PBS Engineer Gunned Down Outside Her Home

A young PBS employee and Marine veteran who had already found the strength to walk away from a dangerous marriage is now dead after police say her estranged husband shot her outside her Wichita home in a chilling domestic violence attack.

Ivy Unruh, just 25 years old, was shot in the upper body outside her apartment around 8 a.m. Friday, according to authorities. She was rushed to the hospital, but after fighting for her life for several days, she died Monday from her injuries.

Police say the man accused of pulling the trigger was her estranged husband, 29-year-old Joshua Orlando.

According to the Wichita Police Department, Orlando called 911 himself to report the shooting. Officers arrived at the scene, recovered a gun, and arrested him there. He was initially booked on a charge of aggravated battery, but that charge was later upgraded to first-degree murder after Unruh died, according to local reports.

The case is now being investigated as a domestic violence homicide.

Unruh’s death has sent shockwaves through both her workplace and the community that knew her as a hardworking, dependable young woman with a life of service behind her and, by all accounts, a bright future ahead.

At the time of her death, Unruh worked as an engineer for PBS Kansas. Victor Hogstrom, president of PBS Kansas, said the loss hit staff hard.

“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.

He remembered Unruh as “very motivated” and “trustworthy,” adding that she was smart, dependable, and worked well with others.

“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,” he said.

But Unruh was more than a respected employee. A GoFundMe launched to help her family with funeral expenses says she was also a U.S. Marine who “served her country with honor, strength and selflessness.”

The fundraiser paints the picture of a woman whose life was defined by courage and character.

“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.

It also included a heartbreaking line that now captures the tragedy of her final chapter: “She had the courage to walk away from a dangerous situation, yet tragically, her life was still taken.”

Police said Unruh and Orlando were married but separated at the time of the shooting.

What should have been the start of a new and safer chapter instead ended in horror. Now, a 25-year-old veteran who served her country and built a promising career is gone, and investigators say the man she had separated from is the one responsible.