COOK COUNTY CRIMINAL COURTHOUSE — An Austin man on probation for aggravated battery fatally stabbed his parents inside their West Side home this weekend, prosecutors said Tuesday.
Father Johnnie Ervin, 67, who relied on a walker to get around, was stabbed 11 times and disemboweled, authorities said. His wife Shirley, a 69-year-old with dementia, was found partially undressed.
"These unimaginable facts speak for themselves, sir," Cook County Judge Adam Bourgeois Jr. told the couple's son, accused killer Dexter Barnes, in court Tuesday. "No bail."
Shirley Ervin had previously procured an order of protection against Barnes, 47.
But that expired in November, prosecutors said, and Barnes was living with his parents when authorities said he murdered them in the 1400 block of North Le Claire Avenue about 5:30 p.m. Sunday.
Barnes' brother and a witness found the Ervins dead on their kitchen floor with 12 knives strewn about them when the brother tried to check on his parents about 1 a.m. Sunday, Assistant State's Attorney Jamie Santini said during a bond hearing Tuesday.
The brother had spotted Barnes leaving the home moments earlier, prosecutors said.
When police arrested Barnes that morning, he was carrying his father's wallet, which contained an ID and credit cards, Santini said. Barnes had blood on his clothing and cuts on his hands.
Prosecutors said Barnes initially claimed he was cut while fighting his brother, but later changed to his story — insisting he sustained the injuries defending himself from an attack from his elderly parents.
Johnnie Ervin was stabbed in his arms, shoulder, back stomach, chest and legs, prosecutors said. Shirley Ervin was stabbed once in her chest.
Police found mops and rolls of paper towels next to the couple, suggesting Barnes might have tried to clean up the scene, Santini said.
Barnes is on probation for a 2015 aggravated battery case in which he attacked a nurse treating him for an allergic reaction to a bee sting, prosecutors said. From November 2014 to late 2016, Barnes' mother had an order of protection against her son for a domestic-battery case.
Barnes had an extensive criminal background that includes convictions for battery, drug possession, domestic battery, aggravated battery, retail theft, trespassing, aggravated battery of a police officer and robbery, prosecutors said.
According to his public defender, Barnes lives with his wife of 11 years and the couple's son; Barnes suffers from seizures and cannot work. Prosecutors and police said Barnes lives with his parents in Austin.
