Hearing postponed in Ramey slaying

SANDPOINT — A preliminary hearing in the murder of Shirley Ann Ramey is being pushed back to Oct. 2.

Defense counsel for Judith Marie Carpenter sought a continuance in the case in order to review discovery materials, according to court documents. Discovery is the compulsory disclosure of relevant documents in a court case.

Carpenter’s preliminary hearing had been set for Sept. 11. During the hearing, a judge determines if there is sufficient evidence to justify trying Carpenter on a charge of first-degree murder in 1st District Court. Carpenter could also waive the hearing and proceed to arraignment in district court.

Carpenter, a 57-year-old Coeur d’Alene resident, is accused of shooting Ramey, 78, to death inside Ramey’s Trestle Creek home on April 5, 2017.

The killing went unsolved for more than two years, until the Glock semiautomatic pistol authorities say was used in the shooting was discovered in an evidence locker following Carpenter’s arrest for an armed road rage incident in Lincoln County, Mont.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives’ National Integrated Ballistics Information Network matched shell casings found at the crime scene to casings test-fired from the Glock, according to court documents. An Idaho State Police lab analysis concluded that a projectile recovered at the scene matched projectiles test-fired from Carpenter’s 9-millimeter pistol.

A lever-action rifle was also seized from Carpenter following her arrest in Montana and determined it to be a rifle that was stolen from the Ramey residence, court records indicate.

Carpenter denied involvement in when she made an initial appearance in Bonner County Magistrate Court in August.

Carpenter is being held in lieu of $1 million bail while the case is pending.

Keith Kinnaird can be reached by email at kkinnaird@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow him on Twitter @KeithDailyBee.