‘Crawdads’ author wanted for questioning over 1995 death
PREMIERING this week with an all-star cast, Where the Crawdads Sing is one of the most anticipated films of the year.
But the movie, which stars Daisy Edgar-Jones, the British actress, and features music by Taylor Swift, is already mired in controversy with the author of the bestselling novel on which it is based, Delia Owens, 73, wanted for questioning over the killing of a wouldbe poacher on her ranch in Zambia in 1995. Owens is not considered a suspect.
Before Owens wrote her debut novel, which has sold 12million copies worldwide, the American zoologist was known for her conservation work protecting elephants alongside her husband, Mark, in the 1990s.
In 1995, an ABC camera crew filmed a segment with the couple titled Deadly Game: The Mark and Delia Owens Story. It documented rising tension between the conservationists and poachers.
In one scene, Mr Owens can be seen telling scouts to shoot men he claims to be poachers, saying: “Shoot at them first … when you see the whites of his eyes.”
ABC witnesses reported hearing shots fired in the direction of the victim, who was never identified but described as a would-be poacher. They recorded the sound of a gunshot and, with a cameraman running behind a scout, they came upon the body of a man lying face down in the North Luangwa reserve.
Owens was not present during this event, and while some have accused her stepson, Chris Owens, of being involved, no charges were ever filed and no body was ever recovered. Chris Owens denied any involvement in the shooting.
The couple reportedly left Zambia in 1996 after the American Embassy warned them not to return to the country until the controversy was resolved, according to The New Yorker.
No charges have ever been brought against the Owenses, or anyone else, in relation to the incident. Delia, Mark, and Christopher are still wanted for questioning in Zambia.
“It’s the reality – the messy reality, I’m afraid,” Mark Owens said of the incident in 2010. Delia Owens added: “It’s very messy. It almost gives conservation a very ugly name.”
After the episode aired, the Owenses explained that: “The shoot-to-kill policy is only used by Zambian government game scouts in self-defence. It is not a policy of our project.”
Some see similarities between the Owens story and the plot of Crawdads.
Edgar-Jones plays Kya, who raises herself in isolation in North Carolina swamps but becomes a suspect in the murder of a man from the nearby town.