Owen Backus appears via Zoom from the Brown County Jail, Feb. 13, 2024. PC: Fox 11 Online
GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – Owen Backus pleaded not guilty Monday to a west-side homicide.
Owen Backus, 45, is charged with first-degree intentional homicide for the Dec. 9 murder of Michael Hubbard, 30, at a Western Avenue home.
No trial date was set. A status conference is set for Aug. 15.
Defense attorney Trisha Fritz requested to convert the $1 million cash bond to a signature bond – noting the self-defense claim in the case. Assistant District Attorney Mary Kerrigan-Mares opposed any change. The motion was denied by Judge Marc Hammer.
A signature bond means a suspect doesn’t have to post any money to be released from jail, but would forfeit the dollar amount if they failed to appear in court.
According to the criminal complaint, Backus returned home and found Hubbard in the residence. Backus and Hubbard argued about Hubbard rearranging the house, taking things off the walls, and painting. Backus took a shower, and while there, he was attacked by Hubbard with a wrench, and the two began to fight. Hubbard was hit in the head with a glass pitcher, hog-tied, then choked with a cable.
“Backus indicated his actions were in self-defense, he did not want to kill anyone, and he was protecting his home,” the complaint states.
Comments