2016-03-14 Owens

Death of Kristen King – Vehicle Homicide Case

Kristen Monae King, 27, of Amarillo, was killed on Monday, March 14, 2016, when she was run over by a vehicle during an altercation in northeast Amarillo. Ralph Owens, 28, was arrested and charged with felony murder and aggravated assault in connection with King's death. A second female victim was also struck by the vehicle but survived with non-life-threatening injuries.^[1]

Incident

Police were dispatched to 2901 NE 24th on a fight. The caller reported a person tried to run over someone with a white car. According to witnesses, the altercation turned deadly.

"The fight was occurring out in front of a home," said Erick Bohannon with Amarillo Special Crimes. "At some point in time a lady was run over by one of the vehicles that a person was driving."

When officers arrived, they found 27-year-old Kristen King deceased underneath a white car. Bohannon says the driver was somehow involved in the altercation and was taken into custody. Additionally, a number of other people from the neighborhood were also taken in for questioning.

"I'm hearing that there was possibly another person injured but we're still working," said Bohannon.

The incident happened near Northeast 24th and Manhattan.

Victim

Kristen Monae King, 27, died Monday, March 14, 2016. She was born June 23, 1988, in Lubbock to Aaron Samules and La Sonia King. Kristen and her family moved from Amarillo at an early age. She attended Eastridge Elementary School, Horace Mann and Travis Middle Schools, and was a 2005 graduate of Palo Duro High School.

Services were held at 10 a.m. Saturday in First Baptist Church, 1208 S. Tyler St., with Dr. Howard K. Batson, pastor, officiating. Burial was in Llano Cemetery. Arrangements were made by Warford-Walker Mortuary, 509 N. Hughes St.

Survivors include two sons, Za'Ryan Williams Owens and Zaydyn Williams Owens; a daughter, Zoey Owens, all of the home; the love of her life, Ralph L. Owens of Amarillo; her father, Aaron Samuels of Lubbock; her mother, LaSonia King of Amarillo; five brothers, Private Second Class [names redacted].

Autopsy Results

Justice of the Peace Gary Jackson ordered an autopsy to be performed in Lubbock on Tuesday morning.

According to police, preliminary autopsy results revealed King died from asphyxia after being pinned under the vehicle.

Arrest and Charges

Ralph Owens, 28, was booked into the Potter County Correction Center for Felony Murder and Aggravated Assault.

Owens was being held without bond Tuesday in Potter County on charges of murder and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

Police didn't say what prompted the disturbance or specify the relationship between the 28-year-old Owens and the victims.

According to the Texas Coalition Against Family Violence 2016 report, Ralph Owens killed his girlfriend Kristen with his car on a public street. During the attack, Owens struck and injured another woman with his car and then fled the scene. Neighbors reported the assault to police; when the police arrived, they found Kristen's body under Owen's car. Officers arrested Owens the next day and charged Owens with murder and aggravated assault. While on bond, Owens absconded and evaded arrest for one year, turning himself into authorities in June 2017.

Fugitive Status

Ralph Lewis Owens, 30, turned himself into the Amarillo Police Department on Wednesday, June 14, 2017. Owens was wanted out of Potter County for a bond surrender on an indictment for murder and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.^[2]

Sentencing (2017)

An Amarillo man was found guilty of a lesser charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon after being accused of murder.^[3]

Ralph Owens was sentenced to 13 years in prison following a Potter County jury's decision on Monday, October 23, 2017.^[4]

Owens was originally indicted for murder in June of last year (2016) after he ran over Kristen King, killing her, and hitting another woman with a car.

The incident happened in March of 2016 near Northeast 24th and Manhattan.

Police said King was found underneath Owens' vehicle and suffocated to death.

The other woman had non-life-threatening injuries.

Case Timeline

• March 14, 2016 (Monday): Fatal incident near Northeast 24th and Manhattan; King found dead under vehicle
• March 15, 2016 (Tuesday): Owens arrested and booked on felony murder and aggravated assault charges
• June 2016: Owens originally indicted for murder
• June 14, 2017: Owens turned himself in after absconding on bond for approximately one year
• October 23, 2017 (Monday): Owens sentenced to 13 years in prison on aggravated assault with a deadly weapon charge

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