Dates set in Ramey murder trial

By Lyndsie Kiebert
Reader Staff

Judith Carpenter, the woman accused of shooting and killing 79-year-old Hope resident Shirley Ramey at her Trestle Creek home in April 2017, will see a jury trial in December 2020, according to court documents.

Judith Carpenter booking photo. Courtesy BCSO.

Authorities arrested Carpenter in Coeur d’Alene on Aug. 1, 2019, after an ongoing investigation between local and federal agencies matched ballistics found at the Ramey home to a Glock Model 19 9mm pistol registered to Carpenter. The defendant was found to have been in possession of that firearm when she was arrested in a Lincoln County, Mont., road rage incident the same day as Ramey’s death. Carpenter also had a Savage Model 99 rifle in her vehicle at the time of the Montana arrest — allegedly the same weapon that had gone missing from the Ramey home on the day that the longtime Hope city clerk was shot dead.

The case has been largely quiet since Jan. 13, when Carpenter pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder. In the interim, legal counsel for the defendant has been working with the court to secure a medical examination for Carpenter. Bonner County District Court Judge Barbara Buchanan approved an examination during a hearing July 7, though the reason behind the doctor visit is not stated in the available court documents.

A pre-trial conference is set for Nov. 13, and the trial is slated to begin Dec. 15.