Christina Cowens allegedly killed Richard McClintic on or about July 3; police reportedly found his body and arrested Cowens around Nov. 6.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A woman arrested earlier this month on suspicion of murder has been accused of killing a man four months before his body was found, Sacramento court documents show.
Christina Cowens allegedly murdered Richard McClintic with malice aforethought on or about July 3, according to a criminal complaint filed Nov. 10 in Sacramento County Superior Court.
McClintic, 59, had cerebral palsy and was nonverbal; Cowens, 41, was his caretaker, ABC10 previously reported.
Sacramento Police Department officers said they generated a missing person report after conducting a welfare check Oct. 25 at the Woodbridge Apartments in South Natomas along the 2000 block of San Juan Road. On Nov. 6, police reportedly executed a search warrant there and found a person dead.
Cowens, who police identified as the person’s caretaker, 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 additional fraud-related offenses, per law enforcement.
In the Nov. 10 criminal complaint against her alleging murder, prosecutors also accused Cowens of presenting a false and fraudulent claim for allowance and payment on or around Oct. 25.
In a separate criminal complaint filed July 28, prosecutors accused Cowens of fraudulently taking a Ford U-Haul truck between about July 15 and July 21.
Cowens is ineligible for bail, jail records show. She appeared in court Monday for a settlement conference that was continued to Jan. 8, 2026, the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office said.
Family earlier this month identified McClintic as the person found dead at Woodbridge Apartments, though the Sacramento County Coroner’s Office has not officially identified the victim associated with the police’s homicide investigation.
It is not unusual for decedents to go through further procedures or processes for positive identification, the coroner’s office said Monday.
Who was Richard McClintic?
McClintic, who lived with cerebral palsy, was an independent and determined person, 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 are 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 to tell him of 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. “He was nonverbal, but there was so many other ways he could communicate.”
Now, his relatives say they are looking for justice.
“He was a good guy,” said Sherry Klagenberg, McClintic’s oldest sister, at the vigil. “What happened to him? He didn’t deserve this whatsoever. He’s in a better place now.”
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