A Kansas man was sentenced to life in prison for killing his ex-girlfriend by beating her with an ax and allowing dogs to gnaw at her body—days after promising to "cut her head clean off," according to reports.
Jon Ewing, 64, of Scranton, was order to serve a life term in a state correctional facility for the 2021 killing of Deborah Ann Stephens, Law&Crime reported.
Shawnee County District Court Judge Brett A. Watson on Friday also added 344 months to Ewing's sentence for a slew of other felony charges, including convictions for aggravated kidnapping, aggravated burglary, criminal threat of violence and interfering with law enforcement evidence.
Ewing was found guilty by a jury in February of first-degree felony murder and second-degree reckless murder.
At the trial, prosecutors said that Ewing was arrested on felony drug charges two days before Stephens was killed and he blamed her for his arrest.
He told another inmate while in custody that when he was released he was going to kill Stephens and "cut her head clean off."
Authorities responded to a call of an unresponsive female on April 27, 2021, at a mobile home in Topeka.
Deputies found Ewing at the scene and discovered Stephens' body with large chunks of her face missing, KSNT in Topeka reported.
Firefighters said they found dogs eating part of her body when they arrived.
Video from a home security camera showed Ewing, the former boyfriend, sneaking up behind her and begin beating her with a broom handle and then a flashlight before switching to an ax that he had inside the door.
Ewing bashed her repeatedly in the head with the ax before dragging Stephens inside the trailer, murmuring "I will kill you," Law&Crime reported.
