OKC Man Charged With Murder Of Ex-Wife, Kidnapping Son To Stand Trial

A metro man charged with murdering his ex-wife and then kidnapping their young son will stand trial.

The judge heard testimony from several witnesses including the divorced couple’s 8-year-old daughter, who was home at the time of her mother’s death.

The 8-year-old did not have to face her father in the courtroom, instead, she testified through a live video feed from another courtroom.

Cleveland County deputies escorted Chase Ainsworth into the Cleveland County Courthouse. As he walked to the courtroom, he remained emotionless and quiet with his eyes locked on the victim’s friends and family, who banded together wearing “Sam Strong” T-shirts.

Ainsworth is charged with first-degree murder in the death of his ex-wife Samantha Ainsworth back in July of last year. Police say he slit her throat while his children were in the other room. Ainsworth is also charged with kidnapping their then-5-year-old son following the alleged murder. The divorced couple’s 8-year-old daughter detailed what happened the day her mother died during the hearing.

She testified her father, the defendant, showed up to their home and “looked scary” and had a “mean face.” She said her mom and dad went into her bedroom and shut the door. The daughter said she locked herself in her mom’s room with her younger brother and a friend.

She said she heard her mom call her name. She said her friend ran home. The young girl said when she opened her bedroom door she saw her mother bleeding from her neck. She testified she knelt before her mom and held her hands. 

During the testimony, some of Samantha’s supporters became emotional, wiping tears from their faces. Ainsworth kept his eyes locked on his daughter in the monitor during much of her testimony and showed mostly no emotion.

The daughter said under oath, she went to the living room and grabbed her mom's phone to call 911 but her dad took it away from her.

She testified her dad had a knife in his hand with blood on it. She said her dad took her and her brother outside and she ran to a neighbor’s house and told her friend’s grandmother, “my dad killed my mom.”

She also testified that her brother got in the car with her dad.

The defense asked questions about possible weapons in the home, saying the defendant may have acted in self-defense. The defense also made two motions. The first, to quash the kidnapping charge, saying his son went willingly with his father. They also made a motion to amend the first-degree murder charge to first-degree manslaughter/crime of passion, arguing Ainsworth had no deliberate intent to kill his ex-wife. The judge denied both motions and bound the case to trial.

Based on the testimony of the daughter, the judge ruled in favor of adding a misdemeanor charge against the defendant of interfering with an emergency call. Ainsworth's formal arraignment is set for April 8. 

Related: Man Formally Charged For Allegedly Murdering His Ex-Wife, Kidnapping Child

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His formal arraignment is April 8.