Ronald Lee, of La Grande is currently in custody at Union County Jail being held without bail until his trial. (Courtesy Photo)

On Nov. 17, 2018, around 1:40 a.m., Loretta Williams was shot and killed in her Cove home. In February, her soon-to-be ex-husband, Ronald D. Lee, was arrested in connection with her death and charged with murder and conspiracy to commit murder. During an Aug. 27 plea hearing, the State of Oregon presented evidence supporting why Lee should continue to be held in the Union County Jail without bail. The information made public at the hearing included details about the case against Lee.

According to Union County Sheriff’s Office Det. Jason McKaig’s investigation and testimony, Williams and Lee separated in April of 2018, and Williams filed for divorce on July 18, 2018. According to court records, she filed for divorce due to “incouncilable differences between parties caused by irremediable breakdown of marriage.”

Lee moved out of their Cove home and into a camp trailer outside of his shop on Highway 82, according to McKaig. During this time the couple argued over ownership of the home, McKaig said. Williams filed for and was temporarily granted a restraining order that required Lee to stay at least 150 feet away from the house and from her. According to court documents, she was granted exclusive use of the home. The restraining order was eventually dismissed, but it was incorporated into the civil divorce case, according to McKaig.

During McKaig’s investigation, he found that Lee had hired an associate, Deva Williams (no relation to Loretta), to drive him around for $30 per hour due to Lee having a suspended license. When searching Deva Williams’ car, the police found a camera with photos of the Cove property, of Loretta Williams and some with Lee in the corner of the photos while at the house. A contempt of court charge for violating the restraining order is pending at this time. According to the data on the photos, Lee took pictures of the Cove home almost daily at the end of June 2018 and returned sporadically until September. According to McKaig, Loretta Williams also took photos of Lee on the property during this time, though none of those photos were shown at the hearing.

Security footage of Lee entering a building on the property July 19, 2018 was shown at the hearing, and McKaig said Loretta Williams accused Lee of tampering with a tractor.

According to McKaig, Deva Williams told police that Lee talked to him about wanting to kill his estranged wife and being able to get away with it. He said Lee became more erratic and violent in November 2018, according to McKaig. McKaig also said Deva Williams eventually refused to continue driving Lee around.

Loretta Williams had a history of mental illness, McKaig said at the hearing, but she was on new medication and had begun making plans for the future, including getting a new job and selling the house. Her friends and family said she had been getting better, according to McKaig’s testimony. The divorce depositions were set for a week after Thanksgiving 2018. During this time, arguments between Williams and Lee focused primarily on assets and how they would be divided. McKaig said that Lee and Williams could not agree on selling the house, the largest asset.

On Nov. 16, Williams put up a for sale sign on the property. At the August hearing, the state argued that because the issue of the home’s ownership was so contentious, the presence of the sign may have provoked Lee, providing a possible motive for him allegedly killing Williams.

When police investigated the scene of the crime in response to Williams’ 911 call on Nov. 17, they found her dead in the house. The sliding glass back door was shattered, and a left hand glove was on the ground in front of the house, according to evidence presented at the hearing. McKaig said the glove had no frost on it, unlike the ground and surrounding area. When searching Lee’s trailer, investigators discovered a tag for the type of glove found outside the Cove home, McKaig said.

Evidence was presented of Lee being driven by Steve Hamilton to Ace Hardware in La Grande, where Lee purchased gloves Nov. 10, 2018. Security footage showed Hamilton’s PT Cruiser, the two men walking into the store, Lee trying on gloves, testing for index finger dexterity and purchasing the gloves. McKaig said the video shows Lee’s fingers imitating a trigger pulling motion. This footage, in addition to a receipt for the purchase and the tag for the gloves found in Lee’s trash can at his home, gave police reason to believe the glove found in the driveway belonged to Lee, according to testimony. The addition of DNA testing from the glove by Oregon State Police further confirmed the gloves belonged to Lee.

Hamilton’s PT Cruiser also became an item of interest during the investigation. McKaig, who said he had familiarity with cars, noted that the unique silhouette, the shape and placement of the headlights and the chrome door handles of Hamilton’s Cruiser would make it stand out. According to his testimony, the police found security footage dated 1:12 a.m. Nov. 17 from an RV park near the Cove house that showed a car they believed to belong to Hamilton, because of the car’s shape, the location of the headlights and the chrome door handle. McKaig said the investigators then ran a reenactment with a PT Cruiser of the same year, make and model. There were a few differences in the reenactment: the police’s Cruiser was silver, while Hamilton’s has a darker exterior; the security camera had been recently cleaned by the RV company; and there was a possible difference in speeds. The reenactment gave investigators reason to conclude that the length of the car in the security footage was consistent with a PT Cruiser, and the security footage showed a car with teardrop-shaped headlights and a chrome door handle, according to McKaig.

The Observer previously reported that Hamilton was arrested in March and charged with murder and conspiracy to commit murder in the death of Williams. He is currently being held in Union County Jail awaiting a settlement conference that will not be open to the public scheduled for Sept. 27.

During the hearing, Lee pleaded not guilty to the murder and conspiracy to commit murder charges. A trial date has not been set. Lee remains in custody at Union County Jail.