Wife Denies Murdering Husband In Their Aptos Home

APTOS, CA — A woman charged with murdering her husband in their Aptos home pleaded not guilty Thursday. Amanda Montero Owens, who was 51 at the time of her husband's stabbing death in August, entered the plea in Santa Cruz County Superior Court.

The stabbing of Thomas Owens, 63, was reported to the Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office around 12:55 p.m. on Aug. 24. When deputies arrived at the Owens home, 125 Victoria Lane, they found the victim suffering from a stab wound. Medical aid was provided but he died from his injuries, according to sheriff's Sgt. Dee Baldwin.

Owens was arrested and booked into Santa Cruz County jail for first-degree murder; her bail was set at $1,020,000, according to Baldwin.

Owens' defensive attorney said in court Thursday that his client was in an abusive relationship and she “certainly did not mean to kill her husband, the father of her children," according to reporting by the Santa Cruz Sentinel.

The Sentinel reports the couple had two children together, a juvenile daughter and a disabled adult son; Owens has been barred from seeing both.

See the full Santa Cruz Sentinel report here.