SPOKANE — A Sandpoint, Idaho, man has admitted to killing his 80-year-old father at his home last winter in Sandpoint.
As part of a plea agreement, Evan J. Owens, born in 1996, pleaded guilty on Oct. 30 to second-degree murder, according to court minutes.
Owens was arrested on a murder charge after Sandpoint police officers found John Owens dead during a welfare check the morning of Jan. 29.
John Owens’ ex-wife reported that her ex-husband was not answering her calls, which was out of the ordinary, and asked police to check on him at his residence, 1905 Browning Way, according to a probable cause affidavit.
The ex-wife told police the last time she spoke with John Owens he said Evan Owens, their son, was acting violently toward him, court documents say. Evan Owens lived with his father at the time.
John Owens informed his ex-wife he would be staying at a hotel to avoid any conflict with their son, court documents say.
John Owens did not answer his door or his phone after a police officer responded to check on him Jan. 29. At noon the same day, the officer checked the Browning Way residence again and found the garage door open. John Owens did not answer the knock at his front door or at the door in the garage, documents say.
Later that day, an Idaho State Police trooper stopped Evan Owens for speeding in Kootenai County. Court records show Evan Owens told the trooper he was trying to leave the state.
Officers eventually entered the home and found John Owens dead in the upstairs bedroom. Officers asked the trooper at the traffic stop to detain Evan Owens.
When asked why he was being detained, troopers told him his father was dead. Evan Owens said something akin to, “That’s not my dad and I killed him,” according to documents.
Owens said at last month’s plea hearing he was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder.
