EDITOR’S NOTE: This report is an installment of The Ripple Effect, an occasional series in partnership with the Chicago Sun-Times that looks at the toil the city’s violence epidemic has on the families and friends of murder victims. In this installment, multimedia journalist Jessica Koscielniak and video producer Peter Holderness explore the life and death of 19-year-old Ashley Hardmon and the void her family must now face with her loss.
Tiffany Hardmon trembled in the arms of her husband, Anthony, as they slowly walked down the center aisle of New Mount Pilgrim Missionary Baptist Church on the West Side.
At the front of the church, the white-and-pink open casket stood vertically, holding the body of their 19-year-old daughter, Ashley Hardmon.
It’s exactly what Tiffany Hardmon requested for her “princess.”
“My baby ain’t gonna be looked down on,” Tiffany Hardmon, 39, said earlier in the week while planning funeral arrangements with Reliable Funeral Services director Anthony Hardman.
Ashley Hardmon — affectionately known as “Muffin” — was shot in the back of the head while standing with friends in the 4800 block of West Potomac about 9:40 p.m. July 2.