Wis. man allegedly hit man with beer pitcher, tied cord around his neck, and beat him to death

GREEN BAY, Wis. (TCD) — A 45-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of murder after a man he claimed was an intruder was found dead with a cord around his neck and a shirt over his head.

On Dec. 9 at 6:30 p.m., Green Bay Police Department officers went to a residence on the 1700 block of Western Avenue to investigate a disturbance, and when they arrived, they found a 30-year-old unconscious male inside. Police rendered aid until he was pronounced deceased. The man’s identity was not released per request of his family.

Police learned the suspect, Owen Backus, called 911 from a neighbor’s home and reported being in a physical altercation with the victim. Officers arrested Backus and booked him into the Brown County Jail on suspicion of murder.

On Thursday, Dec. 21, Green Bay Police announced the Brown County District Attorney’s Office charged Backus with first-degree intentional homicide and bail jumping.

According to the criminal complaint, Backus allegedly claimed the victim entered his home and “came after him with a wrench.” He said he beat up the victim because the victim was allegedly attempting to do the same. When officers searched through the residence, they found the victim “lying face down on the floor with blood all around him.”

Shards of glass were littered around the floor, some of which had blood on them.

The victim had a white cord wrapped around his neck and a black shirt tied over his head. The officers cut off the cord and shirt, but they reportedly located another cord wrapped around his head.

The complaint alleges Backus was in the shower when the victim came into his home and “started to go crazy.” Backus said the victim “came after him and started to flail around.” They reportedly began fighting, but Backus allegedly took action to prevent the man from coming after him again. He allegedly picked up a beer pitcher and “clubbed” the victim in the head with it. After that, the man allegedly stopped “flailing around,” but he appeared to still be breathing.

Backus reportedly picked up a cord and tied the man’s ankle. The victim reportedly came to, then he “flipped out and they wrestled for another 15 to 20 minutes.” He picked up the black shirt and put it over the victim’s head, then tied it with a cord.

The autopsy showed the victim died from blunt force injuries and asphyxia. He had bruising on his eyes, arms, legs, stomach, and back, as well as other cuts on his body.

Backus allegedly claimed he killed the victim in self-defense because the victim was “relentless.”

According to the complaint, investigators believe it was “clear that Backus and Victim 1 knew each other and had mutual friends.”

Backus reportedly said the victim was “rearranging the house and taking things off the walls and was going to paint,” which Backus did not approve of. He claims the victim attacked him, which is why he fought back. Backus allegedly told police the victim had a pulse by the time he left the house to call police, but the complaint said that was “inconsistent with the way Victim 1’s body was located, face down, with two different cords wrapped tightly around Victim 1’s neck and a T-shirt wrapped around his face.”

Backus’ bond was set at $1 million.

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