A jury found Ryan Alexander guilty in the 2022 shooting death of his wife, Ashton Alexander.
CLINTON, Mo. — Packed luggage near a front door became a central detail in the murder trial of Ryan Alexander, who was convicted in Henry County of killing his wife after she prepared to leave with their twin sons.
The verdict followed a multi-day trial over the Aug. 27, 2022, death of Ashton Alexander, 28. Prosecutors said she had packed bags for herself and the couple’s one-year-old twins after an argument with her husband. When Ryan Alexander returned home from a liquor store, they said, he found the bags and shot her. The jury convicted him of first-degree murder and armed criminal action.
Ashton Alexander’s life before the killing was outlined in public obituary records and later court accounts. She was born in Sedalia, grew up in west-central Missouri and lived in Centerview. She graduated from Crest Ridge High School and attended the University of Central Missouri in Warrensburg for two years. Her obituary said she worked as a physical therapist beginning at age 16 and had earned certification in the ReWalk Program. It also described her love of animals.
The home scene described by prosecutors was brief but stark. They said the couple argued that evening, and Ryan Alexander left the residence to buy beer. When he returned a short time later, he found the luggage by the door. The attorney general’s office said the couple’s relationship had been difficult because of his controlling nature and his belief that Ashton Alexander was engaging in extramarital affairs. Prosecutors did not announce that any such belief was true, only that it was part of the evidence presented to jurors.
Prosecutors said Alexander then used a handgun against his wife. Their account said he shot her once in the head, and after she fell, stood over her and fired the rest of the magazine into her head. He later called 911 and said he acted in self-defense. That claim became part of the case heard by jurors, who weighed it against the state’s account of the argument, the bags, the gunfire and the physical evidence described in court.
Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway said her office helped Henry County prosecutors take the case to trial. “We are proud to partner with Prosecutor Gray to secure justice for the victims and their loved ones,” Hanaway said after the verdict. Henry County Prosecuting Attorney LaChrisha Gray said the jury deliberated for a short time before returning guilty verdicts. She said the result brought justice for Ashton Alexander, her children and the community.
The conviction came nearly four years after Ashton Alexander’s death. During that span, relatives held funeral services in Warrensburg and she was buried at Centerview Cemetery. Her obituary listed her twin sons, parents, siblings, grandparents, nieces, nephews and cousins among those left behind. The trial did not change the loss described in those records, but it gave jurors a legal question: whether Ryan Alexander acted in self-defense or committed first-degree murder.
The jury’s answer was guilty. The first-degree murder conviction means jurors found the killing met the highest level of homicide charged in the case. The armed criminal action conviction means they also found a weapon was used in the crime. The public announcement of the verdict did not describe every witness who testified, but it identified the state and county legal teams that handled the prosecution.
Chief Counsel Kevin Zoellner and Investigator Heather Sabin were named by the attorney general’s office as part of the prosecution effort with Gray. The case was heard before Judge Brandon Baker in Henry County. Sentencing will come later, after the court sets a formal hearing. Until then, the verdict stands as the main public development in the criminal case.
The luggage detail remained the most visible fact in the case because it tied the domestic argument to the minutes before the shooting. Prosecutors presented it as evidence that Ashton Alexander was trying to leave with her young children. The defense claim of self-defense was not accepted by the jury. Officials did not announce a full timeline for the emergency call or the arrival of officers in the post-verdict release.
Ashton Alexander was 28 when she died. Ryan Alexander is now awaiting sentencing for first-degree murder and armed criminal action. The next public milestone will be the scheduling of that hearing in Judge Baker’s courtroom.
Author note: Last updated June 20, 2026.