COOK COUNTY CRIMINAL COURTHOUSE — A man convicted of murdering his pregnant girlfriend in 1989 was back in court Tuesday on allegations he killed another girlfriend.
Douglas Askew was sentenced in 1990 to 40 years in prison for fatally shooting his 15-year-old girlfriend and injuring two of her relatives in 1989, the Tribune reported at the time.
It was not immediately clear Tuesday when Askew was released from prison. But he was a free man by Dec. 31, when prosecutors allege he fatally stabbed ex-girlfriend Sylvia Brice, 52, and injured one of her relatives.
Askew, now 46, is charged with first-degree murder and aggravated battery causing great bodily harm. Cook County Judge James Brown on Tuesday denied Askew bail, calling him "an extreme danger to the community."
According to prosecutors, Askew and Brice dated before the fatal attack — but the relationship had gone south by Nov. 30, when Brice was granted an emergency order of protection against Askew.
The order banned Askew from entering Brice's home in the 9300 block of South Wentworth Avenue or visiting her at work, Assistant State's Attorney Bryan Grissman said during a bond hearing Tuesday.
Brice lived with relatives in December, prosecutors said, but returned to her Roseland home with her 30-year-old niece on Dec. 31 to retrieve belongings for an upcoming move.
A screen door was open, Grissman said, and Brice went inside and upstairs to investigate. Her niece waited downstairs.
That's when the niece heard Brice scream.
According to authorities, the niece ran upstairs, where she found Askew standing in the hallway. Brice told him to leave, prosecutors said, and her niece threatened to call the police.
At that point, Askew pulled out a large knife and stabbed the niece, Grissman said. When Brice tried to intervene, Askew fatally stabbed her in her chest, torso and left leg.
He then turned back toward Brice's niece and slashed the woman several times before she eventually wrangled the knife away from Askew and ran outside to her car, prosecutors said.
A neighbor reported seeing Askew fleeing the scene and called 911.
Brice was pronounced dead on the scene, Grissman said, while her niece was treated at Advocate Christ Medical Center for six stab wounds to her lower chest, left flank, abdomen and leg.
According to his public defender, Askew has a GED and was most recently employed at a timber agency.
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