Spouse of slain woman may face capital murder charge

PROVO — Prosecutors said Monday they are considering filing a capital murder charge against David Ragsdale, accused of shooting his wife 10 times after she got out of her minivan Sunday to worship with her LDS congregation in Lehi on her 30th birthday.

The shooting occurred just a month after a judge noted on a Dec. 5 petition for a temporary protective order filed by Kristy Koreen Ragsdale against her husband: "Warning! Weapon Involved."

Still, the violent end to the life of a young mother of two boys stunned family, friends, church leaders and Kristy Ragsdale's attorney, state Rep. Lori Fowlke, R-Orem.

Kristy Ragsdale had agreed to drop the protective order on Dec. 20 in exchange for a mutual restraining order simply designed to keep them from harassing each other, Fowlke said.

"I was shocked. I was absolutely shocked," Fowlke added. "There was no indication this would happen. She believed they were both reasonable people. She wanted the divorce handled through mediation. She didn't want to fight with him. I don't believe she was afraid of him."

David Ragsdale moved out of the family's home on Oct. 30. His alleged actions when he returned on Dec. 3 prompted his wife's initial decision to seek court protection. He reportedly entered the home screaming profanities and telling everyone to get out of his house.

In front of his wife and her mother and the couple's two sons, ages 4 and 1, as well as his own brother and two sisters, Ragsdale threatened several times to use a gun, according to the petition for a temporary protective order Kristy Ragsdale submitted the next day.

"He said to his brother and sister he had his gun in the car and that he could use that to take care of things and refered (sic) to his gun more than once," the petition said.

Fourth District Judge Steven Hansen signed the protective order on Dec. 5 and marked the box that noted a weapon was involved in the case.

But by Dec. 20, Kristy Ragsdale clearly felt safer, and Fowlke said she wasn't even sure her client would divorce him.

"She wasn't adamant about the divorce," Fowlke said. "She vacillated quite a bit. That's why she filed for temporary separation."

Police and prosecutors said Monday during a court hearing that David Ragsdale learned about the separation filing on Thursday, three days before the shooting. He didn't know his wife was planning to go even further, they said.