Why Is The 'Where The Crawdads Sing' Author Wanted For Questioning In A 1995 Murder?

Sometimes, real life can be more interesting than reel life. Case in point: Delia Owens’ 2018 best-selling novel “Where the Crawdads Sing,” which focuses on the murder trial of a teenage girl in 1969 North Carolina, opens in theaters today via Sony Pictures SONY.

And while the reviews for “Where the Crawdads Sing” praised the film, Owens herself is linked to a 27-year-old murder case that is more bizarre than the trial in her book and the new film adaptation.

What Happened: Owens and her now-estranged husband Mark Owens gained prominence in the 1990s as conservationists working to save Africa’s wildlife. The couple wrote about their work in the books “Cry of the Kalahari” and “The Eye of the Elephant” and were featured in a March 1996 episode of the ABC News show “Turning Point” about their efforts to protect Zambian elephants from poachers.

A recent article published in The Atlantic claims the ABC camera crew filmed the 1995 murder of an alleged poacher in a Zambian national park who was killed after he was shot at least once. In 2010, a “Turning Point” cameraman interviewed for a New Yorker article said Mark Owens fatally shot the poacher, whose body was dumped by helicopter in a lagoon.

What Happens Next: The killing is still an investigation in Zambia, and Mark and Delia Owens, along with Christopher Owens, Mark’s son from a previous marriage, are wanted for questioning by Zambian authorities.

According to The Atlantic, Zambian officials want to question Delia Owens as a possible witness, co-conspirator and accessory to felony crimes. Zambia does not have an extradition treaty with the U.S. Owens lives in North Carolina, the setting of her book, but Zambia’s director of public prosecutions, Lillian Shawa-Siyuni, wants to speak with her.

“There is no statute of limitations on murder in Zambia,” Siyuni said. “They are all wanted for questioning in this case, including Delia Owens.”

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Photo: Delia Owens and friend, courtesy of her official Facebook page