lit a candle 16h agoMy mom called me at 6am my time to tell me about this, I almost didn't pick up. A woman shot in her own home in Moab and still ends up saving other people's lives because she'd signed up to be a donor. I keep thinking about that decision she must have made years before any of this, having no idea. 33 is nothing.
Their story
Anzhela Pronina, known to friends and neighbours in Moab as Angela, was a 33-year-old woman from Ukraine who made her home in southeastern Utah. She died on the afternoon of Monday, 21 September 2026, six days after she was shot inside her house on Williams Way. Moab police named her…
Anzhela Pronina, known to friends and neighbours in Moab as Angela, was a 33-year-old woman from Ukraine who made her home in southeastern Utah. She died on the afternoon of Monday, 21 September 2026, six days after she was shot inside her house on Williams Way. Moab police named her publicly the next day and said her family still lived in Ukraine. This memorial focuses on who she was to her community and on the facts police have confirmed, not on speculation about motive.
On Tuesday, 15 September 2026, shortly after 4 p.m., a next-door neighbour called 911 after seeing 30-year-old Charles Anthony "Tony" Nelson of Moab pull into the driveway, leave his vehicle and force his way through the door of Pronina's home. The witness then heard a woman scream. Officers arrived within about two minutes and found both Nelson and Pronina with gunshot wounds. Nelson was pronounced dead at the scene. Pronina was taken with a weak pulse to Moab Regional Hospital, stabilised for flight and transferred by helicopter to a Level II trauma center in extremely critical condition.
Police Chief Lex Bell said investigators remained confident that Nelson forced his way into the home, shot Pronina and then took his own life. Officers said they were not seeking other suspects and that no danger remained to the public. Police have not described any relationship between Pronina and Nelson. The investigation stayed open while detectives interviewed witnesses and prepared to speak with relatives abroad.
When Moab police announced her death on 22 September, Bell offered condolences to her family and friends "both here in Moab and back home in the Ukraine." He also noted that Pronina was an organ donor, calling that decision her "last gift to the world" and saying it gave life and opportunity to others in need of organs. Local coverage pointed residents toward crisis and domestic-violence resources, including the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline and Seekhaven in Moab.
Public details of Pronina's life before the shooting remain limited: her age, her Ukrainian roots, her Moab address and the organ-donation choice she had already made. No funeral arrangements had been announced in Moab news as of 22 September 2026. This page will be updated as her family and local reporters share more about the person neighbours knew as Angela.
Biography adapted from Moab Sun News, "Anzhela Pronina, the Moab woman shot in her home last week, has died," 22 Sep 2026; KUTV / Jared Turner, Moab Police statements, 16 Sep 2026; Moab Police Chief Lex Bell written release.
In their own words
“Though the investigation remains active, we feel very confident in our initial assessment that Tony Nelson forced his way into Anzhela's home and shot her, before taking his own life.”
Moab Police Chief Lex Bell, written release, 22 September 2026
“Though the loss of her life is exceptionally tragic, her last gift to the world was life and opportunity for others in need of organs.”
Chief Lex Bell on Pronina's organ donation, 22 September 2026
“This is a tragedy any way you look at it. Our community has been deeply affected by this gut-wrenchingly traumatic and devastating act.”
Chief Lex Bell after the 15 September 2026 shooting (KUTV)
same, my aunt lives twenty minutes from there and still can't believe it