Man Charged in Murder Wanted in SC

A man is charged with murder after a stabbing took place in Rabun County over the weekend on Joe Speed Road, which is off of Warwoman Road.

After being stabbed Friday afternoon between 4 and 4:30, 47 year old Alden Leeland Hass passed away around two hours later at Mountain Lakes Medical Center.

The Rabun County Sheriff’s Office responded to the scene, and as the victim collapsed in a neighbor’s yard, the suspect, identified as 51 year old William Edward Owen, fled into a field on the north side of Joe Speed Road.

Tracking dogs from Lee Arrendale State Prison were called in to assist in the search, and Owen was found after some time and arrested.

Once he was arrested, Investigator Gerald Johnson with the Rabun County Sheriff’s Office learned that Owen was a wanted man in a neighboring state.

The suspect was also wanted out of South Carolina as an absconder for failing to register as a sex offender,” said Johnson. “It appears that he had been here at least a month in Rabun County without registering.”

Owen is charged with murder and is being held without bond.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation assisted following the stabbing. The Warwoman Fire Department also helped by providing lights for the investigation, and the Mountain Judicial Circuit District Attorney, Brian Rickman was on scene as well.