Former girlfriend of Lexington murder suspect recounts what she saw after alleged killing

A murder trial in Lexington continued Tuesday with the former girlfriend of a suspect sharing gory details about what she saw after two teenagers allegedly fatally assaulted a 57-year-old in Lexington.

Anthony Asay, 20, and Dillon Stewart, 22, are on trial for the death of Don Foster, who was killed in 2019. They’re accused of killing Foster and driving his body to a wooded area in Washington County. Both men were charged with murder, abuse of a corpse and evidence tampering.

On Tuesday Assistant Commonwealth Attorneys Dan Laren and Phil West, who are leading the prosecution against Asay and Stewart, called Haley Wagner to the stand. Wagner was Stewart’s then-girlfriend. She was 16 at the time of the incident.

In her testimony, she emotionally recounted the events that unfolded in late December inside the apartment she was living in with the two men. She said the victim, Foster, was a neighbor and friend who she cooked dinner for, and often rode around with him and Stewart.

“It seemed (Foster) was there everyday until Anthony came along,” she testified.

Wagner said the day of the incident, Foster came to the apartment to “sell auto parts” before going into the back room and closing the door. She told the court she didn’t hear any noises until she heard Foster exclaim, “I am already dead!”

She said Asay and Stewart told her to “come back and look,” and when she did, she saw Foster on the ground with a “yellow pole where his face was supposed to be.” She testified there was blood on the walls, on the curtains, and all over their clothes.

Then she said the cleanup of the scene began with the two men washing a knife and crowbar in the bathtub, and cleaning the walls and floors with gasoline and other cleaning products. She said they took off their clothes and burned them in 50 gallon barrels they brought to the apartment earlier.

Prosecutors presented evidence of blood spatter and luminescent tests in the bedroom which indicated blood had been cleaned up. A piece of the carpet had also been cut from the floor.

She said in court testimony that the defendants rolled Foster’s body in an area rug, and carried it out to Asay’s red pickup truck in broad daylight, before driving the body and the barrels to Willisburg, where Stewart is from.

Asay’s defense attorney said in court previously that Foster’s body was found near the former home of Stewart’s late mother.

Asay’s truck was later found at a salvage yard in Louisa, Detective Jeffrey Fugate said. A crowbar that was mentioned in interviews was found in the truck, he said.

When asked by West why she went with the men, she replied, “I just witnessed two men kill another person.”

She testified that days after the murder, she told her younger sister what happened, before her family decided to go to the police. This tip is what led officers to the home on Augusta Court to find evidence of a traumatic assault.

Asay’s defense team, including J. Parker Mincy and Ben Church, said Wagner’s testimony was different from what she told police during her initial interview. At the time, she told police she and Stewart were away from the apartments and “down the street trying to get chicken.”

“(What I said) was different because I tried to protect Dillon,” she said. “I thought I was in love.”

“You have told two stories and now no one knows the truth,” said Brent Cox, Stewart’s attorney.

“You do have a point,” Wagner replied.

Stewart, who eventually led police to Foster’s body, told police originally he heard the assault between Foster and Asay, but was not in the room with them when it took place. He did admit to police that he helped Asay move Foster’s body.

Other testimony on Tuesday included neighbors of the defendants, first responders and police that were called to the scene. Evidence was presented including photographs, body worn camera footage, carpet cleaner found at the scene, a yellow cinder block post, and interview recordings with witnesses.