Juneau Courthouse Courtroom C on Thursday, the day the trial started for Sonya Taton, a Juneau woman accused of fatally stabbing a man in 2019 and the non-fatal stabbing of another man in 2016. (Meredith Jordan/ Juneau Empire)

Juneau Courthouse Courtroom C on Thursday, the day the trial started for Sonya Taton, a Juneau woman accused of fatally stabbing a man in 2019 and the non-fatal stabbing of another man in 2016. (Meredith Jordan/ Juneau Empire)

Trial begins of Juneau woman accused of 2019 fillet knife murder

Sonya Taton, 46, is also accused of stabbing another man in 2016.

Jury selection began Thursday in the murder trial of Sonya Taton, a Juneau woman accused of using a fillet knife to stab a man she was involved with in June 2019.

The trial will include a separate domestic, non-fatal stabbing assault allegation from 2016, after the court approved the state’s motion to consolidate the cases in May.

Attorney Rex Butler, who is representing Taton, told the court he plans to argue self-defense. The trial is expected to last through Nov. 17, said Daniel K. Shorey, assistant attorney general, who is prosecuting the case.

Taton, 46, is being tried on charges of first-degree assault and second-degree murder in the death of 61-year-old Gregory Bowen. He was stabbed on the evening of June 17, 2019, at a residence in Channel View Terrace Mobile Home Park, according to the prosecution’s trial brief.

Bowen, 61, was medevaced to Seattle for surgery, but died on June 29 of complications associated with the injury.

The second first-degree assault charge stems from a Feb. 13, 2016, incident in which Taton is accused of stabbing Michael Garrison in the leg, according to the prosecution’s trial brief.

At the time, Garrison was treated at the hospital for the injury, but told a different story about what happened. He said he had crawled through a window about nine feet off the ground, cutting his femoral artery in the process.

The doctor said at the time the explanation was inconsistent with that type of injury, but he stuck with the story. The trial brief, dated Oct. 5, 2023, said at the time he was pressured by Taton not to say what happened.

“It wasn’t until 2019 that Garrison finally came forward with the actual cause of the wound,” the trial brief continues. A detective investigating Bowen’s death talked to Taton’s “previous romantic partners,” which included Garrison.

The trial brief tells a full story of what prosecutors allege happened with Bowen’s death, starting with Taton’s call to 911 on June 17, 2019. She stated someone was “‘hurt’ in the stomach and bleeding.” She requested they send an ambulance, not police officers.

Capitol City Fire/Rescue arrived before police, but waited for them to secure the residence, according to the trial brief.

Police found Bowen bleeding on the hall floor and responsive. He told them he had been stabbed with a fillet knife. They found a white-handled fillet knife near the drying rack in the kitchen.

Taton told conflicting accounts of what had happened.

CCFR transported Bowen to Bartlett Regional Hospital where he was again interviewed by police. Bowen said Taton had physically attacked him, striking him in the head with her fists. He placed his hand “on or near her neck” in an effort to hold her off. Then Taton grabbed the knife and stabbed him.

“Bowen said Taton was bipolar and drinking, but there was no other reason for her to be upset,” in the course of the interview at the hospital, according to the trial brief.

Bartlett doctors measured the puncture wound to Bowen’s abdomen at 1.5 inches. They determined he was bleeding internally, had blood in his stomach, and needed surgery or he would die. Bowen was flown to Harborview Hospital in Seattle.

Mabel Pittman, who raised children with Bowen, said he endured numerous surgeries before he passed away.

Prosecutors have 34 witnesses lined up for trial. Evidence obtained during discovery includes 20 bodycam and two holding cell videos, 165 video surveillance files from a neighbor’s camera, and 139 recorded phone calls, among many other things.

One item is a video of Taton cutting herself, the trial brief states.

A phone call and email to Butler, counsel for Taton, were not returned by the end of the business day Thursday.

Jury selection is expected to continue Friday, with opening statements on Monday.

• Contact Meredith Jordan at meredith.jordan@juneauempire.com or (907) 615-3190.

More in News

The Norwegian Bliss arrives in Juneau on Monday, April 14, 2025. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire file photo)
Ships in port for the week of May 11

This information comes from the Cruise Line Agencies of Alaska’s 2024 schedule.… Continue reading

(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire file photo)
Police calls for Saturday, May 10, 2025

This report contains public information from law enforcement and public safety agencies.

(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire file photo)
Police calls for Friday, May 9, 2025

This report contains public information from law enforcement and public safety agencies.

(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire file photo)
Police calls for Thursday, May 8, 2025

This report contains public information from law enforcement and public safety agencies.

Republicans have toiled under House Speaker Mike Johnson to find $880 billion in savings over a decade and assemble a number of cuts large enough to meet that goal. (Tierney L. Cross / For The New York Times)
Republicans propose paring Medicaid coverage, but steer clear of deeper cuts

House panel’s plan would still leave millions without health coverage or facing higher costs.

Axel Baumann films and Max Osadchenko captures sounds of Juneau Alaska Music Matters students performing a “Gratitude” concert at the Sealaska Heritage Institute Clan House on Thursday, May 8, 2025. The event was a wrapup performance after the film crew followed JAMM participants for two weeks as part of a feature-length documentary. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Filmmakers seek to share cultural lessons of Juneau Alaska Music Matters with a wider audience

Crew spends two weeks with students after following similar program in Texas for full-length documentary.

A Chinook salmon is seen in an undated photo. (Photo by Ryan Hagerty/USFWS)
Conservation group lawsuit seeks to speed listing of Alaska king salmon under Endangered Species Act

Lawsuit asks a judge to order national fisheries service to “promptly issue” decision on petition

State Sen. Forrest Dunbar (D-Anchorage) speaks during a candlelight vigil Wednesday at the Alaska State Capitol by participants calling upon federal lawmakers not to cut Medicaid funding (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Proposed Medicaid cuts in Alaska: A protest, a Senate resolution and where things currently stand

Some Republicans in D.C. balk at full $880B reduction; work requirements, other trims still in play.

Cottongrass wafts over the tundra in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge on Sept. 2, 2006. (Steve Hillebrand/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)
Arctic refuge oil exploration could begin as soon as this winter, court documents indicate

Alaska’s state-owned investment bank could get permission to start oil exploration work… Continue reading

Most Read