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Friends: Bonner Co. murder victim was ‘sweet, sweet old woman'

The Bonner County community has been shaken by the recent homicide of an older woman inside her home.

Officials said Shirley Ramey, 78, was killed inside her home in the Trestle Creek area. Police are still searching for the man they have named as their lead suspect, Nathan Utt, 41. Utt is a “transient type” according to officials and is known to frequent local soup kitchens and food banks in the Sandpoint area.

Authorities said Ramey was found by her husband on Wednesday night in her home in Trestle Creek. A close family friend said her husband found her lying on the floor with a gunshot to the back of her head.

Mug shot of Nathan Lane Utt, a suspect for a murder in Bonner County. 

“It’s really sad what happened to her, you know,” said Robert Crader, who lives in the area and knew Ramey. “It’s really turned the community upside down.”

“Everyone is concerned,” said Crader. “I’ve talked to a few people; everyone is keeping guns around their doors and their drawers and their bedrooms and stuff.”

RELATED: Bonner Co. murder suspect was previously institutionalized for mental health

Sources told KREM 2 Ramey worked for the city of Hope for decades and volunteered locally. She also had two grown children.

“Just a sweet, sweet old woman,” Crader recalled. “Very friendly, smiling all the time. Do anything for anybody.

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