Prostitute killed client after learning he had herpes

A Chicago prostitute shot a client to death when their sexual encounter was interrupted by a woman banging at the man’s door, claiming he’d given her a sexually transmitted disease, prosecutors allege. Ashley Nicole Steele, 21, is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Derrick Gray, 40, on Feb. 4. On Wednesday, Steele was denied bond and a preliminary hearing was set for April 26.

Steele, a prostitute, had arranged to meet Gray at his home to have sex. The two went into his bedroom but came out a few minutes later when Gray heard a knock at the door. He got dressed to see who it was, leaving both Steele and another person, identified as a witness, in the home. A woman was at the door screaming at Gray and pounding on the door. At that point, Steele grabbed a handgun from a table and put it in her waistband. Steele went to the door and the woman said Gray had given her herpes. The woman also showed Steele text messages Gray sent her, apologizing that he’d given her an STD.



The woman at the door and the witness told police Steele began pacing back and forth, saying she was going to kill and rob Gray. She then heard the front door open and hid. Gray came out and Steele popped out with the gun. He pleaded with her, offered her money and then ran to a bedroom. She followed him and shot at him through the door, striking him once. She then opened the door and shot him two more times. He suffered gunshot wounds to the head, body and arms. Steele then fled out a window with the gun to a car that was waiting for her. The driver took her to a Wal-Mart where she bought clothes, shoes, bleach, gloves and a baby bath tub.

She was taken to another location where she changed clothes and scrubbed the gun with bleach in the tub. Steele allegedly stuffed the gun and other items into several garbage bags and was driven to Calumet City, where she put them in various dumpsters. Gray was pronounced dead at the scene and an autopsy found he died of multiple gunshot wounds. Steele was arrested on Tuesday. She was identified by the witness as the one who shot Gray and video surveillance from Wal-Mart showed her buying the items used to clean evidence.