A former U.S. Marine from Long Island has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for killing his pregnant wife because she didn't want a child or because he had to pay for her child's health insurance.
Michael Owen, 30, was charged with second-degree murder in August for strangling his estranged spouse, Kelly Owen, 27, while she was pregnant with their second child, at their Farmingdale home in 2020. He was found guilty and sentenced on Thursday. Newsday reported.
Owen, a mobile tower technician whose DNA was found on the neck of his wife, a nursing student, denied murdering her before being sentenced.
“He killed her in a violent and personal way,” Kelly's father, Frank Bretana, said in Nassau County Court. “He knew he had to keep going until he knew his girlfriend was gone. He knew he had to watch her die.”
Bretana recalled seeing her daughter “lying face down on the bed, cold and lifeless” and hearing her wife's distraught screams at the sight of her child's body.
“It's an image that no one should ever see. Diane's screams were followed by violent movement. A medic came out, put his hand on her shoulder and told her Kelly was gone.” , talking about his wife, Kelly's mother.
The report said that while Bretana spoke, Owen looked straight ahead and showed no reaction to his father-in-law's heartbreaking words.
“I didn't do it,” the gunman said before being sentenced, according to Newsday.
In 2020, Nassau County Police Lt. Stephen Fitzpatrick said that he and Kelley, who married in 2013 and had a daughter the same year, had medical insurance and money at the time of the murder. He said they were arguing over an issue.
“He didn't want this child. He didn't want to give her medical insurance. He was involved in a new relationship and was in a bad position,” Fitzpatrick said after Kelly's murder. said.
He said the couple separated in March 2018, citing financial and other issues, but remained in a “physical and intimate” relationship. Kelly lived with her parents, her brother and daughter Bryn.
The coroner determined she died of asphyxiation.
Kelly worked as an aide at an elementary school. Her prosecutor said her co-workers called her parents when she didn't show up for work, and her parents discovered her body.
“Michael Owen drove to his estranged wife's home on January 15, 2020 with the intention of killing her,” Nassau District Attorney Anne Donnelly said, according to Newsday.
“At the time of the brutal murder, Kelly was a young mother and pregnant with Owen's child. She worked with children and had dreams of becoming a nurse. Michael Owen He stole those dreams and now he will pay for his crimes in prison,” she added.
Bretana told how she had to tell her then-six-year-old granddaughter that her mother had died.
“We took Bryn home and made her hide. We went to Bryn's room and told her that her mother was an angel in heaven. She went into the closet and started crying,” he said. told the court, the newspaper reported.
Owen's lawyer, Joseph Hansche, has filed an appeal and vowed to continue fighting to exonerate his client.
“To this day, we believe he is innocent and will continue to fight against this conviction,” he said.
However, Judge Robert MacDonald refused Owen's request to set aside the verdict.
“The place you are going to is cold and dark, but it is not as cold and dark as your heart,” the judge told the killer. “I really hope Bryn never has to see or talk to you for the rest of his life.”
