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The man accused in the fatal stabbing of his girlfriend in February is now facing a more serious charge in a DeKalb County courtroom.

The DeKalb County Grand Jury on Monday indicted 42 year old Anthony (Tony) Tyrone Crews on a charge of first degree murder in the death of 28 year old Ashley Bain, whose body was found lying on the floor of a bedroom at the home she and Crews shared at 3870 Cookeville Highway, Smithville on Thursday afternoon, February 5. At the time of his arrest on the evening of the stabbing, Crews had been charged with second degree murder.

Crews will be arraigned in Criminal Court on August 10.

The indictment alleges that "Crews, on February 5, did unlawfully, intentionally, and with premeditation, kill Ashley Bain, constituting the offense of first degree murder".

Bain was stabbed numerous times about the upper body. It's not known exactly how long she had been dead by the time authorities were notified but she had been seen alive earlier in the day. A knife, believed to have been the murder weapon, was found in the home.

According to Sheriff Patrick Ray, Crews called 911 at 2:33 p.m. on February 5 to report that he had discovered Bain's body when he entered the residence. Sheriff Ray and members of the DeKalb County Sheriff's Department were alerted and quickly arrived on the scene. The TBI and District Attorney General's Office also joined the investigation. Sheriff Ray said authorities determined that Crews had committed the crime and made up the story about finding the body.

One week later, Crews made his first court appearance under tight security at the DeKalb County Courthouse.

During the brief hearing in General Sessions Court covered exclusively by partner station WJLE, Judge Bratten Cook, II increased Crews' bond from $250,000 to one million dollars. He also appointed the District Public Defender's Office to represent Crews.

Before increasing the bond amount, Judge Cook questioned Crews about his background. Crews said he was from New York and had relocated to McMinnville three years ago. He is married and had once served in the military. At the time of his arrest, Crews was enrolled as a student at MTSU and had worked at Shiroki in Smithville. He admitted to having a misdemeanor criminal past for simple assault in New York but claimed the charges against him there were dismissed. Crews said he is not currently on parole or probation for any other offense.

After being appointed to represent Crews, Assistant District Public Defender Allison Rasbury West asked that his bond be kept at $250,000 saying that amount was sufficient. However Judge Cook raised it to one million dollars. Upon hearing the judge's decision, Bain's father, who was in the courtroom along with other family members, called out "Thank you Judge".

Crews' second appearance in General Sessions Court was for a preliminary hearing on March 26.

Source:

Partner Station WJLE