Ezra Ralston sentenced to life for killing grandparents

A Washington man has been sentenced to life in prison for killing his grandparents so he could start a commune on their waterfront property — only to later burn down their house in an attempt to destroy the evidence.

Ezra Fleming Ralston, 29, was convicted by a grand jury of two counts of murder, conspiracy to commit murder and arson in the first-degree back in June and sentenced Wednesday.

Prosecutors laid out how Ralston — who lived with his grandparents, Joanna Gormley, 73, and Ted Ralston, 71 — conspired with his girlfriend and two others to kill the couple and take over their home on Key Peninsula, near Tacoma, in May 2020.

“Over the course of our investigation, our detectives determined that the victims’ live-in grandson and several friends plotted to kill his grandparents so they could set up some type of commune on the victims’ waterfront property in Vaughn,” according to the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department.

Also convicted in the plot were Sean Higgins, 26, who was also sentenced to life in prison; Spencer Kleine, 26, who was sentenced to 45 years; and Ralston’s girlfriend, Rebecka Neubauer, 25, who was sentenced to 33 years and four months behind bars.

The elderly couple’s neighbors called the fire department on the night of May 17, 2020, after hearing several loud explosions coming from the house, according to an affidavit obtained by Law & Crime.

Firefighters found Gormley and the elder Ralston dead in the basement, lying side-by-side. Their bodies were found in a suspicious position, as if they “had been dragged down the stairs,” authorities said.

An autopsy later revealed that the two were stabbed to death, with Gormley suffering several stabs to her neck and her husband had stab wounds on his chest.

Crews also found evidence that the fire was intentionally set — five gas cans were discovered in the kitchen and a propane tank in the home exploded. Detectives found another gas canister in Ezra’s car during their investigation.

Investigators said they also received a call from Ezra Ralston’s mother who said her son is “not mentally well” and wanted detectives to locate him.

Ralston’s father also claimed his son had called him earlier in the night to say his grandparents had fevers and sore throats and may have contracted COVID.

In a series of text messages, Ralson claimed to his father that his grandparents were in the hospital in stable condition — but cops later determined that was a lie to cover up what he had done, according to FOX 13.

Officers eventually brought Neubauer in for questioning, and she admitted that she and Ralston had spoken several times about killing his grandparents so they could live in the waterfront home.

She said he was “tired of” his grandparents, and they had ongoing discussions about starting a “commune” at the home.

Text exchanges between the two, the affidavit said, laid out their sinister plan.

“Just prior to the murder, defendant Ralston expressed concerns about the fact that his grandparents were awake, making it difficult to follow through on the plans to commit the murders,” the affidavit says.

“Defendant Neubauer gave him specific advice on how to proceed to avoid alerting his grandparents. Neubauer also repeatedly encouraged Ralston in the message exchanges whenever Ralston expressed his frustrations and stress about committing the murders, telling him how much she loves him and telling him ‘You’re so amazing, you got this.’”

After committing the murders, the texts showed, Ezra suggested using bleach to cover up the crime because the house was starting to smell like “a science experiment with dead frogs.”

Gormley and the elder Ralston were remembered as pillars of their community, with a memorial held for them just days later with mourners drinking Ralston’s favorite drink — a single-malt scotch.

A larger memorial service was held one year later.