SPRING VALLEY, Calif. (KGTV) - Loved ones are mourning a Spring Valley mother who was shot and killed in her home Tuesday morning.
“It's hard. There are so many tears, and they just keep coming and coming,” Patti Weber said.
For Weber, her pain is mixed with a lingering shock, a day after her daughter, 35-year-old Ashley Bird, was killed in her home on La Presa Avenue.
Weber says her daughter, who worked for an internet advertising company, was on a Zoom call with a co-worker when suddenly there was an interruption.
“She said, ’Hey Eddie, I have to leave. Someone is trying to get in my front door,’” Weber said. “He heard fighting noises."
Bird never returned. Her co-worker contacted Weber, who works for the same company. Another family member eventually called the Sheriff's Department.
Deputies say Ashley Bird was found on the couch. She had been shot and died at the scene.
Weber says authorities informed her the shooter was Ashley Bird's husband of nearly 13 years, Chris Bird, 39.
“Infidelity. [Chris Bird] lived a double life,” Weber said.
According to Weber, in October, her daughter became certain of her husband's infidelity. Ashley Bird filed for divorce.
"The divorce was about to be final, and he had just gotten the final documents…He was losing control of Ashley, and he didn't like the fact he was losing control,” Weber said.
The couple had a 9-year-old son. Weber says Chris Bird picked him up from school and, after the shooting, dropped him off with his brother near Camp Pendleton. Weber was a general contractor who worked on the base.
“He left and killed himself a mile down the road,” said Weber.
Weber says Chris Bird could be controlling, but Ashley Bird said the two never fought during the marriage. Ashley Bird dismissed the idea he could become violent.
“She said, ‘He wouldn't hurt me. Never, mom.’ So she never saw this coming,” said Weber. “Some did tell her he was controlling and could snap, but she didn’t believe it.”
One day later, Ashley Bird's family is now grieving a woman they call kind, caring and a dedicated mom.
“She woke up every day living for her son. He was her life,” said Allison Saefong, Ashley Bird’s sister.
“It breaks my heart even worse than losing a daughter. It's him losing his mom and dad,” Weber said.
The custody situation hasn't been settled, but Weber says her large family will rally around her grandson to support him.
A GoFundMe campaign has been set up to help with funeral and other expenses.
