Richard McClintic, 59, of Sacramento, was found dead Nov. 6, 2025. He was allegedly killed by his caretaker on or about July 3, 2025, prosecutors have said.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Sacramento County coroner shared Wednesday the cause of death for a man allegedly killed last year by his caretaker.
Richard Dwane McClintic, 59, of Sacramento, died from homicidal asphyxiation including smothering, according to the Sacramento County Coroner’s Office.
Prosecutors say McClintic was murdered on or about July 3, 2025, though his body was not found until Nov. 6, 2025, at the Woodbridge Apartments in South Natomas, ABC10 previously reported. Family identified him the day after his body was found, though McClintic was not publicly identified by the coroner’s office until this week.
When asked if the death investigation was consistent with prosecutors’ allegation that McClintic was killed July 3, 2025, the coroner said the date and time of his death are the date and time he was found: 3:30 p.m. Nov. 6, 2025. The coroner also said investigative details are not releasable to the public.
Sacramento Police Department officers said they generated a missing person report for McClintic after conducting a welfare check Oct. 25, 2025, at the Woodbridge Apartments. His body was found once they reportedly executed a search warrant there.
McClintic, who had cerebral palsy and was nonverbal, was allegedly killed by 41-year-old Christina Cowens, per previous ABC10 reporting.
Cowens was at first arrested on suspicion of unlawful disposal of human remains, grand theft, and concealing or attempting to conceal a death. She was later charged with homicide and fraud-related offenses, per law enforcement.
About three months before McClintic’s body was found, on July 28, 2025, prosecutors accused Cowens of fraudulently taking a Ford U-Haul truck between about July 15-July 21, 2025.
Cowens is ineligible for bail, Sacramento County Main Jail records show.
She is expected to appear Feb. 19 in Sacramento County Superior Court for a settlement conference.
Who was Richard McClintic?
McClintic was independent and determined, overcoming physical limitations to attend college and participate in the Special Olympics, his family said.
He loved sports and could be seen wearing a Pittsburgh Steelers hoodie in multiple images shared with ABC10.
At a vigil Nov. 7 outside his apartment, McClintic’s family said they were grieving but grateful for closure after he was found and his caretaker arrested. Relatives had been searching for him for almost two weeks, trying to contact him and tell him about his sister’s death.
“We already lost an aunt, his sister,” said Ryan Klagenberg, McClintic’s nephew, during the vigil. “We’ve been trying to get a hold of him just to let him know that stuff, what was going on with that. And, that’s what turned into the missing person’s report.”
He described his uncle as a “fiery guy, full of energy” who never let his condition define him.
Stuart Robertson, his former coach and high school classmate, remembered McClintic for his positivity and curiosity.
“…Such a great smile on his face,” Robertson said at the vigil. “He was nonverbal, but there was so many other ways he could communicate.”
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