Suspect in murders of wife, rookie Prince William Co. police officer held without bond

WOODBRIDGE, Va. - The man accused of shooting and killing his own wife, and then a rookie Prince William County police officer remains in jail with a no-bond status. Ronald Hamilton faces a possible death sentence if he is convicted of Officer Ashley Guindon's murder.

Ronald Hamilton, 32, had two hearings on Monday. The first took place in in Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court, where he faces a first-degree murder charge in the death of his wife, Crystal "Crissy" Hamilton. Mr. Hamilton, who is about 6' tall and with 265 pounds, was not in court. Instead, he appeared via video conference from jail.

A woman who told FOX 5 she is a friend of Crystal Hamilton was in the courtroom for the hearing, sobbing at times.

The second hearing in district court was an arraignment on the capital murder charge in the death of Officer Ashley Guindon. In his arrest warrant, Ronald Hamilton is accused of using a rifle to shoot and kill Officer Guindon, and also wound two other officers. Those officers are 31-year-old Jesse Hempen, an eight-year veteran of the department, and 33-year-old David McKeown, a 10-year veteran. Both are expected to recover.

Ronald Hamilton is an active duty Army staff sergeant assigned to the Joint Staff Support Center at the Pentagon, a Defense Information Systems Agency spokeswoman based at Fort Meade told the Associated Press.

Authorities say Hamilton has a prior, out-of-state conviction 10 years ago for assault. Prince William County's Commonwealth Attorney, Paul Ebert, spoke to reporters after the hearings concluded, but he would not say whether the Hamiltons had a history of domestic violence.

Ebert said the couple's 11-year-old son, who witnessed his mother's murder, is now staying with relatives. Family members of Crystal Hamilton told FOX 5's Alexandra Limon the boy is staying with Ronald Hamilton's family in South Carolina, but they're now fighting to get custody of him. They told Limon since Ronald Hamilton is the immediate surviving family member, he got to sign over custody of their child.

Ronald Hamilton is due back in court in mid-April.

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