Jon K. Ewing, a 64-year-old Kansas man, has been sentenced to life in prison for the brutal kidnapping and murder of his ex-girlfriend, Deborah Ann Stephens, in 2021. Shawnee County District Court Judge Brett A. Watson handed down a life sentence Friday as Ewing was found guilty of first-degree felony murder and second-degree reckless homicide.
The grisly details of the crime were revealed in court documents. Authorities reported that Stephens’ remains were discovered in a trailer, with large portions of flesh missing from his face and dogs seen eating parts of his body.
Ewing was immediately arrested at the scene and later found guilty of other felonies, including aggravated kidnapping, aggravated burglary, criminal threat of violence and interference with police evidence. In addition to his life sentence, he will serve an additional 344 months (over 28 years) for these other crimes. The Topeka Capital-Journal reported.
The tragic events unfolded on April 27, 2021, when emergency medical personnel and officers responded to a call about an unresponsive adult woman at a mobile home lot in Topeka. Upon arrival, they discovered Stephens’ lifeless body inside a trailer, where he appeared to have suffered blunt force trauma to his face, torso and arms.
Ewing, identified as Stephens’ ex-partner He was already at the scene and was detained by the agents. Court documents and security footage from Stephens’ home revealed the horrific sequence of events. Footage showed Ewing ambushing Stephens, dragging her by her hair toward the trailer and then using an ax to strike her in the head multiple times.
As he attacked her, Ewing was heard threatening: “I’m going to kill you.The couple’s past was marked by domestic violence, and police were called to their residence 44 times between April 2020 and April 2021. Just two days before the murder, Ewing had been arrested on drug charges and, during his While in custody, he allegedly told a fellow detainee that he would kill Stephens and “cut his head off” when he was released.
Ewing’s conviction and life sentence end a tragic chapter in the life of a young woman who, despite her efforts to escape, was a victim of her abuser’s violence.