Ky. Supreme Court upholds Lowe, Mattie murder convictions

Last week the Kentucky Supreme Court upheld the murder, first-degree unlawful imprisonment and tampering with physical evidence conviction against a Williamsburg man, who killed a woman during a 2017 incident.

In February, the Kentucky Supreme Court upheld the conviction of his co-defendant, who was also charged with murder and second-degree unlawful imprisonment in the same case.

On July 23, 2017, Chris James Lowe, who was 38 years old at the time, and Lori Mattie, who was 37 years old at the time, viciously beat Michelle E. Marlow to death at their Old Mud Creek Road home after they thought she had taken $300 from them. The money was never found.

On Nov. 22, 2019, a seven-man and five-woman jury convicted the pair on murder and first-degree unlawful imprisonment charges. Jurors also convicted Lowe of tampering with physical evidence.

Each received a sentence of life in prison with the possibility of parole.

On Thursday, the Kentucky Supreme Court rejected Lowe’s appeal, which was made on two grounds. The first was that the trial court allegedly abused its discretion by admitting evidence of other wrongful acts. The second was that the trial court allegedly erred in allowing the Commonwealth to present victim impact testimony during the guilt phase of the trial.

The court ruled that both arguments were “unavailing” and that it affirmed the outcome of the case.

On Feb. 18, the Kentucky Supreme Court rejected Lowe’s appeal, which alleged that the trial court erred twice by denying her motion for mistrial during the voir dire phase of the trial. Voir dire involves the jury selection process of a trial.

Marlow, 36, went to the residence of Lowe and Mattie with her boyfriend, Claude Dean, on July 22, 2017, for a night of heavy drinking and relaxation.

The next day, Lowe became upset because he couldn’t find his wallet with $300 inside, which reportedly lead him to threaten Dean and Marlow with a shotgun. Then Lowe and Mattie started beating Marlow, and the trio ended up outside at one point with Marlow laying in the road apparently dead, and Mattie at least partially on top of her.

Then Kentucky State Police Sgt. Tony Dingess, who is now a lieutenant, responded to the 911 call and followed a trail of blood from the road and drag marks to the back door of the home. He saw more blood in the kitchen, hallway and guest bathroom, and then found Marlow dead in the guest bedroom. In the master bedroom, Dingess found Lowe naked and unconscious on the bed covered in blood. He found Mattie nearly naked on the toilet in the guest bathroom also covered in blood and unconscious.

Sometime during the altercation Dean escaped. He later sent his mother back to Lowe and Mattie’s residence to pick up Marlow, but she was already dead by that time.

Each claimed that they were so intoxicated that they didn’t remember most of what happened on the night of the killing.