Man ambushed and killed ex-girlfriend with ax after threatening to ‘cut her head clean off’

Inset, top to bottom: Jon K. Ewing (Shawnee County Department of Corrections) and Deborah Ann Stephens (Dove Funeral Home). Background: The trailer where Ewing killed Stephens (WIBW).

A 64-year-old man in Kansas will spend the remainder of his days behind bars for abducting and killing his ex-girlfriend, beating the victim to death and leaving her body to be eaten by dogs.

Shawnee County District Court Judge Brett A. Watson on Friday ordered Jon K. Ewing to serve serve a sentence of life in a state correctional facility for the 2021 slaying of Deborah Ann Stephens, authorities announced.

A jury in February found Ewing guilty on one count each of first-degree felony murder and second-degree reckless murder.

Atop the life sentence, Watson also ordered Ewing to serve an additional 344 months — more than 28 years — for a spate of other felony charges of which he was convicted, including aggravated kidnapping, aggravated burglary, criminal threat of violence, and interfering with law enforcement evidence.

According to a news release from the county district attorney’s office, emergency medical personnel and deputies with the Shawnee County Sheriff’s Office at about 5:30 p.m. on April 27, 2021, responded to a call regarding an unresponsive adult female at a mobile home lot in the 800 block of Southwest 57th Street in Topeka.

Upon arriving, first responders said they entered a trailer and immediately located a deceased adult female who was later identified as Stephens. She was pronounced dead on the scene with authorities noting that she appeared to have suffered blunt force trauma to her face, torso, and arms.

Ewing, who was identified as Stephens’ ex-boyfriend, was on the scene when deputies first arrived and was taken into custody.

Court documents obtained by Topeka NBC affiliate KSNT provided additional details about the crime scene and Ewing’s arrest.

The report states that when emergency medical personnel first discovered Stephens’ body in the trailer, there were big chunks of flesh missing from her face and dogs were reportedly eating different parts of her body.

Prosecutors were able to obtain surveillance footage from Stephens’ home security system that showed Ewing attacking Stephens from behind, grabbing hold of her hair and dragging her in the direction of her trailer, The Topeka Capital-Journal reported.

The footage then showed Ewing reach into the trailer and grab an ax that Stephens kept just inside the door. Ewing reportedly used the axe to repeatedly strike Stephens in the head before tossing her into the trailer.

As Ewing pulled her into the trailer, he could be heard saying, “I will kill you,” according to an affidavit obtained by Topeka CBS affiliate WIBW.

The couple had a history of domestic violence incidents, with authorities responding to 44 calls at their home between April 2020 and April 2021, according to the Capital-Journal.

At trial, prosecutors said that just two days before Stephens was killed, Ewing was arrested on felony drug charges and blamed Stephens for his arrest. Before he was released on bond, they said he told another inmate that when he got out, he was going to kill Stephens and “cut her head clean off.”