Anthony (Tony) Tyrone Crews, 42, was arraigned in criminal court Monday in connection with the February stabbing death of Ashley Bain, 28.

Crews, who is being held in a jail outside the county for his own safety, was brought to the DeKalb County Courthouse Monday morning, where entered a plea of "not guilty" in answer to a grand jury indictment of first degree murder in Bain’s death.

Judge David Patterson appointed the District Public Defender's Office to represent Crews. His bond of two million dollars remains the same. Crews will return to court for settlement discussions in September and for negotiation deadline in October.

Bain’s body was found on the floor of a bedroom at the home she and Crews shared on Cookeville Highway on Feb. 5. He was initially charged with second-degree murder, but the July 27 indictment alleges that "Crews, on Feb. 5, did unlawfully, intentionally, and with premeditation, kill Ashley Bain, constituting the offense of first degree murder."