Family remembers slain Miami-area woman after husband arrested 13 years later
Ramone O’Neil Clayton spent more than a decade dodging law enforcement after police say he murdered his wife at a Miami Gardens party. He thought he was home free until last week, when federal agents and police officers tracked him down at his California home.
The case centered on the 2012 slaying of Stephanie Ulette Clayton, a 35-year-old mother of a 9-year-old daughter at the time and two other children.
‘Life of the family’
Ramone Clayton’s arrest brought mixed emotions for those who loved Ulette Clayton.
Her older sister, Karlene Braidy, told reporters Wednesday that it felt like “she died all over [again],” as the news forced her to relive the pain of her sister’s death.
Braidy said it’s difficult to accept that her sister’s children had to grow up without their mother. And though she has tried to move on and live a normal life, her sister’s death remains a painful and lingering memory.
“She was always the life of every party…the life of the family,” Braidy said at a news conference.
Her daughter, Tonayvia Henson, who was 9 at the time and is now 23, said it can be hard to look in the mirror, as she’s come to realize how much she resembles her mother.
Henson said she hopes Clayton, 41, faces whatever punishment the justice system decides is fair.
“He [Clayton] hurt me in a way where you can’t take it back,” Henson said.
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Fugitive for 13 years
Back in September 2012, Clayton and his wife were attending a party at a home in the 2490 block of Northwest 207th Street, Miami Gardens police said. Sometime during the evening, he shot and killed her before escaping. He was charged with second-degree murder and use of a firearm during the commission of felony.
CBS Miami, a Miami Herald news partner, reported at the time that Ramon and Stephanie Clayton were arguing in the yard of the house party before the shooting. He wanted to leave, and she told him she wanted to stay.
“I was told he dragged her to the ground, then punched her, then went for his gun, and came back and shot her in the head,” Olive Jones, Stephanie’s mother, told CBS Miami.
Miami Gardens Detective Jeremy McIntyre said Clayton had been living in San Diego for about a year before his arrest and had previously resided in Delaware. He worked odd handyman jobs and carried a fake Jamaican ID.
On Oct. 24, the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office received a tip pertaining to Clayton’s whereabouts, the Miami Gardens Police Department said in a release. California detectives alerted Miami Gardens Police, and law enforcement from several agencies began assembling to arrest Clayton.
“We don’t forget,” Miami Gardens Police Chief Delma Noel-Pratt said at the Wednesday news conference. She established the department’s cold case unit two years ago. “Justice has no expiration date.”
Members of the FBI, U.S. Marshals Service and the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office Fugitive Task Force cuffed Clayton at his San Diego home on Oct. 27. He’s being held in the San Diego Main Jail until he’s extradited to Miami-Dade County to stand trial.
When officers arrested him, McIntyre said, Clayton told them: “You got me.”
This story was originally published November 4, 2025 at 5:01 PM.
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