Being a new parent can be hard on anyone. And being a single parent can be even harder. That’s why Ashton Matheny is doing the best he can with raising his daughter on his own despite his uniquely difficult situation.
Ashton Matheny is the boyfriend of Savanna LaFontaine-Greywind, a 22-year-old who was murdered for her baby when she was 8-months pregnant.
According to The Bismarck Tribune, LaFontaine-Greywind vanished one day after her neighbor asked for some help. Five days later, police found Fontaine-Greywind and Matheny’s daughter with the neighbor. The neighbor and her boyfriend were charged with conspiracy to commit murder and kidnapping and giving false information to police.
“All I wanted was a life with Savanna and my baby,” Matheny said, according to TwinCities Pioneer Press. “But they took it from me. My world’s gone, man. They took my world from me.”
Fontaine-Greywind’s body was found a few days later in the Red River.
“She would have been the best mom ever,” Matheny told People of his longterm girlfriend who he planned to marry. “She was so good with kids.”
Thankfully the baby, who is named Haisley Jo, is healthy despite being born four weeks early.
“She’s my miracle baby,” Matheny told The Bismarck Tribune. “She was perfect coming in.”
Now Matheny is learning to cope with the loss of his love as well as raising his daughter on his own.
“It was pretty overwhelming,” Matheny said.
But Matheny says he absolutely loves being a dad and adores his little girl.
“She’s beautiful,” Matheny said. “She’s Savanna all the way.”
Now the 22-year-old must act as both mother and father to Haisley Jo. He takes care to bathe, feed, and change her properly while getting enough sleep to get the job done right.
“I have to go over a checklist every time I leave the house,” he said.
But while he plays the role of dad, he’s still haunted by what happened saying that it “doesn’t seem real.”
“I feel like I’m living a nightmare,” he explains.
He says parenting has gotten easier now that he has his routines established and is happy to report that Haisley Jo is a very happy baby. However, it still doesn’t numb the pain of losing Savannah.
“I have dreams of Savanna almost every night,” Matheny said. “My dreams about her have been frequent lately. She’s in my dreams all the time. Everyone says you have your daughter to look forward to (raising). And I do. But that doesn’t bring back Savanna. Nothing will.”
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