Jaynice Ferguson’s family said her ex had been harassing and assaulting her for years, despite a protection order against him
A Texas woman says the justice system failed to protect her sister after she was murdered by an ex-boyfriend who had been stalking and assaulting her for three years.
Even a protection order failed to stop Algie Washington, 45, from fatally shooting Jaynice Ferguson, 23, in Houston last Wednesday, her family said.
Ferguson’s family told local station KTRK there were plenty of warning signs over the years that Washington might commit violence against Ferguson.
The pair dated in 2020 but broke up later that year. That’s when the harassment and assaults began, Ferguson’s family said.
Ferguson’s sister, Bridgette Pipkin, said Washington had attacked Ferguson multiple times over the past several years, even sending her to the hospital on several occasions.
“He would have a brick with a rubber band with a letter on it, and he would break her windows out,” Pipkin recalled.
In 2022, he allegedly tried to strangle Ferguson, according to court documents obtained by KTRK.
As recently as New Year’s Day, police said they’d responded to reports of Ferguson’s tires being slashed.
Pipkin said she and her family tried everything to protect her sister, but there was only so much they could do.
“We did everything in our power, so it almost seems like as civilians, if we would have taken this into our own hands, perhaps my sister would have still been here,” Pipkin said.
Washington was charged with murder and is being held on a $1 million bond.
Ferguson’s family said they fear that if Washington manages to get out of jail, he could commit another murder.
“You took something from me that I would never have thought in my mind that would be gone,” Ferguson’s father, Colton Williams, said.