Megan Goltz-Clemetson

On Christmas Eve of 2020, Megan Goltz-Clemetson, a 39-year-old White woman, was killed in her Hagerstown, Maryland, home. Police were dispatched to the residence on Potomac Heights Boulevard at approximately 4:51 p.m. for a reported domestic disturbance. When officers arrived, they entered the home and found the couple’s three young children, who were physically unharmed.

A further search of the home led officers to a bedroom, where they discovered Megan’s body. She had sustained a fatal gunshot wound. An investigation determined the homicide had occurred earlier in the day after an argument between Megan and her husband, Raymond Clemetson. According to court testimony, the children heard arguing followed by a loud bang. Raymond then told the children their mother was tired and sleeping, and he continued to wrap Christmas presents. He later took the children to a relative’s home and then out for pizza before they returned to the house.

Shortly after police found Megan, her husband, then 42, arrived at the Hagerstown Police Department and turned himself in. Detectives were called to the scene, which was processed by the Western Maryland Regional Crime Lab. The Department of Social Services for Washington County also responded to assist with the care of the children.

Raymond Clemetson was arrested and taken to the Washington County Detention Center. He was charged with first-degree murder, second-degree murder, and reckless endangerment. Prosecutors later filed a notice of their intention to seek a sentence of life without the possibility of parole.

In January 2024, Raymond Clemetson, then 45, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in Washington County Circuit Court. The plea was part of an agreement in which the state withdrew its notice to seek life without parole. Under the terms of the binding plea deal, Clemetson accepted a sentence of life in prison with all but 60 years suspended.