NE Ohio man seeks 'mental defect' plea to murder charge

Associated Press

ELYRIA

Attorneys for an Ohio man accused of killing his ex-girlfriend have filed a motion for him to plead “not guilty by reason of temporary mental defect.”

The Chronicle-Telegram reports 57-year-old Roy Owens Jr. argues a head injury he suffered more than 25 years ago was a factor in the case. Owens is charged with aggravated murder and other counts in Linnea Satterfield’s 2017 slaying.

Defense attorney J. Anthony Rich says the Elyria man suffered a brain aneuryism in the 1990s, resulting in surgeries to his brain’s frontal lobe. Rich says that type of damage can leave people with “no feelings.”

Blood was found in Owens’ home after Satterfield went missing. Owens later was found by a car containing her body.

Calls to the Lorain County Prosecutor’s Office weren’t answered Sunday.