Heidi Olson-Hartley, a 6-year-old girl from Kalispell, Montana, died on the morning of May 11, 2025. Shortly before 6 a.m., police were dispatched to the family's home on Werner Peak Trail in the Silverbrook Estates neighborhood after a 911 caller made “concerning statements” and then hung up. Officers forced entry when they couldn't reach anyone inside and found four people dead from gunshot wounds: Heidi; her mother, 27-year-old Katie Olson-Hartley; and her seven-month-old brother,
Stellan; along with the children's father, 33-year-old Nicholas Olson-Hartley. Authorities identified the scene as an apparent murder-suicide that unfolded in the family's North Kalispell home on Mother's Day.
Investigators said their initial evidence indicated that Nicholas Olson-Hartley killed his wife and children before calling 911 and then took his own life. Police described the deaths as the result of a murder-suicide and reported no indication of an ongoing public threat. As the suspected perpetrator was dead at the scene, there were no arrests, and authorities did not seek additional suspects.
In the days that followed, the community and school district mourned the loss. A letter to families from the superintendent at Edgerton Elementary remembered Heidi as “a bright light,” and the district put crisis-response support in place for classmates and staff grappling with the tragedy. Local outlets continued to report on the sequence of events as investigators processed the home and interviewed those who knew the family.
