Ex-boyfriend who murdered Indianapolis woman released on bail, wore an ankle bracelet after beating her with hammer
The family of Ashley Richardson says the criminal justice system let them down in an interview with Lawrence Jones
As Indianapolis inches towards another record-setting year for homicides, one family is blaming the cities left-wing criminal justice policies for a young woman’s murder.
Last year, Ashley Richardson was reportedly killed by her ex-boyfriend, Kendale Abel, while he was wearing an ankle monitor and awaiting trial.
Fox News’ Lawrence Jones spoke with Richardson’s sisters, Chanel and Kaylia, on their sister’s relationship with her ex-boyfriend and whether or not the criminal justice system failed their family.
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Despite never previously telling the family about issues within her relationship, Kaylia recalled a phone conversation with Ashley after a violent encounter with Abel.
"My sister called like-Kendale just beat me with a hammer and I’m like excuse me?" Kaylia said.
Kaylia said Ashley had countless bruises down her back, her arms, and gashes across her head.
"He had to have hit her over 30 times."
After the attack, Abel was arrested and outfitted with a GPS monitoring bracelet. Ashley also filed a restraining order against her attacker.
But, one month later Ashley was killed.
"She was just a breath of fresh air and he took my breath away when he took my sister away," said Chanel while struggling to hold back tears.
"Do you feel like the justice system let your family down?" asked Jones.
"Absolutely, 100%," asserted Chanel. "How does a person who beats someone with a hammer get a $20,000 bond and then he’s walking free and put on GPS to pacify us?"
Indianapolis currently has 4,300 people wearing electronic monitoring devices on a daily basis, according to WFYI.
It can sometimes take up to 48 hours for law enforcement to even determine if the GPS device has been disconnected, says Jones.
The sisters say they are "proof" that the system does not work for their community.
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Indianapolis is currently on pace to exceed last year’s homicide record of 245 murders. Compared to the same period last year, criminal homicides are up nearly 40%.
This increase in violent crime has also permeated across the country. In 2020, 19,000 people were killed by gun violence, the highest number in over 20 years.
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