Court documents detail Saline County double murder suspect’s alleged motives

Court records released Monday are detailing a possible motive for a double murder in Saline County.

You’ll recall we told you Donald Bruce Owens is charged with two counts of murder, armed criminal action and burglary in the case.

A probable cause statement says Owens admitted to shooting Bonnie Hupp and Ryan Sanders.

It says Owens told authorities he shot Sanders several times to protect a family member involved in legal proceedings against Sanders. He stated he killed Hupp because of a long standing belief that she was responsible for his divorce.

The court documents also show a child was in the home at the time Hupp was killed. They say Owens admitted he knew the child was there and used a pillow to muffle the sound of the gunshot in an effort to not wake the child up.