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SALT LAKE CITY -- Recorded conversations obtained by KSL 5 News allow a rare glimpse behind jail walls to hear the words of a man who shot his wife more than a dozen times in a crowded Lehi church parking lot. These are conversations inmate David Ragsdale had just days after the killing.
The Utah County Jail records nearly all inmate phone calls, and Ragsdale was no exception. There are hundreds of hours of recorded calls he made, and we were given five hours. They are phone calls Ragsdale made to his brother; others are to a woman.
In a conversation with his brother shortly after he was arrested, Ragsdale wanted to know what people were saying about him.
"Is everything all over the press?" he asked.
His brother replied, "Yeah, but we're going to use that to your advantage, David."
His brother then promised him a show of family unity, like what was seen in a solemn press conference staged three days after the shooting.
But that same day, Ragsdale had a conversation that appears to show he'd already moved on.
"I want you to know that I love you very deeply, and I'll do, try and help your family and do whatever thing they need. And anything that you ask of me, I'll do," a woman told Ragsdale.
"You're not mad at me, are you?" he asked.
"What's that?" the woman questioned.
"You're not mad at me, are you? Ragsdale repeated.
"Not at all," she replied. "Not for one second. Not for one second."
Later in that same conversation, Ragsdale told the woman, "I miss you and I love you so much."
"I miss you so much, too," the woman said. "And you know what, David? We're going to make it through this."
The conversation continued with Ragsdale asking the woman to promise him she'd be there when he was freed from jail, and she promised to do so.
"I refuse to live a life without you," the woman told Ragsdale.
"Well, you're the best thing that's ever happened to me," he replied.
"No, you're the best thing that's ever happened to me. You just remember that," the woman said.
"Just wait for me, OK?" Ragsdale asked again.
"I will. I will wait for you," the woman told him.
Ragsdale hoped the woman, who prosecutors have called his "girlfriend," wouldn't have to wait long. It's clear listening to his phone calls, he wanted out on bail.
Incredibly, Ragsdale also wanted help from the woman who stood just a few feet away and watched in horror as he shot his wife: Kristy's mother, Ann.
In a conversation with his brother, Ragsdale asked, "Well, why can't she? Why can't she do something in my defense to help me out, man?"
"David," his brother said.
"I know," Ragsdale replied.
His brother continued, "You have to understand, the situation is really grave."
But it seems Ragsdale didn't understand. He just wanted out on bail. As days went by, and he sat in jail, he got angry. He began to blame his family for not helping him get out.
"How do I know that everybody's just sabotaging me?" he asked his brother.
"Who's sabotaging you, David? You're getting really paranoid," his brother replied.
"I'm not," Ragsdale said. "Everyone's just like, ‘Oh, let's just keep him in there.' No!"
"I never even said that. Nobody's said that," Ragsdale's brother said.
To which Ragsdale replied, "You did! You're trying to give me a guilt trip about my boys and stuff, all like I'm going to be such a threat. Who am I going to be a threat to? I've never … I've never hurt a fly in my life!"
From that conversation, it's clear Ragsdale had yet to admit to killing Kristy, but eventually he did. Less than two months ago, David Ragsdale pleaded guilty to murdering his wife.
Just a few weeks ago, Ragsdale was sentenced to 20 years to life in prison for killing Kristy.
As for the woman you heard tell Ragsdale she'd wait for him? We're told she ended the relationship a few months after that conversation took place.
David Ragsdale had a concealed weapons permit. He told the Deseret News that he had a gun in his car's glove box the day of the shooting, and that he would not have killed his wife if he hadn't had immediate access to a gun.
You can read the entire interview in tomorrow morning's edition of the Deseret News.
E-mail: lprichard@ksl.com
