WASHINGTON COUNTY, Pa. — Two months after police say Tierne Ewing was abducted and killed by her estranged husband, 11 Investigates has obtained court documents that shed some light on why Kevin Ewing was allowed out of jail despite his wife’s warnings that he would kill her.
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New details from a transcript of the last time the Ewings were both in court raise questions about the system in place to protect domestic violence victims in Washington County.
Authorities said Kevin Ewing shot and killed his estranged wife back in August while he was out on bail on charges that he had kidnapped and tortured her weeks earlier.
In the transcript from the hearing of the emergency appeal the district attorney's office filed trying to get Kevin Ewing back behind bars, Assistant District Attorney Kristen Clingerman argued that he "held his victim hostage for over 11 days, repeatedly holding a loaded gun to her head and telling her that he was going to kill her.”
Clingerman stated that Kevin Ewing assaulted Tierne Ewing with the gun, duct-taped her mouth and hands, fastened her hands together behind her back with zip ties, restrained her with a cord around her neck and locked her in a closet.
She told the judge that “bond was not sufficient to protect the victim,” according to the transcript.
As noted in the transcript, defense attorney Ben Goodwin argued that bail was already set at probably half of Kevin Ewing’s net worth, stating, “The purpose of bond is not to punish.” He added that his client was not a flight risk or a danger.
“We can't just keep jacking up the amount until he's behind bars prior to him ever receiving a day in court,” the transcript quotes Goodwin as saying.
Prior to the emergency appeal, Kevin Ewing had already posted his $100,000 bail.
Judge Gary Gilman made a decision and, according to the transcript, said in court:
"I am not going to change it because I do think it is fairly significant, at least in relation to what his assets are. I can understand why an alleged victim would find that she is in substantial fear, so as a result, Mr. Ewing will have electronic home monitoring be placed on him. He will also have a GPS tracker...to verify where the defendant is going."
Channel 11 reported last month that Washington County’s GPS monitors never monitor in real time, and in the Ewing case, didn’t alert anyone when Kevin Ewing cut it off.
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