On October 26, 1996, 5-year-old Jessica Ely was killed in Anchorage when her father, Paul Ely Jr., pressed a gun to her head and fired. The same bullet continued and struck her mother, Christina, in the abdomen; Jessica’s 4-year-old brother, Corey, was also shot and killed while sitting on a neighbor’s lap. Paul then turned the gun on himself and died at the scene. Earlier that evening an Anchorage police officer, Dan Seely, had been mortally wounded in the building’s hallway; he died about an hour later at the hospital.

Christina was rushed to Providence Hospital in serious condition. There were no arrests; the sole suspect, Paul Ely Jr., died by suicide immediately after the killings. Funeral arrangements for Jessica and Corey were held at St. Andrew’s Catholic Church, and the events left the community reeling.

If anyone knew Jessica or the family, or has information about that night, please share what is known.