Amber Dawn Compton was a 35-year-old registered nurse and devoted mother of three from Vansant, Virginia. A graduate of Southwest Virginia Community College, she was remembered by her mother, Rachel Compton, as someone whose life revolved around her family. "Everything she did," her mother said, "(was) done (for) the benefit of her children." At the time of her death, the White female was seven months pregnant.
On the night of Saturday, October 22, 2022, the Buchanan County Sheriff’s Office received a call about a missing woman. Deputies responded to Amber’s home on Sunset Hollow Road, where they discovered her body just before 10 p.m. An investigation determined she had died from multiple gunshot wounds.
The Virginia State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation was called in to assist with the forensic investigation of the scene.
Based on evidence and statements gathered at the scene, the focus of the investigation quickly turned to Amber’s boyfriend, 38-year-old Dustin Barret Owens. Both Amber and Owens were employed by the Virginia Department of Corrections at the Keen Mountain Correctional Facility, where Amber worked as a nurse. In the early morning hours of Sunday, October 23, law enforcement located Owens at his home on Deer Trail Drive and took him into custody without incident.
Owens was charged with first-degree murder and held without bond at the Southwest Virginia Regional Jail in Haysi. Authorities stated they believed Owens was the father of Amber’s unborn child and had established a motive for the crime, though they did not elaborate on it publicly due to the ongoing investigation.
Dustin Barrett Owens was later tried for the shooting death of Amber Dawn Compton. A jury found him guilty on all counts, bringing a resolution to the case.
