Wright County Prosecutor John Tyrrell, announces that Defendant Nick Owens of Sparta, Missouri was found guilty of murder in the second degree and armed criminal action after a three day trial in Rolla, Phelps County, Missouri. Judge Beger presided over the case during trial. The trial began March 10th and guilty verdict was returned March 11th. The sentencing portion of the case was held on March 12th.
On June 1, 2022, in Mansfield, Zachary Owens lost his life by a gunshot wound to the chest by the Defendant. This crime was captured on Ring camera video and investigated by the Wright County Sheriff’s Office. The video along with the murder weapon, death certificate, and other pieces of evidence were admitted. After the jury found him guilty, the case proceeded to jury sentencing. The jury sentenced the defendant to 25 years on murder in the second degree and 15 years for armed criminal action. Missouri law mandates the sentences be served consecutively. April 24, 2025, will be the date when the final sentence will be pronounced in Phelps County.
Wright County Prosecutor, John Tyrrell states, “I am thankful for the citizens of Phelps County that were selected as jurors. This case was not easy. Even though there was a video of the event there were twelve different perspectives consisting of the jurors who viewed the video multiple times. They took their time, reviewed all the evidence and arrived at guilty verdicts of murder in the second degree and armed criminal action. My sympathies go out to family of Zach Owens. We fought for Zach and I hope we were able to accomplish some form of closure for his family. I want to commend WSCD Det. Akers and Chief Deputy Foreman for their work on this case. I also want to thank Parke Stephens, Texas County Prosecutor for assisting in the trial.”