Kelsie's obituary includes mention of a partner, and also in-laws.
WI - Murder-Suicide at UW-Platteville Drom Room - Kelsie Martin, 22, of Beloit, & Hallie Helms, 22, of Baraboo - 19 May 2025
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Maybe it wasn't about Kelsie at all. Recent graduation, so there may be a LOT of pressure, stress and tension, from before and after graduation plenty of possible triggers to cause a mental breakdown that could be easily missed. Kelsie could appear as an authority figure or the heart of that place. That's as much of a "motive" may be involved in case of mental health faillure.
On the other hand...
Young woman? With a gun? In the dorm? Maybe Hallie got a gun cause she feared for her safety but... didnt have a lot of experience with guns? Could this be that she accidentally shot Kelsie and killed herself in shock?
On the other hand...
Young woman? With a gun? In the dorm? Maybe Hallie got a gun cause she feared for her safety but... didnt have a lot of experience with guns? Could this be that she accidentally shot Kelsie and killed herself in shock?
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That's true, especially women! MHO, of course.
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IMO that is really wishful thinking, that it could have been just an accident. Sorry.
Also guns would be strictly forbidden in the dorms.
appleatcha
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BBM. I wanted to fact check this because it isn't true of colleges in my state (state law doesn't allow colleges to ban guns), so I was curious about Wisconsin. I'll share what I learned to save everyone else the internet search:
Wisconsin is on this list of US states that allow campus carry, but with an editor's note that says "Wisconsin allows colleges to prohibit guns from campus buildings as well."
That led me to the university's website, which states, "No person may carry, possess or use any dangerous weapon on University of Wisconsin-Platteville lands, buildings, or facilities, without the written approval of the chief administrative officer or for law enforcement purposes."
So ChatteringBirds is correct: guns are not allowed in the dorms at this university.
I also found an article on this topic, specific to this shooting:
UW-Platteville shooting puts gun policies back in the spotlight
Not a wishful thinking. I dont see that as the most likely scenario but something that could happen. Obviously some details can make it more or less likely, or completely improbable.
The source of the gun may tell a lot. Was it legal? Was it hers? IMO when tragedy sounds so unusual then there is a good chance what led to it could be unusual too. Yes, some kind of psychosis could be the answer, it appears most likely.
But how is that wishful thinking? Its horrific no matter what exactly happened. Two young women are dead while they should be alive. Its kinda less tragic to have one dead victim and one dead murderer than to have more dead victims or a victim of an accidental shot and suicide victim as a result.
Its not on the level of next to impossible for me to imagine that, since Hallie just graduated she could be packing up her stuff and Kelsie, as the one responsible for things could come to let her know about something or ask about something and noticed a gun. With Guns not allowed in the dorm Hallie could try to grab it and hide it, accidentally pulling the trigger and shooting Kelsie.
Where i live Guns are very restricted, hardly anyone gets permission to own it, there are strict regulation how to store it and there are long courses before anyone gets allowed to buy one, yet shooting someone accidentally cause of the poor ways of handling it happens more often than murders or attempted murders (apart from criminal activities or police actions), so I guess that affects my perspective.
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I think we wish it were an accident, but how would a bright, 20-something, new grad react if they truly accidentally shot a peer?
IMO: They would call 911 begging for help, saying how sorry they were and that it was an accident.
Or alternatively, they might panic, hide the gun quickly, and then call 911 with a story.
But it's unimaginable to me that she would both not seek help for the victim and would just spontaneously decide to end her own life after an accident.
In an unexpected event involving death, people might freeze, panic, beg for help, take useful action, or possibly flee the scene (common with hit-and-runs).
This combination including suicide only makes sense if the accused was already having serious thoughts of suicide and, just like with the typical school shooting, decided to take a victim with her.
Perhaps she battled depression or a mental illness, I don't know. I agree psychosis is possible.
Of course I wasn't there to say 100% it wasn't an accident so all of this is just my opinion.
And I think LE would know if there was a potential motive, etc.
By the way, I had the belief that women committing suicide by gun is rare, so I just looked it up. And actually this is no longer considered a rare method for women. It is no longer rare at all, which is incredibly sad.
Source:
LE are investigating this case as a murder-suicide, so I agree with you that the shooter was possibly suicidal to begin with, and took out the victim like school shooters and other murderers do.
I just hope that there is some way that Kelsie's family can get justice in a situation like this. In the obituary for Kelsie, they made it clear that her life was taken from her. So there is no doubt in their mind that their daughter/loved one was the victim of a homicide.
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True. For me it'd be only possible if the person who accidentally shot someone was convinced that person is dead. And if there was some time between shots.
I can see how suicide may appear as the only option for a person who truly accidentally shot someone if they had just one scenario for their future - scenario that turned completely impossible after that point. Some people are commiting suicide cause they can't bear with the guilt of accidentally killing someone... but indeed, its not happening right after the act and when they are still in shock but kinda the exact opposite, when the shock goes away.
No idea why I assumed that some time passed (like at least 15 minutes) before someone found Kelsie and called for help.
There had to be a reason why she had that gun there. No way everything was allright and that gun just ended up being in her dorm room. So... yeah, youre probably right.
Having the gun there likely points to her own suicidal ideation and/or premeditation of the murder - or both.
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All good points being raised. Once the investigation is complete, do you think LE will offer details? Or will they state very little to the public - only speaking with the families?
I think they will speak only to the families. Since both the shooter and the victim are deceased, no criminal charges are possible, unless there is something related to the firearm and someone else is charged in that capacity and the media decide to report it and keep the news reporting on this case going. Or if there are grounds for a civl suit against the university or shooter's family, then we might learn more. Just speculation.
edited to add: Unless somehow the media gets access to autopsy reports, perhaps?
Since no criminal charges can be filed against the now deceased shooter, I wonder if the murder of Kelsie Miller happened in relation to her role as the resident advisor of the dorm. If that's the case, then perhaps the family will file a civil lawsuit against the university, if Kelsie was murdered while doing her job as a res hall advisor and if it was known that the shooter had mental health issues.
If the graduation ceremony had already been held, then it is likely that the move-out date from the res hall was coming up pretty soon, and that could set off a crisis for a student who is already having mental health issues.
JMO
If the graduation ceremony had already been held, then it is likely that the move-out date from the res hall was coming up pretty soon, and that could set off a crisis for a student who is already having mental health issues.
JMO
Another thought is that it's possible family members of the victim will speak out on their own at some point, or students on campus will speak out, especially students who lived in the same residence hall where the shooting took place. Maybe even local media will report on it, if LE have nothing more to say about the case when they conclude their investigation, due to the fact that no criminal charges can be filed against the shooter, even if warranted, since she is now deceased.
In one of the articles above says that Kelsie was assistant resident director of the dorm, meaning that she “responded to various emergencies around the hall, including mental health concerns, hate and bias reports, violations of campus policy and more”.
I wonder if that’s what happened, she was called to respond to a mental health emergency and things went south. If that was the case, I imagine there’ll be some litigation, but this is purely speculation.
I wonder if that’s what happened, she was called to respond to a mental health emergency and things went south. If that was the case, I imagine there’ll be some litigation, but this is purely speculation.
I think this is a good possibility. If the shooter was having a mental health crisis, then Kellie Miller would likely have been summoned to respond, and intervening with a person who had a gun would have been a very dangerous situation. If that is what happened, then as a family member I would want to know what kind of training the res hall advisors were given, especially at critical times like when people are graduating and moving out of dorms, during final exams, just before major holidays, etc. Also, going alone to deal with a mental health crisis instead of calling campus police, etc. Just some of the issues that may be important to the family.
If the shooting took place in the shooter's dorm room, then that might be another indicator/clue to what was going on, although speculation still involved, of course.
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It would be a criminal investigation because of the murder correct? I think those records would be subject to open media requests?
Regarding a possible civil lawsuit against the university, if there was evidence that the suspected murderer had a history of mental illness that was known and could have posed a danger to other students in the residence hall, including the res hall advisor, then this would be important information. The university would have to disclose this information in a civil lawsuit.
At our university, there is a Crisis Response Team and they meet every Monday morning to review details of student issues and determine if steps should be taken to actively address them, depending on their severity and danger to the individual student and/or other students and university personnel. The Crisis Response Team includes campus LE officer, Dean of Students, Director of the Counseling Center and other appropriate university administrators.
At our university, there is a Crisis Response Team and they meet every Monday morning to review details of student issues and determine if steps should be taken to actively address them, depending on their severity and danger to the individual student and/or other students and university personnel. The Crisis Response Team includes campus LE officer, Dean of Students, Director of the Counseling Center and other appropriate university administrators.
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