SACO — Gregory Owens federal trial will be moved from next week to January.
Owens has been indicted on federal charges of interstate domestic violence and discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence. Owens has also been indicted on state charges of four counts of aggravated attempted murder, two counts of attempted murder, two counts of elevated aggravated assault, two counts of elevated aggravated assault with indifference, two counts of aggravated assault with a weapon, one count of burglary with a firearm and one count of criminal mischief.
Owens, 58, of Londonderry, New Hampshire, is accused of breaking into the Hillview Avenue, Saco home of Steven and Carol Chabot in the early morning hours of Dec. 18, 2014, and shooting his wife, Rachel Owens, who was visiting the Chabots, and Steven Chabot. Both survived the shooting.
Rachel Owens and Carol Chabot are life long friends, according to a report by FBI Special Agent Pamela Flick, and Rachel Owens, who was ill, was visiting her friend to give her “overburdened husband” a break from caring for her. At the time of the shooting, Rachel and Gregory Owens had been married for more than 35 years, according to Flick. It is not known if they are still married.
According to Flick, Gregory Owens is a retired U.S. Army sergeant and an expert marksman. He had been having an ongoing affair since 2008 with a woman in Wisconsin, and his girlfriend had recently threatened to make their relationship public, according to Flick.
Jury selection for Owens’ federal trial had previously been scheduled for Nov. 30.
According to court documents,
Owens requested to be put on the January trial list to give additional time for a recently hired DNA expert to evaluate the conclusions of the government’s DNA expert.
His request was granted by U.S. Chief Justice Nancy Torresen on Nov. 20, according to court documents.
— Staff Writer Liz Gotthelf can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 325 or egotthelf@journaltribune.com.
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