Why a Wash. Woman’s Boyfriend Turned Her in For Murder After a Concerning Facebook Message
After learning his girlfriend had been accused of murdering her ex’s mother, a Washington state man said he called 911 to tell police where they could find her.
Ashley Horning, 25, is being held on $1 million bond after Spokane Police charged her with the second-degree murder of Christina Powell, the 48-year-old mother of her ex — and the grandmother of her young daughter.
Zachariah Gardner told KXLY he and Horning had been dating for several weeks when he discovered she was a murder suspect.
“She was a good woman, I’ll tell you that for sure,” Gardner told the station. “Obviously, that’s hard for some people to see right now.”
Police allege Horning fatally shot Powell on Thursday morning before going on the run from police.
Court documents obtained by PEOPLE confirm Gardner received a Facebook message from Horning not long after Powell’s killing. In it, she allegedly expressed suicidal thoughts.
Gardner said he went to meet Horning, who was sitting on a bench about a mile from the crime scene.
“Long story short, I picked her up because I felt something was off,” Gardner told KXLY.
It was then, he said, that Horning showed him a news story about how police were searching for her.
“It was a stressful situation and I said, ‘We’re going to turn you in,’ and then she agreed,” Gardner recalled.
Gardner told the station police were on the scene within a minute of that call.
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He said that Horning was anxious, depressed and wanted custody of her two children who were staying with their fathers.
PEOPLE could not independently confirm KXLY’s report that the fathers of Horning’s two children had no contact orders against her.
The investigation into the killing continues. Horning allegedly told police she disposed of the gun used in the killing, tossing it into the Spokane River.
Police do not yet know how she allegedly obtained the gun.
“Knowing her personally, that wasn’t something that she would normally be capable of, or want to do,” said Gardner of the allegations.
It was unclear Monday if Horning had entered a plea to the charge she faces, or if she has retained a lawyer who could comment on her behalf.
Horning, speaking from prison, told KHQ she has no memory of the alleged murder, and only realized she was in trouble when she saw social media postings about her wanted status.
