A June 25 pretrial conference to address a motion to take the death penalty off the table is scheduled for Matthew Adams, an Owensboro man accused of murder in the 2018 strangulation death of Erica Owen.
On Thursday, Circuit Court Judge Jay Wethington set a $200,000 full cash bond for Adams. Wethington also denied a motion asking to release Adams from the Daviess County Detention Center. Previously, no bond had been set for Adams. The motion states Adams has asthma, a condition that makes him more vulnerable to COVID-19.
Adams is charged for the murder of 25-year-old Owen, who was found dead in her home on July 3, 2018.
The motion to exclude the death penalty in his capital murder case was filed by Adams’ defense attorneys.
Commonwealth’s Attorney Bruce Kuegel said the motion is several pages long and is focused on the standards of decency in the United States.
“It involves a lot of constitutionality issues being revised,” Kuegel said, adding that the motion references actions made by a variety of rulings from other states that have taken effect in different places across the U.S.
Kuegel, who filed a motion for the prosecution to seek the death penalty against Adams in July 2018, said constitutional arguments from the defense are to be expected in cases like these.
Kuegel said Adams also has a $30,000 full cash bond for first-degree criminal mischief that’s separate from the bond issued Thursday. In order to be released from jail, either both amounts would have to be paid in cash totaling $230,000, or collateral worth that amount would have to be posted.
According to the motion filed, Adams’ defense attorneys argued that even though their client stands on serious felony offenses, they were still bailable. Whether or not Adams will be bonded out of jail depends on his family, Kuegel said.
“Mr. Adams does not have any financial assets to speak of, but his family may be able to post cash or property on his behalf,” Kuegel read from the motion, emphasizing the “may” in that statement. “It doesn’t say [they absolutely will post bond].”
Kuegel said he and his staff feel the same way they’ve felt from the beginning of this case — that no bond is appropriate.
“The bond results — that’s the judge’s decision to make,” he said. “We have to accept it and move on to an October trial.”
A jury trial is scheduled for October 1, 2020. Adams is currently facing charges of first-degree murder, first-degree burglary, theft of an automobile, tampering with physical evidence, violation of a Kentucky emergency protection order/domestic violence order, first-degree criminal mischief and probation violation for a felony offense.
Owensboro Times made multiple attempts to contact Adams’ defense attorneys but received no response.
