Delia, 73, and her then-husband Mark moved to Zambia in 1986 to study and conserve the elephant population and appeared on a program called Deadly Game, which televised the apparent killing of a poacher who was shot dead after being caught in terrain. of a gamekeeper. The identity of the poacher was never released, nor was the identity of the person or persons who fired the fatal shots off camera. However, sources who spoke to investigative reporter Jeff Goldberg claimed that Delia’s stepson Christopher, 25 at the time, was part of a boy scout group that allegedly shot the man, while Mark helped cover up the murder. Despite Mark and Delia vehemently denying all allegations that they were involved in any killings or committed any wrongdoing, Zambia’s Director of Public Prosecutions Lillian Shawa-Siyuni said all three are still wanted for questioning in connection with his murder alleged poacher. Delia would later go on to publish the bestselling novel in 2018, with the story bearing striking similarities to her own circumstances in Zambia. It follows a lonely naturalist named Kya Clark who lives in a remote swamp in 1950s Carolina and commits a righteously motivated murder of an abusive local man, Chase Andrews, who tried to rape her. The reports resurfaced weeks before the high-profile blockbuster of the book, which stars Daisy Edgar-Jones and was produced by Reece Witherspoon, hits theaters.
MailOnline has contacted Delia Owens’ representatives for comment. Where The Crawdads Sing author Delia Owens is wanted in Zambia for questioning over a brutal TV murder in 1990, according to new reports – in the wake of her book about a lone heroine accused of righteous murder (pictured, Delia with husband Mark in North Luangwa National Park in Zambia) Delia published the bestselling novel in 2018, with the story bearing striking similarities to her own circumstances in Zambia Zoologist Delia and her then-husband Mark were living in Botswana in the 1980s when they fled the country after criticizing the government’s conservation policies. Mark Owens later told People that the pair were “treated like criminals,” saying, “We were fingerprinted, threatened…We weren’t allowed to call the Embassy or get a lawyer. We lost everything. It took a lot of healing to get over it.’ They traveled to Zambia’s Northern Luangwa Desert in 1986, attracted by the area’s isolation and a desire to study and conserve the elephant population. The couple were shocked and dismayed to see poachers decimating the local elephant population and began raising money from donors in Europe and in August to better pay and equip the scouts. Mark became the de facto commander of the scouts, with Delia writing in her book, The Eye of the Elephant: “Mark creates special units for those who perform well and are given extra equipment – new weapons, jungle knives, binoculars, compasses .’ The book follows a lonely naturalist named Kya Clark who lives in a remote swamp in 1950s Carolina and commits a righteously motivated murder of an abusive local man, Chase Andrews, who tried to rape her. Meanwhile, Goldberg said he visited Zambia where he “learned that Mark Owens had gradually come to command a corps of game scouts in North Luangwa, outside the supervision of the Zambian government, buying their loyalty through the provision of guns, boots and money”.

TIMELINE OF DELIA OWEN’S EXPERIENCE IN ZAMBIA

1986 – Delia and her husband Mark arrive in Zambia 1992 – The couple’s second book The Eye of the Elephant: An Epic Adventure in the African Wilderness is published. Details their battles against poachers in Zambia’s North Luangwa National Park. It gets the attention of ABC 1996 – The ABC documentary Deadly Game airs. In it, a man, who was allegedly a poacher, was killed after reportedly being caught as a game warden. The couple returns to the US and never returns to Zambia 2018 – Delia writes her first novel, Where The Crawdads Sing, which is published to overwhelming success. Selected for Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine Book Club. 2022 – A film is to be released based on the novel and starring Daisy Edgar-Jones They claimed he would scare poaching parties with firecrackers and later, from a helicopter, threaten them with a machine gun. In a highly contested letter sent to professional hunter PJ Fouche, Mark said his scouts had killed two poachers and were “just getting warmed up”. Fouche told Goldberg of a 2010 New Yorker article: “They thought they were kings … He made himself a law, and his law was that he could do whatever he wanted.” The couple published their second book The Eye of the Elephant: An Epic Adventure in the African Wilderness in 1992. Details their battles against poachers in Zambia’s North Luangwa National Park. It catches the attention of ABC, who express an interest in making a documentary about the couple. The network produced the film, of which co-host Diane Sawyer said, “They came halfway around the world to follow a dream. “An idealistic American couple – young, in love. But a strange place and time would test that love.’ Meanwhile, the Paley Center for Media described the war in the documentary saying, “Game wardens must shoot poachers on sight or they will be shot themselves. the Owens have decided that in order to save the elephants, they must sacrifice human beings.” In the film, Delia tells the host “there were several assassination squads sent by poachers to kill us. I mean, lions don’t scare me as much as people do.” Elsewhere, she says her husband is “obsessed” with stopping animal poaching. Mark is shown carrying several firearms, ordering his group of scouts: “If you see poachers in the national park with firearms, you don’t expect to be shot. You shoot them first, okay? The novel was published in 2018, with the film expected to be released in the coming weeks “That means when you see the whites of his eyes, and if he’s got a gun, you kill him before he kills you, because if you let him get — if you let him turn on you with an AK-47, I’m going to cut you in two. So go out there and get them. Go get them, okay?’ He tells the presenter: “I’m not comfortable at all. I feel absolutely uncomfortable with this. Sometimes the poachers are killed and sometimes the scouts have been killed.’ Goldberg later interviewed Chris Everson, the ABC cameraman who filmed the killing of the alleged poacher. Writing in The Atlantic, Goldberg wrote: “The Zambian police detective in charge of the subsequent investigation, Biemba Musole, concluded that Mark Owens, with the help of his detectives, placed the victim’s body in a cargo net, attached it to his helicopter. and then dropped it into a nearby lagoon. “Musole led an effort to track down the alleged poacher but was unsuccessful. “Former Zambia National Police Commissioner Graphael Musamba told me the investigation was hampered by the absence of a body: ‘Animals are eating the evidence.’ After the ABC documentary aired, Goldberg reported that the Owenses traveled to the US for a visit and were warned never to return. Delia and Mark appeared on a program called Deadly Game in 1996, which televised the killing of a poacher who was allegedly shot dead after being arrested as a guard. Journalist Jeff Goldberg claimed that Mark became the de facto leader of a group working against poachers in the country The couple moved to a remote area of ​​land in Boundary County, Idaho, where they are believed to have separated, although they remain friendly. Journalist Goldberg would publish a New Yorker article about the incident in 2010, with Delia telling him at the time, “We don’t know anything about it. The only thing Mark did was to throw firecrackers from his plane, but only to scare the poachers, not to hurt anyone.” Meanwhile, she insisted that Chris “wasn’t there.” Delia would write her first novel, Where the Crawdads Sing, years later – but the plot of the bestselling book bears striking similarities to her experience in the African country. Delia would write her first novel, Where the Crawdads Sing, years later – but the plot of the bestselling book bears striking similarities to her experience in the African country Owens, pictured with cast members along with Reese Witherspoon, said the book contains “a lot of symbolism.” The story follows Kya, a young woman who is abandoned by her parents and left alone to grow up in an isolated swamp just outside a small town in North Carolina. Like the author Delia, she is a naturalist and a loner in an isolated and sometimes hostile environment. When she becomes a respected author, Kya is framed for the murder of her ex-boyfriend Chase Andrews. However, like the killing of the nameless poacher, the killing could be considered righteous – Chase was abusive and even tried to rape Kya. There are many similarities between Delia and Kya’s character, who were both loners who had been isolated in a hostile environment before being linked to a murder Although Kya is guilty, as revealed at the end of the novel, she is acquitted of Chase’s murder and eventually gets away with her crime (pictured, Harris Dickinson as Chase) Despite the fact that Kya is guilty, as revealed at the end of the novel, she is acquitted of murdering Chase and ultimately gets away with her crime.