Bond doubled for suspect in gun slaying

A court commissioner doubled the bond of a murder suspect on Monday after reading in the police report that she confessed to returning to the victim’s body Friday morning and shooting him in the head a second time.

District Court Commissioner Brad Chinn ordered 33-year-old Sheri “Stormy” Ramsey held on a $500,000 bond. She and 20-year-old Paul R. Livingston are each charged with first-degree murder in connection with the shooting death of 48-year-old Kevin R. Boyle.

Chinn ordered that Livingston, who has no previous criminal record, be held on a $200,000 bond.

Spokane police continue to piece together what happened in the house at 2307 W. Mallon, where the victim and several other adults were living, Sgt. Joe Peterson said.

Peterson said there appears to have been a conspiracy to kill Boyle over rent, drugs and relationships involving Boyle, Ramsey and another woman in the home.

“I can fairly say that we are far from being done with this investigation,” Peterson said.

Boyle, who also used the alias William Jay Edwards, had paid rent to live in the home with Ramsey, several other adults and their children.

When police searched the home Friday, they found a large Rottweiler, two small dogs and several cats. Dishes were piled high in the kitchen and animal feces covered the floor.

Boyle “had paid his rent to move in,” Peterson said.

“There were other activities going on and they decided they didn’t want him there anymore so they had to figure out a way to make him not be there anymore.”

Witness Amy Star Reopelle told investigators that Ramsey and Boyle had a brief relationship before it soured and Ramsey no longer wanted him around the house.

Reopelle said she heard Ramsey say that she was looking for a handgun and that Boyle would have to go “away, either back to prison or she would have to kill him,” the court documents state.

On Thursday night, Reopelle reportedly told investigators that Ramsey and Boyle were drinking and taking methamphetamines. They then left for a walk and Ramsey returned about 45 minutes later.

Witness Megan Sinn, who had been sleeping in the garage with her children, told police that Ramsey was “freaking out,” saying that she had pulled the trigger twice but her gun didn’t fire.

“Ramsey and Livingston examined the gun in front of Sinn and determined it was not properly loaded,” Detective Kip Hollenbeck wrote in court documents. Ramsey left again, “and approximately five minutes later Sinn heard a gunshot.”

Ramsey then ran into the home saying, “I did it, I did it,” Sinn reportedly told investigators. “He’s down, he’s down.”

Someone then asked Ramsey if she was sure Boyle was dead, court documents state. “At that point, Ramsey and Livingston went back outside. Moments later Sinn heard a second gunshot.”

In a later interview, Hollenbeck wrote, “Ramsey admitted that she shot Boyle in the back of the head at point blank range while they were walking westbound in the alley. …

“Ramsey claimed that Boyle had grabbed her by the arm and was attempting to drag her to Reopelle’s house in order to force sex on her.”

Ramsey said she returned home and told Reopelle, Sinn and Livingston that she had just shot Boyle. They were concerned that Boyle was not dead and that he would attempt to retaliate for having been shot, Hollenbeck wrote in his report.

Ramsey and Livingston returned to the alley and found Boyle lying on the ground, Hollenbeck wrote. “He was still breathing when she shot him a second time in the face near the chin.”

After the second shot, Livingston admitted to police that he took Ramsey’s clothing and the gun for disposal. Police later found the gun next to the Spokane River, Peterson said.

Boyle was found about 6:45 a.m. Friday by Cpl. Jim Muzatko.

He still had a pulse but died after being taken to Deaconess Medical Center.