Buchanan County man convicted of killing girlfriend in 2022

A jury convicted a Buchanan County man of murder in the 2022 shooting death of his pregnant girlfriend. A jury returned guilty verdicts Thursday on all counts, including first-degree murder, against Dustin Barrett Owens. In October 2022, deputies found 35-year-old Amber Dawn Compton dead from multiple gunshot wounds inside her home. She was seven months pregnant at the time. Owens and Compton were employees at the Virginia Department of Corrections Keen Mountain Correctional Center at the time.
Owens will be sentenced on Nov. 20.