A Mother, A Family, and a Search for Answers: Katelynn Poe’s Story
At The Good Network, we exist to tell human stories — the ones that don’t always come with neat endings or clear explanations. This is one of those stories.
Katelynn Poe was a mother. She was someone’s daughter, someone’s sister, and someone her kids counted on every day. In September of 2024, Katelynn was hospitalized in Spokane with devastating injuries and later died after spending time in intensive care. Since then, her family has been living with a kind of grief that comes with questions they still can’t answer.
According to local news reporting, Katelynn arrived at the hospital in critical condition. Doctors treated her for severe brain trauma and other serious injuries. Spokane County authorities have said the case remains under investigation. What hasn’t changed is how shaken her family has been by what they saw and what they were told when they reached her bedside.
Katelynn’s mother, Renee Poe, has shared publicly that when the family arrived at the hospital, they were overwhelmed by the condition Katelynn was in. They were told she had suffered catastrophic medical trauma, but the explanation they were given for how she was hurt did not seem to match what they were seeing. From that moment on, their focus shifted to one thing: trying to understand what really happened to her in the days before she was hospitalized.
That search for understanding is what led the family to create a GoFundMe.
Their goal is to raise enough money to bring in an independent medical forensic expert — someone trained to look at scans, injuries, timelines, and medical records and answer the questions no one else has been able to answer yet.
They want to know:
What caused the injuries?
What happened in those critical hours before she received care?
And most of all — what should her children be told about how their mother died?
The family has said this kind of expert review is their only path to real clarity. Not rumors. Not assumptions. Medical facts.
There is another layer to this story that can’t be ignored.
Katelynn’s family has spoken about their concern that domestic violence may have played a role in what happened to her. That belief is part of why they feel an independent forensic review is so important — to determine whether her injuries are consistent with an accident or something else. These are not conclusions. They are fears born from what they witnessed and what they don’t yet understand.
And that’s where this story reaches beyond one family.
Domestic violence often happens quietly. It happens behind motel doors, apartment walls, and closed curtains. It can be hidden, delayed, minimized, or explained away — until the consequences become impossible to ignore. Stories like Katelynn’s matter because they remind us how important it is to take injuries seriously, to listen when something doesn’t feel right, and to make sure families aren’t left alone when the worst happens.
Katelynn left behind six children who deserve more than unanswered questions. They deserve the truth about their mom’s final days — whatever that truth turns out to be.
If you choose to help, the family’s fundraiser is focused entirely on securing professional medical forensic review. They have warned that some images shared on their page are graphic. Donations go directly toward hiring an expert to examine Katelynn’s records and provide medical answers.
And if this story feels close to home for you, help is available.
National Domestic Violence Hotline
1-800-799-SAFE (7233)
Text START to 88788
thehotline.org
Idaho Resources
Idaho Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-669-3176
Faces of Hope (Boise): facesofhopevictimcenter.org
Washington Resources
Washington DV Hotline: 1-800-562-6025
Domestic Violence Services of Spokane: dsvspokane.org
We are sharing Katelynn’s story not to decide what happened — but to honor a family searching for answers, to shine light on a kind of tragedy that too often stays in the dark, and to remind people that asking hard questions is not the same as making accusations.
Sometimes justice begins with simply refusing to look away.
