Fayette County man gets up to 30 years in prison in Leah Owens' stabbing death
Camilla Crosby scolded the man who admitted to fatally stabbing her daughter as he sat Thursday, handcuffed and shackled, moments before a Fayette County judge sentenced him to serve 15 to 30 years in state prison.
Thomas N. Teets, 32, of Dawson, had just pleaded guilty before Judge Steve P. Leskinen to third-degree murder and five other counts for murdering 31-year-old Leah Owens, a mother of two from Bullskin Township, on Sept. 15. The sentence was part of a plea deal approved last week by Owens' family.
District Attorney Richard Bower said investigators began negotiating a plea deal with Teets shortly after his arrest Oct. 26. Lab tests had revealed blood from both Owens and Teets was on a broken folding knife investigators recovered from her blood-stained sport utility vehicle.
Bower said after the hearing that he takes solace in knowing that Teets will always be reminded of murdering Owens because he lost a finger on his right hand during a struggle as he stabbed her.
"I call him the nine-fingered man. Every day, no matter where he is, when he looks down at his hands and sees that finger missing he'll be reminded of the evil he perpetrated on Leah," Bower said.
After Teets agreed to plead guilty, he led them "within one-half hour" to a remote area in Dunbar Township, where he had buried Owens in a makeshift, 2-foot-deep grave, the district attorney said.
"Camie (Crosby) had given him two hours to lead us to the body or there would be no plea deal, and she also wanted a confession," Bower said. "Both the investigators and I believe we never would have found the body without him leading us there."
But on Thursday, Crosby's mind was on her daughter and the last time she saw her. Owens was with Teets early that September morning when she stopped to borrow $80 to pay Teets so he wouldn't take her 2007 Ford Escape. Then she disappeared.
"How could you give me a hug and tell me you were so sorry I had cancer?" Crosby asked Teets.
"I wish you had (a) longer sentence. For 45 days I woke up, had to go through chemotherapy, and prayed every morning that somebody would come forward that day saying they had found Leah," Crosby said.
Crosby said the only reason she agreed to the plea deal was as an incentive to Teets to lead them to her daughter's body.
"I just pray to God that Leah is now at peace. I'm thankful we finally got her home. ... She needed to come home," Crosby said.
Later, Crosby told reporters she had mother's intuition that something "horrendous" had happened after daughter didn't return home within 20 minutes as she promised her mom as she left with Teets.
"I knew it. I knew (Teets) knew where Leah was, too, and I also knew he was behind it," she said.
Teets told authorities that the pair drove around in the SUV while smoking crack cocaine before the stabbing, according to the complaint. He later told others that he had killed Owens, police said.
The case moved through the court process at an unusually rapid pace. Teets waived his right to a preliminary hearing Monday and waived his right to the standard pre-sentence report after pleading guilty.
One of Leah's sisters, Lauren Solosky, briefly spoke at the proceeding before Teets was sentenced.
"I'm heartbroken my sister's children will grow up never seeing their mother again," Solosky said.
Teets addressed the court briefly before Leskinen approved the plea agreement.
"I'm sorry for hurting the family," he said.
Leskinen said Teets will serve his sentence at SCI Greene.
After the sentencing, Bower told reporters he never would have accepted a plea agreement if not for the family's wishes.
"From my understanding, Leah was a vibrant, lovely woman dedicated to her children. I'm told she always had a smile for everyone," the district attorney said.
He praised investigators, noting that Teets had boasted that he would never be arrested because police had no body.
"He was bragging in jail where he was for not paying child support (that) with no body there would be no jail. I believe he actually said, 'No face, no case,'" Bower said. Teets and Owens did not have children together.
Authorities have suspected since mid-September that Teets was involved in Owens' disappearance but did not reveal they believed foul play was involved until his arrest, according to a criminal complaint.
Investigators last week asked a Mercyhurst University forensic anthropology team headed by Dr. Dennis Dirkmaat to help them recover Owens' remains.
Robert B. Ferguson Funeral Home in Scottdale is handling Owens' funeral arrangements. Family and friends are invited to attend a celebration of life memorial service and fellowship meal at 5 p.m. Friday in the Bridgeport Sportmans Club. Interment will be in St. Joseph Roman Catholic Church Cemetery.
Paul Peirce is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at 724-850-2860, ppeirce@tribweb.com or via Twitter @ppeirce_trib.
