According to reports, a Mississippi man admitted on the witness stand that he shot his wife and then dumped her body in a river, telling jurors, “She made me snap,”
Michael Owens, 37, of Edwards, is on trial for murder and arson in connection with the brutal 2023 killing of his wife, Ebony Owens, whose “burned” vehicle was discovered near their home and whose body was later recovered from the Big Black River after she was reported missing, according to police press releases.
“When I shot her, I said, ‘Baby, don’t die. Please do not leave me. “Don’t die,” Michael Owens claimed in court last Thursday, according to local ABC affiliate WAPT.
“She made me snap,” he told the jury.
According to WAPT, Owens claimed the couple was arguing when Ebony grabbed a gun and forced him to open fire. Investigators say it is one of several stories Owens told following Ebony’s initial disappearance.
“I just, I feared for my life,” Owens stated in court, according to NBC affiliate WLBT. “When I feared for my life, I simply grabbed my gun. When I pointed my gun back and she turned her head like this, I shot her.”
Owens continued: “I was so mad I just shot her — shot her in the head.”
According to reports, Owens’ lawyers have argued that there is insufficient evidence to prove he premeditated his wife’s murder and set fire to her car, resulting in the arson charge. Owens stated Thursday that he regrets what allegedly occurred.
“A marriage is not easy,” he said, according to WAPT. “A marriage is whatever you make of it. Marriage is a job. “We had our ups and downs, our disagreements.”
Owens’ murder trial is expected to last the entire week, with closing arguments scheduled for Monday, according to WLBT.
