Leanne Edith Hartman, 26, of Glen Burnie, was remembered Sunday as a loving mother, after she was killed by a former boyfriend.
Dee Beatty, a friend of Hartman's family in Glen Burnie, said Hartman aspired to one day become a police officer.
"Marie was an excellent mother," she said. "She was a beautiful girl. She was kind and caring and loving and she would help anybody. The sad part is a cop killed her and all she wanted to be was a cop."
Ed Chaney described his stepdaughter, who was a project manager at a construction firm, as a "firecracker."
"She was always laughing. She was extremely happy with Andy," he said of her relationship with her new boyfriend, Andrew Hoffman, who was also killed. "She came here two nights ago to carve pumpkins. She told us, 'This is serious between us. We were happy for her."
Hartman leaves behind a 6-year-old son, Braedyn Cash.
"Braedyn doesn't know about mommy yet," Chaney said. "Braedyn is extremely close to Marie. We're trying to pick up the pieces and make sure he's taken care of. He's our No. 1 priority right now."