A man accused of killing an Owensboro woman will face the death penalty in court.
According to Daviess County Commonwealth Attorney Bruce Kuegel, paperwork has been filed to seek the death penalty in the case of Matthew Adams.
Kuegel added that he’s also filed additional paperwork centered around aggravating circumstances.
According to Kentucky law, aggravating circumstance in a death penalty case include instances where “the offense of murder or kidnapping was committed while the offender was engaged in the commission of arson in the first degree, robbery in the first degree, burglary in the first degree, rape in the first degree, or sodomy in the first degree.”
On Wednesday, Matthew Adams was indicted by a grand jury on charges of murder, burglary, theft, tampering with physical evidence, and violation of a domestic violence order.
Adams is accused in the death of Erica Owen.
Owensboro police said Owen was found dead in a home on Placid Place last Tuesday.
Her cause of death was strangulation.
Owen had a domestic violence order against Adams.
According to court records, the theft charge stems from Adams taking Owen’s 2017 Honda Pilot.
The official indictment also alleges Adams tampered with evidence at the scene of the crime.
Adams is scheduled to appear in circuit court Wednesday.
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(This story was originally published July 16, 2018)
