Melissa Cathleen Gardner, 33, was found dead in her Winfield, Kansas home on Sunday, January 15, 2017. A lifelong Winfield resident and Winfield High School graduate, she was described as a devoted homemaker and mother of four. An autopsy determined she died from a single gunshot wound to the abdomen; the bullet first struck her left forearm before entering the abdomen. Toxicology detected methamphetamine and amphetamine in her system.

Her husband, 32-year-old Zachary L. Gardner, was at the scene and taken into custody. He was charged with second-degree murder. Court testimony reported both Melissa and Zachary had used methamphetamine and other drugs that weekend. Zachary, an Iraq War veteran with diagnosed PTSD and a traumatic brain injury, said he had taken a loaded gun to bed because of concern about two other men in the house, and that he was startled awake by a scream and a shot but could not recall the sequence of events.

If anyone knew Melissa, the household circumstances that night, or has information about what happened on January 15, please come forward.