Attorney General Steve Marshall Announces Court of Criminal Appeals Upholds Blount County Murder Conviction

(Montgomery, Ala.) – Attorney General Steve Marshall announced the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the convictions of Bryan Craig Fox, 54, of Oneonta, for murder and unlawful possession of a firearm. Fox was convicted in the Blount County Circuit Court on May 21, 2024.

In November 2021, Fox was living in Oneonta with his wife, Sharon Teal Askew. Fox, at the time of his wife’s murder, was involved in an extramarital relationship and was a convicted criminal who was not allowed to possess a firearm. On the evening of his wife’s murder, Fox exchanged numerous angry texts with his wife and eventually went to the family residence where he shot his wife in the head. Sharon subsequently died from her wound. The jury rejected Fox’s unsupported claim of self-defense and convicted him of both murder and illegal possession of a firearm.

Blount County District Attorney Pamela Casey’s office successfully prosecuted this case and obtained the guilty verdicts. Fox was sentenced to life imprisonment. Fox sought to have his convictions reversed on appeal.

The Attorney General’s Criminal Appeals Division handled the case during the appeals process, arguing for the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals to affirm Fox’s convictions. The Court did so in a decision issued Friday, June 20, 2025.

Attorney General Marshall commended Assistant Attorney General John J. Davis for his successful work on this case and thanks District Attorney Pamela Casey and her staff for their valuable assistance in defending the murder and unlawful possession of a firearm convictions.