On the evening of May 1, 2026, in Louisville, Kentucky, 74-year-old Wade Ramey, a local real estate broker, was found dead in the Parkland neighborhood. The Louisville Metro Police Department responded to a report of a shooting at approximately 5:40 p.m. in the 3200 block of West Kentucky Street. Upon their arrival, officers discovered Mr. Ramey, who had sustained multiple gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead at the scene by the Jefferson County Coroner's Office.
Initially, the circumstances surrounding his death were not widely publicized, with his obituary simply stating he had "passed away" and that his family had chosen cremation and a "Celebration of Life" to be held at a later date.
The initial investigation into the shooting was handled by the LMPD's Homicide Unit, which at the outset, had no identified suspects and made no immediate arrests. The police department appealed to the public for any information that might lead to a breakthrough in the case, encouraging tips to be submitted through their anonymous tip line. For several weeks, the investigation continued without any publicly announced developments, leaving the community and Mr. Ramey's family without answers as to who was responsible for his death.
Three weeks after the fatal shooting, a significant development in the case emerged with the arrest of a suspect. Match Gudger, 47, was charged with the murder of Wade Ramey. At the time the charges were brought forward, Gudger was already in custody at the Louisville Metro Department of Corrections on other, unrelated charges. In addition to murder, Gudger also faces a charge of possession of a handgun by a convicted felon. The investigation into Wade Ramey's death is ongoing, and as the case proceeds through the legal system, more details may emerge about the circumstances that led to this violent end of a man described as a beloved husband, father, and grandfather.
