Melissa Ann Herrold, age 13 of Palm Springs, California passed away on Thursday, March 13, 2014, at home. She was born on Monday, March 5, 2001, and was the daughter of Reno Herrold and the late Cynthia Herrold. She was very good at crafts, loved animals and playing on her IPOD and computer. Melissa was very involved in school and liked cheer, singing, dancing and very popular. Her family describes her as fun, cheer, helpful , outgoing and always smiling.

Surviving are her Father, Reno Herrold, brother, Reno Roscoe Herrold, and sister, Jasmine Pullen, Grand parents George Newman, Karon Shisbey, step-grand father James Shisbey, great grandmother Sylvia Newman. aunt Jackie Stanley ( George ) and Laurie Freker ( Paul ).

The family is accepting memorial contributions at The Bank of Hemet, Beaumont, CA
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Cynthia and Melissa Herrold Remembered

Pink roses were on the teen's casket, white on her mother's. The two were shot and killed March 13 by Cynthia's live-in boyfriend, Delmar Davis, before he took his own life, according to Palm Springs police. Inside the home, police found multiple guns as well as what they described as a "military device."

Reno Herrold, Cynthia's former husband of 24 years, said their children — Melissa Herrold and her surviving brother Roscoe Herrold — were concerned about the guns at the Palm Springs home. The boy lives with his father. "They told me there were guns everywhere, but I had no idea how many," he said. "She wouldn't have put her daughter in that position" if there wasn't something wrong, Reno Herrold added. As he spoke, 10-year-old Roscoe held onto his father's leg. "He knows what happened," Reno Herrold said, tears in his eyes. "I told him what happened."

Above the church pulpit, a slide show depicted Roscoe and his sister laughing as they played in the snow, birthday parties, picnics and camping trips. Melissa was the kind of girl who never needed batteries in her Barbie car because she always had her brother push her, friends said. She was joyful, helpful to others and loved the outdoors, hiking, dancing and singing. "I just can't believe this happened," said Treyvan Elson, a young friend of Melissa Herrold's. "We are just happy we got to know her." Cynthia Herrold also enjoyed the outdoors, riding horses and had a special love for her dogs, especially for her Akita. The 43 year-old was a licensed barber and had many regular customers.

"The thought that you are no longer here will always bring me pain," Jackie Stanley, Cynthia's older sister, said during the ceremony. "Cindy and Melissa, when my time ends, will you both meet me at heaven's gate?"

Many of the bereaved were in their early teens. Parents held their children as they said goodbye to Melissa, a Palm Springs middle school student, and her mother, Cynthia Herrold. "Melissa, I can hear your voice and remember your smile," read a message on a collage created by classmates and friends of the 13-year-old who attended Raymond Cree Middle School.

"Who can make sense out of a senseless act of evil," said Pastor Henry Lundy. "We probably won't have the answers until we get to other side of heaven."

An analysis by the Violence Prevention Center, a nonprofit group focused on stopping gun deaths, said there were 691 murder-suicides in the U.S. in 2011, the most recent data available. Of those, 288 homicide victims were female, 89 were male and the gender of one was not identified. Of the 313 suicides, 283 were male and 30 were female, according to the report.