Murder Of Ron Stovall

 On the early morning hours of October 6, 1998, 30-year-old Ron Stovall was getting ready to leave for work when out of nowhere, an unknown male began shooting at Ron.  His 2nd wife Angeleka could only watch in horror as her wounded husband stumbled back into the house and slammed the door behind him. As Ron leaned up against the closed door, desperately trying to catch his breath, Angeleka realized he had been shot. But the attack wasn't over. The gunman fired three shots right through the front door, hitting Ron as he fell into the kitchen. Angeleka rushed to the door to try to stop the intruder from forcing his way inside but was unsuccessful when the assailant's  arm came through the partially open door, and his gun was aimed right at Angeleka's face but the shot missed as she ran for the bedroom for cover to call 911. But while on the phone,  Angeleka heard the gunman walking into the house, pulled out another gun and say to him "This is for her" then fired the shot killing him before leaving the house. Ron bled to death on the kitchen floor, curled up in the fetal position after being shot a total of 8 times.  The autopsy confirmed there were two different weapons accustomed to kill Ron: a .357 hand gun along with a shotgun. At the station, Angeleka recounted the events that led up to the shooting.  Investigators believed Ron had been targeted for execution and when Angeleka was asked who would've wanted to harm her husband, she immediately fingered Ron's ex-wife Tina Trexler because of ongoing custody battle over their daughter Kierstyn (who was only 4 when Tina and Ron divorced).  Police brought in Tina for questioning. She confirmed that she and Ron had been involved in a messy court battle over their daughter Kierstyn (Who was 7 at the time of the murder) but her demeaner made police suspicious of Tina since she made no effort to hide her feelings about her late ex-husband (Especially since there was no emotional activity on her behalf). She stated that she was sleeping at her parents house at the time of the murder after coming home from work the night before. But suddenly the interview was cut short after her mother Ann hired a lawyer to represent her.  Ann Trexler (Born Priscilla Ann Newbern who had no criminal record) confirmed her daughter's alibi that she was home when the murder occurred. Despite the set back police still investigated Tina’s financial records to find out if she might’ve hired someone but weren't able to find any. They turned their attention towards Tina's former boyfriend Adrian Harris who also had bad blood towards Ron. When Harris was questioned he did confirm the threats he made towards Ron but maintained that he was at work at 7:30 AM at the time of the murder. His alibi checked out and was eliminated. They soon turned their attention to Harris's 29-year-old roommate Guy Mcinvale (who bore some resemblance to the killer [Since Angeleka described the killer as a white-colored man with brown eyes brown hair, and a mustache wearing a baseball cap and work boots]. When shown a photo of Mcinvale, Angeleka was certain he was the assailant. Although Guy Mcinvale did own a similar pair of boots as having a distinct double-H type pattern (similar to the tread pattern recovered from the crime scene) he was eliminated since he was at work at the time of the murder and that he passed a polygraph test to prove he wasn't involved. It turns out that the terrified widow's state of shock made it hard for her to provide a more accurate description of the assailant.  With no other leads police still sense that the murder was a contract hit and that Ron's custody battle with Tina may still be the motive (upon speaking with other family members [including his parents]and friends). Almost 4 weeks later police got a new lead that would lead investigators to an unlikely suspect. The new lead came from a neighboring town that a 38-year-old Antonio Alberto Perez (A low level drug dealer with a long criminal record who also bore a resemblance to the killer as described by Angeleka) had been arrested for robbing an elderly man at gunpoint. A search of Tony's Perez's house turned up a 357 Revolver and a sawed off shotgun along with a pair of work boots (with the same type of tread pattern as the one recovered at the crime scene). Ballistics on the handgun confirmed it was the weapon, but the biggest piece of information came from the end of the shotgun containing DNA that matched Ron's DNA profile.  When questioned about the murder, at first he denied it but when confronted with the evidence he confessed but claimed it was a result of a drug deal gone bad. But detectives weren't buying it, and when pressed further, Perez decided he was done talking.  As police dug further into Perez’s background they discovered that Perez held a day job and sold drugs at a beauty salon owned by his girlfriend Kim Miller (who also had a criminal record). Through various customers and employees (of Miller), they identified Ann Trexler as a regular customer since the day she and her husband Jack (Tina’s father) had moved to Florida. Ann they said was very open about her hatred of ex-son-in-law and wished he was dead. The investigation began to focus on Ann Trexler. Through bank records they discovered that several cash withdrawals were made from various accounts totaling up to $10,000.  A search of  phone records (both home and cellphone) revealed numerous calls to and from Kim Miller on dates prior to and on the day of the murder at odd hours. They believed that the calls were made for the planning phase of the murder and that Kim Miller had served as a go between for both her boyfriend Tony Perez and Ann Trexler. With this information investigators confronted Perez with the information and when threatened with the death penalty, Perez finally confessed that Ann Trexler was the ringleader and that Miller offered him $10,000 (the exact amount that Trexler had withdrawn in the days prior to the murder) to carry it out. Perez stated that he met Trexler at a coffee shop on the beach and where she gave him a photo of the victim, his home address and his work schedule and that the payment started with half now and half upon completion.  On the day of the murder, he stated that he waited outside on the side of the house for Ron to come out. But as soon as the attack began, things didn't go well and that he hadn't anticipated that Ron would fight for his life. He was forced to chase Ron into the kitchen before telling him "This is for her" (which they now believe was Ann Trexler) and firing the fatal shot with his shotgun before calling Kim Miller that the job was done.  With this information, investigators then turned their attention to Kim Miller who agreed to talk in exchange for testifying against Ann Trexler. Miller confirmed that she put Trexler and Perez together to plan the murder of Ron Stovall while she acted as a go-between. Finally, on February 15, 2000, Ann Trexler was arrested and charged with 1st-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder. When confronted with the evidence, Trexler denied everything and refused to say anything further without a lawyer.  At the trial the prosecution portrayed Ann Trexler as a cold-blooded killer who hated her ex-son-in-law and had ordered his murder to keep him from exposing Tina as a negligent mother and gaining full custody of their daughter Kierstyn. They presented the phone records and the $10,000 withdrawals as part of the conspiracy.  An emotional Angelika Stovall testified (while still struggling with her grief) about the day she witnessed her husband’s murder. Angeleka Stovall: "I was in the corner, and I turned and looked. [Voice breaking] and I saw my husband on the ground. [Inhales sharply] and he was shot. He was on his side, and he was curled up like a little baby" But even more terrifying was how Angeleka described how she struggled to try to keep the gunman from entering.  "I see Ron now in the kitchen.

He's laying.

And he's got blood.

Then I was just like [gasps] oh, my gosh!"

[ sniffles ]

Then I try slamming on the door, and I'm trying [sniffles]

And I'm trying to shut the door.

And I can't get it shut; I can't get it shut,

And I eventually go to my knees.

And I try really hard to push it,

And he keeps pushing,

But all I'm trying to do is keep this guy out".

After Angelka's testimony, the prosecution then heard the testimony of both Perez and Miller saying that Ann Trexler had hired them to have Ron Stovall killed.  She confirmed that she and Ann had been in contact and that she called Ann after getting a call from Perez that the job was done.  The defense claimed Ann was an innocent, church-going grandmother who was being framed by a drug addict working the system to get out of a murder charge. Ann Trexler took the stand in her own defense, insisting that she was innocent and also denied making any phone calls to Miller. But when confronted with the evidence, she admitted making the calls but claimed it was only to cancel her hair appointment. Next the defense claim that the $10,000 withdrawal was to help pay for a child custody lawyer for Tina.

Ann Trexler: [ Voice Breaking ] I Wouldn't Want Him Dead.

He Was The Father Of My Granddaughter.

Because I Knew Ron.

We Did Get Close.

[ Inhales Sharply ] And I Did Love Him.

But the jury didn't buy the innocent grandmother act nor did they accept Tony Perez’s changed story that Ann wasn’t involved.  On May 14, 2001, the jury took just two hours to find Ann Trexler guilty of 1st-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder. She was sentenced to life in prison without parole. She remains incarcerated in the Lowell Correctional Institution Annex in Ocala, Florida, and still maintains her innocence to this day (despite losing a long list of appeals).

Accused triggerman Antonio Perez got life in prison without parole. He died in 2010 at the of 50.

Kim Miller received 5 years probation in exchange for her testimony but later ended up in prison for violating her probation. She was charged with having or introducing contraband into a detention facility while awaiting sentencing and serving seven and a half years in prison on that and her plea-reduced charge for accepting money to conceal a crime. She is currently serving probation for several possession of controlled substance charges dating to 2019 and 2020.

 Jack Trexler divorced Ann after her conviction and has relocated to Jacksonville Florida. Some people believed that he was also in on the murder plot although they could not prove anything against him. 

Tina Trexler won full custody of Kierstyn and has cut off ties with her former in-laws. At the time of her mother's trial, she pleaded the 5th Amendment to avoid testifying against her. 

Fred Stovall (Ron's father) died  Feb. 21, 2008, of natural causes but may have also died broken-hearted (not only losing his son but also being cut off from his granddaughter by his ex-daughter-in-law) 

Doris Stovall (Ron's mother) may still be alive today and hopes to reconnect with Kierstyn before her time comes.

Angeleka Stovall may have moved on but still remains haunted by the day Ron was killed and is determined to keep her husband's memory alive.