A young PBS employee who was also a military veteran has died days after she was shot outside her home, allegedly by her estranged husband, according to police and family members.
Ivy Unruh, a 25-year-old engineer for PBS Kansas, was shot in the upper body outside her Wichita apartment around 8 a.m. Friday.
The retired Marine was rushed to the hospital and died on Monday from her wounds, KAKE reported.
Unruh’s estranged husband, Joshua Orlando, 29, called 911 and reported the shooting — and was arrested at the scene, where a gun was also recovered, the Wichita Police Department said.
Orlando was booked at the Sedgwick County Jail on a charge of aggravated battery, which was upgraded to first-degree murder after Unruh died, according to KWCH.
Victor Hogstrom, president of PBS Kansas, said his news staff was devastated by their beloved colleague’s death.
“I heard about it and I was first informed, and the first thing I did was slam the desk with my two hands — bang, what? That was my reaction. I couldn’t believe it,” Hogstrom said.
Hogstrom said Unruh was “very motivated” and “trustworthy.”
“She worked with people well. She was smart and very intelligent. She was a good employee. We’re all missing her from here, a very dependable person,” Hogstrom said.
A GoFundMe launched for Unruh’s family to help cover funeral costs says she was a US Marine who “served her country with honor, strength and selflessness.”
“To those who knew her, she was more than a Marine — she was a daughter, a sister, and a friend who brought light into the lives of others,” the fundraiser states.
“She had the courage to walk away from a dangerous situation, yet tragically, her life was still taken.”
Police said Orlando and Unruh were married but separated.
Investigators are treating the case as a domestic violence homicide.