Man accused of 2018 killing Natomas librarian facing March murder trial in Sacramento
Ronald Seay will be tried in March in the execution-style killing of Natomas librarian Amber Clark in December 2018, a Sacramento Superior Court judge announced Friday.
The announcement came a day before the third anniversary of Clark’s slaying.
Clark was 41 when she was shot 11 times at close range the night of Dec. 11, 2018, as she sat in her car outside the North Natomas library branch where she worked as a supervisor.
Seay, 58, was arrested the following day suspected of the deadly ambush and is being held without bail at Rio Cosumnes Correctional Center near Elk Grove. Trial is scheduled for March 14
Seay, whose disturbing history of violent and threatening run-ins with librarians in the St. Louis-area led to multiple arrests and library bans there, moved to Sacramento in September 2018 just months before Clark’s killing.
For Kelly Clark, Amber Clark’s husband, news of a trial date brings hope for a measure of peace.
“It’s been such a long time coming. I know the evidence is overwhelming that he committed this crime,” Kelly Clark said Friday. “I have a strong feeling that he’ll go to prison for the rest of his life.”
Seay pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity and a second not guilty plea in February to allegations of first-degree murder and lying in wait. Sacramento County District Attorney’s prosecutors said in 2019 that they would not seek the death penalty in Clark’s killing. Prosecutors will argue for a life sentence without the possibility of parole, if Seay is convicted.
Seay’s criminal proceedings were suspended for months last year to allow doctors to determine whether he was fit for trial. The Missouri transplant had undergone “extensive psychiatric treatment” for months while housed at Rio Cosumnes, his attorneys said back in February, but court-appointed doctors have since found him competent to face a judge.
This story was originally published December 10, 2021 at 1:15 PM.
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