02/12/2026
Illinois Mother of Six Stabbed to Death by Ex-Husband While Walking to Her Car — A Domestic Violence Ambush Caught on Camera‼️ Trigger Warning‼️
She was 41 years old.
A mother of six.
And police say she was stabbed to death by her ex-husband just steps from her home — while simply trying to get to her car.
Authorities in Illinois say Ashley Stewart was walking toward her garage when surveillance footage captured her ex-husband, Ryan Dodd, following her. Moments later, she was found unresponsive. First responders pronounced her dead at the scene.
This was not random violence.
This was intimate partner violence after separation — one of the most lethal stages of abuse.
Police arrested Dodd approximately 30 minutes after the attack, charging him with first-degree murder, home invasion, and aggravated stalking. Investigators say the attack was targeted, and the charges reflect a pattern of pursuit, not a sudden encounter.
Ashley’s loved ones describe her as a “beacon of light” — a devoted mother whose life revolved around her children. Now, those six children are left without their mother, their lives permanently altered by a violent act that unfolded in seconds but was likely building long before that night.
Law enforcement has asked residents for any additional security footage, as investigators work to piece together the timeline leading up to the killing. But advocates stress that the most important timeline is often ignored: the weeks, months, or years of warning signs that precede lethal domestic violence.
Experts have long warned that stalking, following, repeated unwanted contact, and fixation after a relationship ends are among the strongest predictors of intimate partner homicide. Leaving does not always mean safety — and for many survivors, it is when danger escalates most rapidly.
Ashley Stewart’s death exposes a pattern seen again and again: when stalking and threats are minimized, when obsessive behavior is dismissed, and when survivors are left to navigate fear alone, violence can turn fatal without warning to the outside world.
This was not just a loss.
It was a preventable outcome of unchecked domestic violence escalation.
And six children will grow up with that truth.
Why do stalking and post-separation warning signs continue to be minimized — and what would it take for communities to intervene before violence turns deadly?
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