One year later: Slain teen's parents speak about their loss

The calendar pinned to Ashley Doolittle’s bedroom wall shows June 2016.

The rodeo queen's room has remained largely untouched since June 9, 2016, the day she was killed. Her room has the touches of a teenage girl: She hung strings of Christmas lights and pictures on the wall and set stuffed horses among the pillows on her bed.

Tanner Flores admitted to investigators that he shot Ashley, who had recently broken up with him, repeatedly while he was driving the pair in his truck near Carter Lake west of Loveland. At the time, they were both recent graduates of Berthoud High School. Flores reportedly then drove her body to a small town in western Colorado. He has since pleaded not guilty and is bound for trial in September.

In the year since Ashley's death, family members have grappled with their loss and their sense of urgency to honor Ashley’s legacy.

"It’s been really hard," Ashley’s mom, Ann Marie Doolittle, said in an interview at her Loveland home. "The kids were my life."

Ann Marie and Jeff Doolittle, Ashley’s dad, express their grief in measured terms. They appear to be steeled by their mission to establish the Ashley Doolittle Foundation and their time spent unwittingly in the spotlight since their daughter’s high-profile death rocked communities across the state.

They won't talk about the trial or criminal case, but they talk about the silly, goofy, caring young woman that Ashley was and what the foundation will become.

Remembering Ashley

Ashley, who was 18 when she died, and her 16-year-old brother, Michael, spent their childhood in Lafayette, where their love of horse riding, hunting and the outdoors outgrew their home. The family relocated to a home on 3 acres in south Loveland, where the town turns to farmland and the sunlight dances on fields.

There, they gathered a collection of dogs, horses and a miniature donkey named Eddie, who Ashley took on walks with her to the mailbox.

Ashley’s love for horses began when she was a toddler and she helped care for the horses her grandfather bought after his retirement. She began riding when she was 5 and showing horses when she was 8. From there, the passion would take hold and shape her young life.

"It was like she could talk to the animals," Ann Marie said. "She just had a special bond with them. She could get on any horse."

Ashley and Ann Marie were a team at her shows. The pair would rise early in the morning, load the horses and drive to each show. In the beginning, Ashley was too little to lift the saddle onto her horse, so Ann Marie would help ready the horse and style Ashley’s hair.

Ann Marie watched as Ashley transformed from a child who needed her help into an independent young woman who enjoyed helping others.

"It was like, 'Oh, I’m not ready for that yet,' " Ann Marie said. "I wanted to keep helping, but she could do it on her own."

Ashley’s leadership took on many forms. She was named the Boulder County Fair and Rodeo lady-in-waiting in the year prior to her death, which is the precursor to becoming the rodeo queen. Children would flock to her at shows and ask for her autograph.

Ann Marie recalls one instance when a little girl beamed after meeting Ashley. Ann Marie asked Ashley if she simply signed her name each time a child asked for it, or if she did more.

"She said, 'No, I write a special message for each kid, individually, that can relate to them and help inspire them,' " Ann Marie said. "She was always there wanting to help people."

And she did.

She became deeply involved in Northern Colorado’s horse community, and she was posthumously crowned the 2017 Boulder County Fair and Rodeo Queen in July of 2016. Her tenure would have come to an end this summer, around the same time she would have completed her freshman year at Colorado State University.

In the wake of her death, the swell of support from the community has overwhelmed her parents, who were divorced prior to her death but who've both striven to honor her legacy. They’ve collected stories about their daughter they’ve never heard and photographs they’ve never seen.

"It’s hard when you’re in this situation to write thank-yous," Ann Marie said. "I never got the chance to do that because every time you go to write a thank-you, it just brings up what happened."

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Many of the stories have come via Facebook from Ashley’s classmates, who recount kind gestures she never thought to mention to her parents. One girl remembered in middle school when she had few friends — and when the custom was to decorate lockers for students’ birthdays — Ashley stayed after school to make sure her locker was decorated.

"It’s very bittersweet," Jeff said. "It gives you some pride in knowing how mature she was. She had already grown into becoming somebody. When I think back to what I was like when I was 18 years old … I didn’t have that level of maturity."

The family, with the help of friends and people inspired by Ashley's life, have launched the Ashley Doolittle Foundation. On May 26, they hosted the Boots, Buckles and Bling Gala at Ellis Ranch in Loveland. Ann Marie said they had to take the website advertising the gala down because so many people signed up that they were worried about exceeding capacity.

The gala included a dinner and live and silent auction and a slideshow of Ashley.

"I had to walk out because there were pictures from when she was younger that I hadn’t seen before or maybe they weren’t stuck in my head," Jeff said. "It was a new experience seeing those photos. It was really hard. It very much was touching me in a way that I had to walk out and catch my breath and get my composure again."

The family will also host the Ashley Doolittle Memorial Horse Show and Rodeo on Saturday and Sunday at the Boulder County Fairgrounds. They're planning for both events to be annual events that raise awareness and money. Seventy percent of the proceeds will fund education and prevention efforts of domestic violence and 30 percent will support Ashley's Princess Program, as well as local 4-H and FFA scholarships.

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Ashley had planned to establish the Princess Program during her queen year to shepherd young girls through Boulder County's royalty program, but she died before she could see it to fruition.

Ashley's death not only affected community but also the animals for which she cared. Even her horse, Bubba, has changed.

"He just minded his own business, but when this happened he became more of what you’d call a little ‘pocket pony,' " Anne Marie said. "I would go out there, and it was like he knew something was wrong."

Now, Bubba is more affectionate. He stands with Ann Marie and lays his head on her shoulder. Ann Marie will ride Bubba during the memorial horse show, an act that connects her with her daughter.

"There's a bond there," she said. "You can just feel her presence."

To learn more, donate, or register for the Ashley Doolittle Memorial Horse Show and Rodeo, visit ashleydoolittlefoundation.org.

Reporter Cassa Niedringhaus covers breaking news for the Coloradoan. Follow her on Twitter: @CassaMN.

Learning about domestic violence

Nearly 1.5 million high school students nationwide experience physical abuse by a dating partner each year. Girls and young women ages 16-24 experience the highest rate of intimate partner violence, and violent behavior often begins between the 6th and 12th grades.

About one-third of teens who were in a violent relationship ever told anyone about the abuse, and 81 percent of parents either do not think or do know if teenage dating violence is an issue.

Warning signs:

• Checking your cellphone or email without permission
• Constantly putting you down
• Extreme jealousy or insecurity
• Explosive temper
• Isolating you from family or friends
• Making false accusations
• Mood swings
• Physically hurting you in any way
• Possessiveness
• Telling you what to do
• Pressuring you or forcing you to have sex

Source: Ashley Doolittle Foundation