Trooper’s accused killer transferred after jail stabbing

Chauncey Askew

By DEUCE NIVEN

tribdeuce@tabor-loris.com

     Already charged in last fall’s murder of NC Highway Patrol Master Trooper Kevin Conner, a Chadbourn teen is accused of stabbing a fellow inmate at the Robeson County Detention Center in Lumberton.

     Chauncy Askew and the other inmate were in a common area of the jail in Lumberton on Wednesday when they engaged in a verbal argument, a news release from Columbus County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Michelle Tatum said.

     Askew left the common area, the news release said, returning with a weapon made from a comb “filed down to a pint, like a knife,” the news release said. Askew stabbed the inmate, and bit him, resulting in multiple injuries.

     Askew was returned to the Columbus County Detention Center, and has been transferred to an undisclosed facility. An earlier release that said Askew was sent to Central Prison in Raleigh was wrong, because he is not old enough to be housed there.

     Askew was 18 when charged with Trooper Conner’s murder, and turned 19 earlier this month.

     Look for updates on this story as events warrant and more in the next Tabor-Loris Tribune in print and online.