Insets: Ebony Owens and the Big Black River in Hinds County, Miss., where her body was found in 2023 (Hinds County Sheriff’s Office). Background: Michael Owens testifying during the murder trial for the death of his wife Ebony Owens in Hinds County, Miss., last week (WLBT).
A Mississippi man has been found guilty of murder and will now spend the rest of his life in prison after admitting on the witness stand that he shot his wife dead and then dumped her body in a river — telling jurors, “She made me snap.”
Michael Owens, 37, of Edwards, was convicted this week by a Hinds County jury of murder and arson in connection with the brutal 2023 killing of his wife, Ebony Owens, whose body was pulled from the Big Black River after she was reported missing, police said in press releases. Ebony Owens’ “burned” vehicle was found near their home after the slaying, prompting the arson charge.
“This trial, this case has been troubling to this court,” Hinds County Judge Faye Peterson said before sentencing Owens on Monday, according to local ABC affiliate WAPT.
“Very seldom does a case trouble this particular judge,” Peterson said. “And yet, as I listened to the testimony in this case, the one word that went through my mind was selfish.”
Love true crime? Sign up for our newsletter, The Law&Crime Docket, to get the latest real-life crime stories delivered right to your inbox.
Owens reportedly told jurors during his trial that the couple had been arguing when his wife reached for a gun and forced him to open fire on her. Investigators say it is one of several stories Owens told after Ebony Owens’ initial disappearance.
“When I shot her, I said, ‘Baby, don’t die. Don’t leave me. Don’t die,'” Michael Owens said from the stand, according to WAPT.
“She made me snap,” he told jurors.
Owens’ lawyers argued that Ebony Owens’ murder was a crime of passion and there was not enough evidence to prove Owens premeditated the killing, according to reports.
“I just, I feared for my life,” Owens testified, according to NBC affiliate WLBT. “When I feared for my life, I just grabbed my gun. When I pointed my gun back, then when she turned her head like this, and that’s when I shot her. I was so mad I just shot her — shot her in the head.”
Owens said on the stand that he regrets what happened and that he and Ebony had a tumultuous relationship with allegations of unfaithfulness. The couple reportedly had four children together.
“A marriage is not easy,” he claimed, according to WAPT. “A marriage is what you make of it. A marriage is a job. We had our ups and downs, our differences.”
