Jury Finds Geno Guilty Of Deliberate Homicide
A jury found Clovis Geno, 55, guilty of the deliberate homicide of Ramona Naramore in Roosevelt County District Court in Wolf Point Wednesday, May 5. District judge David Cybulski presided.
Naramore was found dead in Culbertson in January 2020 and an autopsy revealed she was killed by strangulation. The trial lasted three days. Jury members deliberated for about an hour before returning with a verdict. Jury selection took place April 28-30.
During closing arguments May 12, the state stressed that circumstantial evidence carries the same weight as eyewitness testimony, according to the law. The prosecution said that jury members may use common sense and judgment to determine guilt. According to a friend’s testimony, Naramore was “upset and she was scared” around the time of her death. Testimony said the victim became more upset after receiving text messages from Geno. A friend of Naramore’s testified that she was upset about the messages: “It’s the defendant accusing Ramona of having an affair and upset at Ramona for being out drinking.”
After falling down in the parking lot by her apartment, Naramore required assistance but was still able to walk. The state said Naramore wasn’t bleeding or particularly injured. Said the prosecution, “That was the last time that anybody other than the defendant saw Ramona alive.”
Closing arguments from the defense included that Naramore suffered from many medical issues. The defense also suggested that Geno wasn’t physically strong enough to commit the crime. The defense noted that Geno had plenty of time to leave the area because he wasn’t charged until Feb. 19, 2020. The defense noted that Naramore was 64 years, had an enlarged heart and drank heavily.
In the state’s rebuttal, assistant attorney general Stephanie Tabish Robles said Naramore’s health wasn’t an issue in the case because the cause of death was determined to be strangulation.
On the first day of the trial, Robles and Theresa Diekhans with the Office of the Montana State Public Defender delivered opening arguments. Testimony was offered by current and former area residents Leslie Saunders, Amanda Kinney, Brandy Bowland, Elizabeth Annett, Terri and Brian Merrill, Jessica Bergstrom, Jeff Wozniak, 911 supervisor; RCSO deputy Jason Baker, Beverly Raaum, an EMT who responded to the scene; RCSO deputy coroner Joseph Reinhart, RCSO deputy Pilar Kuntz and Montana DOJ investigator Noah Scott and RCSO Lieutenant Patrick O’Connor.
Montana attorney general and former Roosevelt County Attorney Austin Knudsen originally indicated that he was going to seek the death penalty in the case. In August 2020, Knudsen withdrawn his intent to pursue the death penalty against Geno. In a May 5 social media post, he praised the efforts of the RCSO, the Roosevelt County Attorney’s Office and Clerk of District Court, the Montana DOJ Division of Criminal Investigation and the Montana DOJ Prosecution Services Bureau.
Following a pre-sentence investigation, Geno faces a term of not less than 10 years or more than 100 years in the state prison.
