Dustin Barret Owens Virginia prison guard charged with murder of Amber Dawn Compton 7 month pregnant girlfriend. Pair worked at a correctional facility.
A Virginia corrections officer has been charged with first-degree murder for the death of his pregnant girlfriend following the discovery of her body after she was reported missing over the weekend.
Authorities discovered the remains of Amber Dawn Compton, 35, who was about seven months pregnant. Her body was found ‘with multiple gunshot wounds’ at her home in Vasant, Virginia, on Sunday, WVVA reported.
The Buchanan County Sheriff’s Office said they received a call about a missing female on Saturday, according to a release from the sheriff’s office.
‘During the course of death investigation, statements and evidence was received that led investigators to apply to the magistrate and receive a warrant for 1st degree murder on Dustin Barret Owens, 38 years old, of Vansant VA,’ the sheriff’s office said. ‘Owens is known to be the boyfriend of the victim.’
Owens was found at his home in Vasant, which was later the site of a forensic investigation. Deputies surrounded his home and confirmed that he was inside. Owens was taken into custody on Sunday without incident and charged with first-degree murder, according to the Sheriff’s department.
Victim girlfriend worked as registered nurse at same correctional facility that suspect worked as prison guard
The investigation is ongoing and ‘further criminal charges are expected,’ the release said.
‘We’re still working on the timeline and at this time, I’m not going to release how long we think she might have been there, but we’re still working the timeline as to her events and days before that,’ Buchanan County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Eric Breeding told WVVA.
Owens remained held without bond at the Southwest Virginia Regional Jail in Haysi.
Compton and Owens were both employees at the Keen Mountain Correctional Facility in Oakwood, Virginia, the Bluefield Daily Telegraph reported. Compton, a mother of three, was employed as a registered nurse at the correctional facility, according to an obituary posted on the Honaker Funeral Home website.
Compton’s mother, Rachel Compton, told News Channel 11 her daughter worked tirelessly for her children.
‘She was a wonderful, wonderful mother,’ the victim’s mother said. ‘A wonderful daughter. Everything that she did always (was) done (for) the benefit of her children.’
Authorities have not revealed a possible murder motive.
