palmer was to the side of it leading up to the murder-suicide. The child was grazed by a bullet.

"I got pulled aside by the Chaplin and the officer and they said 'Carissa is deceased and we have an unknown male suspect," Gonzalez said. "And I said, 'It's not unknown, his truck is right here and he has a no-contact order.'"

Gonzalez said Larkin filed a restraining order against Palmer.

Another friend of Larkin, Amie Emery, said she was trying to protect her family after an alleged sexual assault.

"She was going through a million things in her life and overcame every one of them," Emery said.

National Women's Coalition Against Violence and Exploitation (NWCAVE) Founder and CEO Michelle Bart told KOIN 6 News that as an advocate for domestic violence victims, cases like this are all too common.

"How many times do we keep hearing this, from all of the cases that we know?" Bart said. "He did what he did, carried it out, with a four-year-old in her arms. They will stop at nothing. 'If I can't have you, no one will.'"

Authorities are still working out where Larkin's kids will go after all of this. For now, those who loved her are cherishing her memory.

"She was just your person and she was my person," Gonzalez said.

"We had a link that I'll never share with another human," Emery added.

The four-year-old is expected to recover physically as he just got stitches in his hand removed Friday. However, all three kids are currently in therapy.

Check out NWCAVE's website to stay informed about domestic violence issues. More information about domestic violence support programs can be found on the Washington State Domestic Violence Information and Referral website. You can also contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline (NDVH) at 1-800-799-7233.