On the morning of November 11, 2012, Ronald “Ron” Willoughby was found dead inside his home. The 53-year-old was reportedly known and respected in the local community in Thomson, Georgia. A&E’s ‘Interrogation Raw: Fatal Act of Matrimony’ chronicles the case in detail, right alongside how the authorities ultimately managed to identify his assailant and bring them to justice.
Ronald “Ron” Willoughby Was Fatally Shot On His Bed
Since Ronald “Ron” Willoughby was born on April 23, 1959, in Mt. Clemens, Michigan, as one of at least 4 children to devoted parents, he admittedly grew up in a big, close, happy household. Almost all of them later relocated to Thomson, Georgia, bringing him immense joy as he was able to continue growing alongside people he genuinely cared about. By the early 2010s, his roster of loved ones had grown to include his daughter from a previous relationship, Rhonda Willoughby, and three grandchildren.
Ron was proud not only to be a brother to Martha Miller, Barbara Belcher, and Frank Reeves, but also a family man to Rhonda and her kids, Savannah, Gaven, and Eva Flippo. He showed this by spending as much quality time with them as possible, while also owning and operating his hardware store in Harlem called RonMart. According to the show, he was thriving in every sense, with strong cash flow, two fully paid-off pickup trucks, his 413 Loveless Drive home, and a property along Stagecoach Road. Little did Ron know everything would change around 9-9:30 am on November 11, 2012, as his wife of not even 11 months, Brenda Kaye Ivie Willoughby, reported hearing a gunshot.
It was a longtime friend/neighbor who had dialed 911 upon hearing from Kaye, telling them she had no idea what was wrong but that she feared her husband may have shot himself. However, when investigators arrived at the scene, they found him completely under the covers with a gunshot wound to almost the middle of his chest. As for the gun, it was wrapped in a towel underneath him, which was impossible if he had died by suicide. His autopsy report eventually confirmed his cause of death as a bullet wound, while classifying it as a homicide because his injuries were not consistent with suicide. The bullet had been fired from 12-18″ away from his chest. Moreover, since he was left-handed, the way his injuries were inflicted made it clear he would have been in the most uncomfortable position if he had shot himself.
Investigations Into Ronald “Ron” Willoughby’s Case Directly Pointed to His Wife
Since there were no signs of a forced entry, the home seemed clean, and Ron’s injuries were inconsistent with suicide, the local sheriff’s office contacted the Georgia Bureau of Investigation for aid. The detective in charge subsequently immediately took Kaye in for questioning and had her hands analyzed for gunshot residue, which came to be a match. During her questioning, Kaye vehemently denied any involvement, claiming she was watching television that fateful morning when she heard the loud bang. She alleged she had seen Ron just a short while prior on the couch, adding that he was not there when she heard the noise at 9 am. She specified around 9 am as the program she was watching had just ended.
However, Kaye hadn’t contacted the longtime friend/neighbor to raise concerns until 9:30 am, meaning she was unaccounted for over half an hour. When she was faced with this fact, she said it wasn’t possible, and she must have misspoke previously because while she had halted for a few seconds in fear, she hadn’t wasted time rushing out of the house to call for help. She alleged it was merely moments, if a minute, between when she heard the noise and when she called for aid, but to no avail, as her story began crumbling apart. Investigators determined she had given conflicting accounts about her whereabouts the night prior and had omitted the fact that Ron had called the police 11 days prior to his death.
According to records, Kaye and Ron were actually in the middle of a divorce, with him having filed mere days prior. He had called the police in early November to ask if she would still have access to the home even after he filed because he was “afraid for his life.” Since he had put her name on the house’s papers, she had a right of ownership, so the former couple continued to live together, with Kaye having moved into the den. Regarding her whereabouts, investigators alleged she had spent the night before with her ex-husband, Thomas “Tommy” Woods. He had confirmed the same after investigators learned Ron had long suspected she had been unfaithful throughout their union.
Kaye Willoughby is Currently Incarcerated in State Prison
According to records, in the weeks leading up to Ron’s death, he had told almost all his loved ones that he was afraid for his life. He was reportedly genuinely scared that Kaye would harm him, driving him to tell his daughter that if something happened to him, he did not do it himself. He also talked to his ex-wife on the phone the evening prior to his demise, asking her to call him at around 7 am and then contact the authorities if he did not pick up. As per his loved ones, he did not put it past Kaye to attack or harm him in his sleep because that’s how contentious their relationship had gotten. That’s why he even secretly changed his will sometime in November, removing Kaye as the beneficiary of his estate and his life insurance policy because he knew that could be a motive for her.
Nevertheless, despite all the evidence pointing towards her, Kaye vehemently maintained her initial narrative, only to later assert that she did want money from her husband. At the time, Georgia law prohibited the use of outside accounts in court, as they could be deemed hearsay, so prosecutors did not bring any charges against her. They had the physical evidence of the gunshot residue, but they did not think it would be enough, as the testimonies would have painted a clear picture of their volatile relationship. As a result, Kaye was able to contest the distribution of Ron’s assets/wealth, which the family settled by giving her the Loveless Drive home outright, which she later sold for $100,000. Things changed in 2017 as Georgia modified its court procedures and allowed outside testimonies, driving authorities to arrest Kaye from near her new home in Monroe, Georgia, on June 13, 2017.
She was interrogated once again and denied any involvement in the matter, but she did assert that she wanted money from her then-husband. She claimed he offered her $1,000 to move out, and when she refused, he upped the offer to $20,000 or $30,000. However, because her name was on the lease, she wanted at least half of the home they shared, so Ron simply told her she would now get nothing, as she would see him in court. Authorities believe this angered her enough to kill him, but she maintained her innocence. In the end, she was arrested on the charge of aggravated assault and murder, to which she pleaded not guilty. She thus stood trial in 2019, and after 5 days of testimonies, a jury found her guilty of murder on September 26. She was subsequently sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Therefore, today, at the age of 70, Kaye remains incarcerated in a Georgia State Prison.
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