

William Chet Stewart.

A man identified as a member of the violent, racist Aryan Brotherhood of Texas (ABT) gang will spend 25 years in prison after confessing to fatally stabbing his wife in the neck in a Texas bar last October.

William Chet Stewart, 35, of Ropesville, Texas, agreed to waive his right of appeal as part of the plea agreement to serve at least 25 years in prison, various media outlets have reported. He pleaded guilty to murdering his wife, Holly Combs, 24, who bled to death in the bar as friends and witnesses vainly tried to save her life after Stewart fled.

Stewart and Combs, who had lived together for two years, were married shortly before the murder. On the night of the stabbing, they drove to meet friends at the 6th Street Saloon in Amarillo, KVII-TV in Amarillo reported. The couple had been arguing for days prior to the stabbing, and investigators said Stewart believed Combs was going to leave him.

After the stabbing, Stewart drove to a friend’s house and confessed. The friend, who was not identified, took the knife from Stewart and took him to the Randall County Sheriff’s Office, where he was arrested.

Information released by the 47th District Attorney’s Office said Stewart is “documented and confirmed as an Aryan Brotherhood of Texas (ABT) member with past criminal convictions for assault and theft.”

Modeled after the Aryan Brotherhood and established in the early 1980s, ABT is considered one of the most violent racist criminal syndicates in the United States. To join the ABT, which has members in and out of prison, prospects must do more than profess membership and get a tattoo. They go through a confirmation process that establishes a life-long blood oath of loyalty to the white supremacy gang.

In an interview earlier this year, a senior Justice Department official told Hatewatch that there are an estimated 1,500 members in Texas and that the group appears to be shrinking after a series of federal prosecutions sent more than 150 members to prison in Texas and Oklahoma.