A University of Iowa freshman who claimed to be the victim of a violent hate crime has changed his story.
Marcus Owens, of suburban Naperville, told police earlier this month he was on his way back to his dorm room one Saturday night when “out of nowhere” three white men attacked him and started yelling racial slurs. Owens supplied photos that showed he had been left with a busted lip, damaged eye socket and cracked front teeth.
After reviewing surveillance footage and speaking with witnesses, Iowa City police found his allegations to be untrue.
FBI investigators found the 19-year-old student had got into three separate fights, and a racial slur was used in one of them. It was concluded the criteria for a hate crime wasn't met, police said.
Owens and his family released a statement apologizing for “the misunderstandings and anxiety stemming from Marcus’s involvement.”
The Owens family had previously met with the university’s dean of students, telling NBC 5 at the time it was “appalling” to be “dealing with such ignorance” in the year of 2016.
“Marcus now knows that his account of events was inconsistent with police findings, in part due to alcohol being involved, his embarrassment at his behavior, as well as the injuries he sustained,” the letter reads. “In light of this, it was concluded that this incident was not a hate crime as originally believed, but rather a case of excessive underage drinking and extremely poor judgment on the part of many people, Marcus included.”
