CHALMETTE, La. – A man is in custody after fatally attacking his ex-wife with an ax this morning on a quiet residential street in Chalmette.
The attack occurred around 8 a.m. in the 3100 block of Palmetto Drive, according to St. Bernard Deputy Chief John Doran.
The 48-year-old victim was walking to her car to go to work when her 56-year-old ex-husband Mark Owens sprung out from his hiding place beneath the house and began attacking her with an ax.
The victim’s mother and a neighbor witnessed the brutal attack and alerted police, who arrived about three minutes after receiving the first call.
Owens chased his former mother in law with the ax at one point, but was unable to catch up to her before she made it inside to safety, according to Doran.
Owens fled the scene immediately after the attack, and officers put out an alert for him and for his vehicle.
About two hours after the murder, Owens turned himself in at the Paris Road police station, according to Doran.
He faces second degree murder charges.
Owens was arrested in 2015 after a domestic incident, according to Doran.
