Idaho mayoral candidate, woman from prominent family found dead from gunshot wounds in murder-suicide

HAILEY, IDAHO: A woman and a mayoral candidate have been found dead in a coffee shop on October 22. The dead bodies of Ashley Midby and Jared Murphy were found with gunshot wounds and police believed that they died in a murder-suicide. As reported by PEOPLE, the 28-year-old man was running for mayor of the small town of Bellevue, Idaho. He also worked as a police officer in the Hailey town while the 34-year-old Midby belonged to a prominent family and managed the Coffee Corner -- a Bellevue eatery on N. Main Street -- where they were found dead.

According to police, Murphy and Midby were known to each other, but the nature of the relationship they shared was not disclosed. Meanwhile, a GoFundMe page has been launched by a friend of the woman to help workers of her coffee shop financially as well as her family with the unexpected tragedy. The message on the fundraiser read: “I am fundraising for the family to help cover unexpected expenses; such as loss of income for employees. The money raised will be used to support this family and the business (employees) Ashley loved. We will also fight in legislation to enact laws that protect domestic violence/abuse victims to help ensure more protection for women. This is set up to provide people who are asking how they can help outside of providing meals and as a request from community members.”

While Hailey Mayor Martha Burke said, “Our deepest condolences go out to the friends, coworkers, certainly the families, and all those so painfully impacted by this extreme tragedy. The loss of young life pains us all, and we, with the entire local community, deeply grieve these losses.” Karne Tackett, Midby's devastated mother, also expressed her grief in a social media post that stated, “This world lost a beautiful ray of sunshine. May her bright smile, her cheerful spirit, her tender loving heart live on. There is absolutely no greater pain than losing your child. No words can be found to fully express this pain our family is feeling."

In another incident, an Ohio mother was killed in an apparent murder-suicide by her husband, who later killed himself. Mikki Starr was allegedly killed by Zachary in September. Both of their bodies were found by police at their home in Lima, Ohio. Cops arrived at the scene after family members notified them Zachary had shared some "alarming" messages on his Facebook page. Detective Sergeant Jason Garlock said, “We had information from family members that there were some social media messages that gave us the indication that’s what we’re probably looking at right now." However, no motive behind the incident was provided immediately.

"Mikki was an avid runner, enjoyed bowling and loved animals. She was an amazing, devoted mother who loved and lived for her kids. Mikki was a caring soul who always wanted to help people; she will be deeply missed by everyone who had the pleasure of knowing her,” an obituary written for the 27-year-old woman read.