Preview: When shots ring out at a home in Saco, Maine, Rachel Owens is found shot in the head. Police launch a complex investigation that involves three states, all holding pieces to the puzzle. -The Intruder, Dateline NBC

On December 18, 2014, an intruder wearing a ski mask broke into a Saco, Maine home, went straight upstairs and shot Rachel Owens three times, once in the head. Rachel was still alive when paramedics arrived and she was quickly transported to the hospital. Initially, police suspected this was a home invasion and a shooter was still at large. They needed to inform Rachel’s husband Gregg Owens, who was a decorated veteran from the first Iraq war and a military contractor. The police contacted Gregg Owens in New Hampshire to inform him of what had occurred. Gregg didn’t appear to take the news well and was eager to get to his wife, but first the police wanted to question him. According to Gregg, Rachel was visiting their friends in Maine. He said she had been struggling with her health and needed a getaway. Gregg admitted to police that he worked in counter terrorism and was involved with sensitive security issues. He wondered if his job lead to his wife’s shooting. When the police asked Gregg where he was during the time of the shooting, he said he was at his house all night working on the computer. He also left his home a couple times to go to the store.

Rachel Owens was in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) for a few days before she stabilized. She had a long road to recovery but she made it despite a bullet that remains in her head. Rachel said she was sleeping when the shooting started and doesn’t remember anything except a “Jamaican hat.” Police had few clues but they did have a footprint outside a window, a hair caught in between two glasses of a window pane, and some bullet casings. After combing the home for forensic evidence, the police theorized this was a targeted shooting and Rachel Owens was the intended victim. They weren’t sure what had happened and then they got a tip from a woman named Betsy in Osh Kosh, Wisconsin. This woman claimed she met Gregg Owens on a flight. They stayed in touch as friends for three years and then when Betsy got divorced, Gregg and Betsy started an intense love affair. Gregg told Betsy he was married and stayed in the marriage because his wife’s health was failing. Meanwhile, Gregg and Betsy dated for five years and Gregg even helped Betsy start her own business called Warrior Princess. Then Betsy discovered that her boyfriend Gregg lied to her when he told her he was going to Afghanistan. Gregg butt dialed her and she learned he wasn’t in Afghanistan, he was with his wife Rachel. Betsy called Gregg and confronted him but he denied it.

Betsy didn’t believe Gregg and told him she was done unless he got a divorce. She said Gregg didn’t take the news well and kept calling her insisting he was going to leave his wife. Once Betsy learned that Gregg’s wife was shot, she called him because she was concerned about him. He told Betsy that he believed someone was targeting people he loved. Greg asked Betsy to “go dark” meaning don’t talk to anyone because they were both “in danger.” Betsy was skeptical but wanted to be safe so she contacted her local police. The investigators in Wisconsin called investigators in Maine because they thought it was important they know that Gregg Owens had been living a double life. And after this revelation, it became clear to federal investigators that Betsy was the motive for the attempted murder. When Rachel and Gregg were due to leave the hospital together and go home, the police arrested Gregg because they were fearful he would finish her off. Gregg Owens was charged in federal court for crossing state lines to commit domestic violence. While imprisoned for his wife’s attempted murder, Gregg reached out to Betsy in the hopes they could continue their relationship after he got out of jail. Gregg professed his undying love for her and told her she was the one. Betsy didn’t believe him and knew that he was playing on her emotions, again.

About a year after the shooting, the court proceedings for Gregg Owens began. In a search of Gregg’s house, the police found a ski mask and bullets that matched the casings at the scene. The DNA recovered from the crime scene was also a match to Gregg. Prosecutors theorized that after Betsy learned the truth about Gregg’s marriage and gave him an ultimatum, Gregg decided he needed out of his marriage to Rachel. The defense illustrated to the courts that there was no identification of Gregg, Gregg’s e-mails appeared to be sent during the time in question, investigators never recovered the gun, and police also couldn’t put Gregg on the highway from New Hampshire to Maine. The defense said Gregg couldn’t have committed the crime and arrived back to Dunkin Donuts in New Hampshire when he did. The DNA was also explained away because Gregg had been to the home before. As it turns out, investigators discovered Gregg tampered with his computer time stamp so he could use it as part of his alibi. The jury wasn’t buying any of it and Gregg Owens was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison. Today, Betsy admits she feels embarrassed that she was connected to Gregg in any way considering her business was created to empower women. Rachel lives with her son and his family. And Gregg is sitting in federal prison appealing his conviction.

Source: ‘The Intruder’ Dateline NBC

In the News:

Police from New Hampshire and Maine are investigating a violent home invasion in a quiet Saco, Maine, neighborhood. -WMUR TV (December 18, 2014)

Police responded early Thursday morning to a home invasion on Hillview Avenue. -WMTW TV (December 18, 2014)

Rachel Owens and Steven Chabot were shot multiple times during a home invasion as Chabot’s Saco home. -WMTW TV (December 19, 2014)

Police have secured the home of a Londonderry woman who was shot and injured in Maine on Thursday. -WMUR TV (December 19, 2014)

The U.S. Attorney’s Office says it has made an arrest in connection with a home invasion and shooting in Saco last month. -WMTW TV (January 12, 2015)

A Londonderry man accused of shooting his wife in Maine feigned a heart attack when he was told his wife had been shot, according to court documents. -WMUR TV (January 15, 2015)

 A Londonderry man was found guilty on charges connected to a home-invasion shooting in Saco, Maine, on Dec. 18, 2014. -WMUR TV (February 16, 2016)

Owens was found guilty of interstate domestic violence for a violent home invasion in Saco back in 2014. -WMTW TV (February 16, 2016)

An Army veteran convicted of trying to kill his wife and another person in Maine will spend the rest of his life in prison. -WMUR TV (July 12, 2016)

WMTW’s Katie Thompson reports live from Portland with reaction from Owens’ former wife and son about the judge’s ruling on a life sentence. -WMTW TV (July 12, 2016)

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Dateline Episode Trailer: The Intruder