A poison specialist and former medical resident at Mayo Clinic in Minnesota is facing charges for fatally poisoning his wife. Hence, a grand jury in Minnesota indicted him on January 4, 2024, upgrading charges against him to first-degree murder.
According to the Olmsted County Attorney’s Office in Minnesota, Connor Fitzgerald Bowman, 30, faces one count of first-degree murder. Also, he faces another count of second-degree murder. If convicted of the first charge, Bowman faces a life sentence without the possibility of release.
Betty Bowman, a pharmacist, landed in the hospital on August 16, 2023, with symptoms similar to food poisoning. According to a criminal report filed by Minnesota state authorities, the symptoms started after drinking with her husband at home.
Also, she told a friend that she believed her sickness was due to a drink “mixed in a large smoothie.” While in the hospital, Betty’s condition rapidly deteriorated. She experienced cardiac issues and eventually organ failure. Also, at one point, she required surgery to remove part of her colon due to the discovery of necrotic tissue.
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Unfortunately, on August 20, 2023, she died in the hospital at 32. Afterward, authorities say Bowman tried to stop the autopsy on his wife. He reportedly argued that they should cremate her immediately and claimed she had a rare illness. However, hospital tests did not confirm the alleged rare illness.
However, the Southeast Minnesota Medical Examiner’s Office halted the order for cremation. The office cited suspicious circumstances, according to a criminal complaint. Bowman, who worked in poison control in Kansas, sought to cancel an autopsy.
In emails with the office, he asked what death investigators would be testing Betty Bowman’s body for. He also questioned whether a toxicology analysis on her “would be more thorough” than those done at the hospital. The complaint also claims Bowman used his hospital credentials to view the electronic health record of his deceased wife.
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In addition, Bowman’s online search history shows sodium nitrate, a chemical that limits oxygen transport in the body. His other searches included “Internet browsing history: can it be used in court?” and “Police track package delivery.” Also, Bowman researched colchicine, a drug typically used to treat gout, on his digital devices, according to the complaint.
On August 10, 2023, he allegedly multiplied Betty Bowman’s body weight by 0.8 kilograms. In the complaint, authorities wrote that “0.8 mg/kg is the lethal dosage rate for colchicine.” Following Betty’s tragic death, an autopsy showed she died from the toxic effects of colchicine, a medicine used to treat gout.
Blood and urine samples from Betty showed colchicine present in her body. However, her records do not show that she had gout or that doctors prescribed colchicine to her. Consequently, the medical examiner concluded that she died of the toxic effects of colchicine and that her death was a homicide.
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According to the complaint, a woman said the Bowmans “were having marital issues.” She also revealed that they “were talking about a divorce following infidelity.” Also, Bowman told an individual that he would receive a $500,000 life insurance policy due to his wife’s death.
Authorities said they found a $450,000 bank deposit receipt at Bowman’s home at the time of his arrest. However, it remains unclear whether that receipt had any links to the life insurance policy that Bowman mentioned.
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