Rankin Co. woman accused of stabbing, killing fiancé released on bond

RANKIN CO., Miss. (WLBT) - A Rankin County woman arrested and charged with murder in the stabbing death of her fiancé just after Valentine’s Day has been released on bond.

At 12:06 a.m. on February 15, Rankin County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to a stabbing incident at a home in Audubon Circle.

Ashley Shaw pleaded with police to “save her fiancé,” Cole Manseill, who suffered from a stab wound from Shaw and later died at the scene. Two children were in the house when the incident occurred.

[READ: Rankin Co. woman accused of stabbing fiancé in the chest, killing him while two children were sleeping]

Shaw spent almost nine months in custody but was released on bond on November 6.

The Manseill family says her release only brings more grief.

“When I married into the Manseill family, Cole and my husband were a package deal. And I knew that they grew up so close together because of their age,” Skye Manseill said. “The sixth was Cody’s (her husband’s) birthday. That was absolutely the worst birthday present. The amount of grief and pain that we’ve dealt with, over the last few months... it’s unexplainable.”

Shaw was initially denied bond, but her attorney requested a new hearing where her bond was set at $250,000.

Skye says this is not Shaw’s first offense. She cited a police report from 2022 where Shaw was arrested for attempting to pull away from deputies, kicking deputies, and making verbal threats.

Since it was not a felony charge, Shaw was approved for a first offender’s bond. That allows someone to be released if he or she pays 12 percent of the total bond.

Skye says it is unfair she gets released while Cole’s kids will never see their dad again.

“He’ll never see his daughter get married. You know, he’ll never walk her down the aisle,” Skye said. “He’ll never see [his son] graduate high school. He’ll never see those things. And they’ll never get to stand out in the crowd and see their daddy... It’s cruel.”

The Rankin County court administrator says Judge David Morrow will not comment on the case until an indictment is made.

Want more WLBT news in your inbox? Click here to subscribe to our newsletter.

See a spelling or grammar error in our story? Please click here to report it and include the headline of the story in your email.

Copyright 2023 WLBT. All rights reserved.