“We need closure. The whole community needs closure,” Owens’ grandmother, Bette Roebuck, said hours before the charges were filed. “Do you know how much support I’ve had in this case? Amber’s funeral was paid for six days after it was announced that there was going to be a funeral.”
Mays has been jailed since January for probation violation for domestic violence involving Owens. He was to be released Monday, but officials held him an extra day until the murder charges were approved by C county Prosecutor Mat Heck Jr.
At the time of her disappearance, Owens’ relatives said they suspected someone harmed her. She never reported to her job at Waffle House on Oct. 21. Three days later, her family filed a missing person’s report.
Her twin, Alicia Owens, was the last person known to have seen her alive after they attended a party on Genesee Avenue in Dayton.
On Nov. 4, Owens’ vehicle was found on Arlene Avenue in Dayton. Her remains were found Dec. 4.
In an interview with the Dayton Daily News in December, Mays admitted the couple had a volatile relationship, including a history of domestic violence, but he said he did not harm her. They had three children and were not living together at the time of Owens’ death.
Roebuck said although she won’t forget the fact that her granddaughter was murdered, she has no place in her heart for hate.
“It doesn’t take away the hurt and the pain, but the final decision is up to God,” she said.
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