PORTLAND — Prosecutors brought forensic experts to the stand in U.S. Superior Court on Wednesday to show DNA evidence linking a New Hampshire man to the Saco home where he allegedly shot his wife and her friend.
Prosecutors say Gregory Owens, 59, of Londonderry broke into the home of Steven and Carol Chabot where his wife, Rachel Owens, was visiting, in the early hours of Dec. 18, 2014, and shot Steven Chabot and Rachel Owens.
Both survived the shootings, but Rachel Owens was left with a bullet in her head, and is undergoing physical therapy to regain the use of her motor functions.
DNA from blood found on broken glass on a door to the Chabot’s home matched Gregory Owens’ DNA, Maine State Police Crime Lab DNA analyst Jennifer Sabean testified Wednesday.
Maine State Police Crime Lab analyst Kimberly James said a shoe impression found in the flower bed of the Chabot’s property was the same general size and pattern of the type of boot that the defendant owned. James said Gregory Owens’ boots were relatively new, and there wasn’t a lot of tread wear.
The prosecution rested its case Wednesday, and the defense will continue calling witnesses today. The trial began Feb. 2.
Over the past week, Assistant U.S. Attorney James Chapman and Maine Assistant U.S. Attorney Darcie McElwee have used witness testimony to portray Owens as a man who was having “a secret double life.”
Rachel Owens, who was ill, was staying with the Chabot’s to give her husband some respite from caring for her, and prosecutors say Gregory Owens made the drive to Maine with the intent to kill his wife because his girlfriend in Wisconsin had threatened to expose their affair.
He faces federal charges of interstate domestic violence and discharging a firearm during, and in relation to, a crime of violence.
— Staff Writer Liz Gotthelf can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 325 or egotthelf@journaltribunecom.
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