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Deputies Arrest Boyfriend of Missing Woman Found Dead in Granny Flat


The boyfriend of a woman who was missing for weeks before she was found dead Tuesday in a granny flat in Encinitas was arrested Friday on suspicion of murder.

A foul odor led investigators to the discovery 43-year-old Sabrina Lukosky’s body at a home on Summit Avenue just off Santa Fe Drive at about 5:15 p.m.

A passerby reported a strange smell in the area, and the first deputies on scene noticed it as well. Deputies searched the property and then obtained a search warrant to go inside the home. That’s when they found Lukosky’s body inside a granny flat located behind the main home, according to the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department.

Lukosky lived in the granny flat with her boyfriend, 41-year-old Henry Simon Cowen. Cowen’s mother owns the property and lives in the main house.

Deputies did not immediately identify Cowen as a suspect in the case, but said he was a person of interest and that investigators were interested in talking to him.

The SDSO announced Friday that deputies, along with the U.S. Marshall Fugitive Task Force, took Cowen into custody in Riverside. 

Cowen was booked at the Vista Detention Facility on one count of murder. He is being held without bail.

Lukosky was reported missing to the SDSO Oct. 3, but one of her friends told NBC 7 she hadn’t been heard from since Sept. 20.

Neighbors told NBC 7 they’ve had to call deputies out to the home in the past. One neighbor said they’ve heard Cowen screaming in anger on more than one occasion, and another neighbor described him as psychotic.

Friend Shelly Abbott described Lukosky as harmless, sweet and caring.

“I’m a wreck. I’m in shock. She was awesome. I hate saying ‘was’ now,” Abbott said. “We lost a really good friend. A really beautiful person.”

One neighbor said the stench had been lingering for weeks and that residents had been checking trash cans for a source. Deputies did not say how long the Lukosky’s body had been inside the granny flat, but said her body was badly decomposed.

The Medical Examiner’s Office determined Lukosky’s cause of death was homicide.

There will be a vigil ceremony for Lukosky at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday at Swami’s State Beach where they will release over 50 butterflies, one of Lukosky’s favorite things. A GoFundMe has been set up to help pay for the memorial.

Cowen was previously arrested in Lacey, Washington in 2010 for tying up a man in his home as well as a drug disturbance. He was found guilty of second degree assault and unlawful imprisonment and spent one year in prison at Thurston County Jail, according to the Lacey Police Department.

An investigation into the incident is ongoing. Anyone with information about this incident was asked to call the Sheriff’s Homicide Unit at (858) 285-6330 or (858) 565-5200. Anonymous tips can be made to Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477.

No other information was available.

Please refresh this page for updates on this story. Details may change as more information becomes available.

on Summit Avenue just off Santa Fe Drive 


Source: NBC San Diego

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