Liza Steen, Victim In Murder-Suicide, Feared 'Shorty'

JOLIET, IL - The 37-year-old woman who was slain in a murder-suicide in Bolingbrook had visited the Will County Courthouse on multiple occasions since July in hopes of getting a stalking no-contact order against Aswad Ahmeer "Shorty" Bryant, court records reflect. On Thursday morning, Bryant, 44, fatally shot his ex-girlfriend, Millizza "Liza" Steen, at her house in the 200 block of Douglass Way, police said.

Bryant was later found dead in the yard from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, Bolingbrook Police said. Bryant and Steen had a rocky and turbulent relationship over the past several years, and Steen decided that she wanted Bryant out of her life over the summer.

Bryant, however, was not willing to move on, court records show.

"Aswad and I have been together for 13 years and there's a history of abuse. Aswad has pushed me before and tried to hold me down. I am afraid because Aswad has a history of domestic battery and Aswad told me he stalked his ex-girlfriend and that he paid someone to come to her job to jump on her," Steen wrote Will County's judicial system in July, when she obtained her first order of protection against the man who would kill her four months later, according to police.

In fact, Bryant's friends warned Steen that he can't tolerate rejection from a woman who wants to break off a romantic relationship with him, court documents from July show.

"Aswad's friends told me that he becomes very crazy when a female is trying to leave him. Aswad showed up at my mother's home last night (July 7) and she allowed him to make a phone call. My mom doesn't feel safe because of Aswad's violent temper and I don't want him near my mother's home," Steen wrote the court in July.

Court documents on file at the Will County Courthouse show that Steen filed for a second stalking no-contact order against Bryant in October. The one she got in July was later dismissed, court documents show.

One of the court records reviewed by the Joliet Patch on Friday shows that a Plenary Stalking No Contact Order was issued on Oct. 30 at 9:43 a.m. and would remain "in effect until Oct. 30, 2020 at 5 p.m. The court paper indicates that Steen, the petitioner, was given a copy of the Order in open court last week, on Oct. 30.

Since July, Associate Will County Judge Fred Harvey has handled the domestic complaints filed by Steen against the man who would ultimately kill her, court documents indicate.

On Oct. 8, court records show, Bryant showed up at his ex-girlfriend's place of employment in Willowbrook "after repeatedly being told not to. He entered my workplace and came to my desk and waited for me," Steen wrote Will County's judicial system in October.

"I was hiding in the bathroom and texting him to please leave or I would call the police. My coworker also asked him to leave, but he wouldn't."

October's protection order petition also states that Steen's ex-boyfriend on Oct. 7 "sent a text to my phone stating, 'Liza you may as well as move out of town if you think you're leaving me because if I ever see you with somebody and I know it is likely, I'm acting a fool and they gonna respect it (sic).'"

That same day, Oct. 7, Bryant showed up at her house in Bolingbrook "uninvited and unannounced. He can be seen on the front doorbell camera ringing and knocking on the door. Can also be seen on the backyard camera jumping the fence to peek through the blinds/curtains to see if I were home," court documents show.

Steen's October protection order petition indicated "he could see me inside sitting on the couch. He also tried to yank the back door open but was unsuccessful."

The previous day, Oct. 6, Bryant had called Steen "over 20 times and left over 10 voicemails because I refused to pickup his calls. His general message was, 'Where are you? I am going to be without you. Why are you doing this? You know we should be together, you know I love you. He went from being angry to being nice throughout these texts and calls."

Steen and Bryant had been boyfriend-girlfriend and had shared a common dwelling together, until July, when she wanted him out of her life, court records show.

"Aswad and I were having an argument in the car and Aswad struck me in my face. He pulled over and parked and continued to hit me in the face. He pulled me out of the car, and I was trying to fight back, but he kept pounding on my face and all over my body," Steen wrote the court in July.

The Bolingbrook woman stated "someone pulled Aswad off of me and I ran to get my purse from the car and Aswad chased me and tugged on my purse and the strap on my purse broke and Aswad fell back, so I ran and called the police."

The Will County Courthouse documents indicate that "The police came immediately and arrested Aswad," Steen wrote in her July protection order.

Court records filed in Will County, however, aren't clear what community and what law enforcement jurisdiction handled the July 7 domestic violence episode occurred.

Thursday's domestic violence murder victim was survived by a 17-year-old daughter, court records show. Bryant and Steen did not have any children together, court records indicate.

Court records listed Bryant's address as Berwyn. Bolingbrook Police said he lived on Twin Falls Drive in Plainfield. The Will County Coroner's Office, on Friday night, classified him as being a Bolingbrook resident.

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Image via John Ferak/Patch