Astra Volk (October 14, 1982 - May 3, 2018) was a villainess who killed three of her children as part of a mass murder-suicide in 2018.
Astra Volk was born Astra Wambold on October 14, 1982 in Pottstown, Pennsylvania to Elizabeth "Beth" and Martin Wambold--the latter (a Vietnam vet) having passed on at some point in Astra's life. She married Brian Talmage in 2003 and welcomed four children: Brendan, Tyler, Aidan, and Arianna. The couple split up and she later married Heath Volk in 2015, when Arianna was just six months of age, and she became the stepmother to Heath's three daughters.
Astra worked as a nursing assistant, but since adolescence, she struggled with bipolar disorder and had actually attempted suicide in February 2018. A week prior to the deaths, Astra started a GoFundMe page to seek funding for living expenses as well as medical ones, but her financial struggles only added to her frustrations.
On May 2, 2018, Astra purchased a handgun from a Super Pawn in Grand Forks, North Dakota, and a day later, Astra turned heel and used that same gun to kill 14-year-old Tyler, 10-year-old Aidan, and six-year-old Arianna in their home. After the murders, the evil Astra shot herself to death, completing the mass murder-suicide. Oldest child Brendan wasn't at home at the time of the murders, and all four bodies were found later that day during a welfare check. On Monday, May 7, 2018, it was concluded that Astra had killed all three children and committed suicide afterwards, with her mental illness and financial woes as factors.