Matthew Adams appeared in court Wednesday before Judge Jay Wethington, who set a trial date for Oct. 1, 2020.
Adams is facing first-degree murder for the July 3 death of 25-year-old Erica Owen. The Daviess County coroner’s office declared Owen died of asphyxiation by strangulation.
Daviess County Commonwealth Attorney Bruce Kuegel then filed a motion for the prosecution to seek the death penalty.
Adams is also facing felony and misdemeanor charges, including first-degree burglary, probation violation for a felony offense, theft of an automobile, violation of a Kentucky emergency protection order or domestic violence order, first-degree criminal mischief and two counts of tampering with physical evidence.
Adams accumulated pending criminal mischief charges due to the damage he’d inflicted on Owen’s property prior to the July 3 incident. OPD detectives determined that Adams had stolen Owen’s 2017 Honda Pilot from Owen’s residence, wiped fingerprints from the crime scene and abandoned it.
According to records provided by the Daviess County District Courts system, Adams was an ex-boyfriend of Owen’s, and the criminal mischief charges began when Owen started a new relationship. On the day of Owen’s murder, Adams violated an emergency protection order, previously filed on Owen’s behalf.
Police reports included statements made by Adams’ family, telling OPD detectives that Adams had made statements about being suicidal following the strangulation of Owen. When OPD detectives performed a welfare check at Owen’s residence on Placid Place, they discovered the back door was unsecured and Owen was unresponsive.
On Wednesday, Wethington said the trial is expected to last two weeks with four to five days of jury selection. Once the jury selection has been made, Wethington said he will begin taking testimony in the case.
Wethington also set Aug. 3, 2020, as the deadline for all routine pretrial motions. Adams’ attorney, Louisivlle-based Michael Bufkin of the Department of Public Advocacy Capital Trial Branch, said in court that he plans to file a motion regarding the death penalty in the case.
Adams’ next court date was set for July 19, 2019, where the court will hear any motions from the defense.
