On a Sunday evening in Oneonta, Alabama, a domestic dispute turned fatal, claiming the life of 53-year-old Sharon Dianne Teal Askew. It was November 21, 2021, when Blount County deputies were called to a residence on Moorer Lane shortly after 6 p.m. Inside the home, they discovered Askew on the living room floor with a single gunshot wound; she was pronounced dead at the scene.
Askew's husband, 52-year-old Bryan Craig Fox, was present at the residence when law enforcement arrived. He was taken into custody without incident and subsequently booked into the Blount County Jail on a murder charge. Investigators learned that the couple's marriage was in turmoil. Court records later revealed that Fox was engaged in an extramarital affair and was legally prohibited from owning a firearm due to a prior conviction. On the evening of the shooting, the couple had exchanged heated text messages prior to Fox going to their home and shooting his wife in the head.
During his trial, Fox asserted that he acted in self-defense, a claim the Blount County jury ultimately rejected. On May 21, 2024, Bryan Craig Fox was convicted of murder and unlawful possession of a firearm. He received a sentence of life imprisonment for his crimes. Fox later appealed his convictions, but on June 20, 2025, the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals upheld the original verdict, solidifying his life sentence.
