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30-year-old Connor Bowman, a former doctor at Mayo Clinic, has been charged with second-degree murder in connection to the death of his wife. The charges were filed against Bowman on Monday, October 23, 2023. The victim has been identified as Betty, 32, who was a pharmacist by profession.
Suspicion arose when Bowman allegedly tried to stop an autopsy of his wife's remains and wanted to cremate her immediately.
It was eventually discovered that the victim had colchicine in her system. For reference, colchicine is usually used to treat gout, but Bowman's wife was never diagnosed with it. While Connor Bowman claimed that his wife died of hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis, tests for the condition were inconclusive.
Connor Bowman's wife was rushed to the hospital with food poisoning symptoms
As per CBS, Bowman's online search for colchicine "coincided with the online activity for purchasing colchicine," which was found in his wife, Betty's system following her hospitalization, leading to the death being ruled a homicide.
Betty was hospitalized for four days with severe diarrhea and dehydration until her died on August 20, 2023. Medical professionals at the hospital initially treated her for food poisoning. However, she didn't respond to the treatment and soon started having cardiac issues, increasing fluid in her lungs, and eventually, organ failure.
Law&Crime reported that investigating officers claimed that Betty was considered a healthy person before she was admitted to the hospital. As per CBS, a friend of the victim also said that the incident happened around the time that Betty and Connor were heading towards a divorce following infidelity.
Upon thorough investigation, police discovered that Betty had recently told people that the couple switched to separate bank accounts, since Connor Bowman was in debt. Bowman allegedly told a friend that he could get a massive amount of $500,000 as a part of life insurance policy, if his wife died.
A day after Betty died, police were alerted about a suspicious death by Southeast Minnesota Medical Examiner’s Office, who informed them that Connor had been pushing for a cremation of the body and didn't want an autopsy to be conducted. All of this prompted an investigation, ultimately leading to Bowman's arrest.
Evidence against Connor Bowman
At the time of the incident, Connor Bowman was working remotely as a poison control analyst at the University of Kansas. Upon going through his laptop given to him by the university, authorities discovered that Bowman had researched a lot about colchicine.
His search history also included questions about whether Google search can "be used in court?," "police track package delivery," and "delete Amazon history police." He had also looked for websites delivering colchicine.
Authorities also spoke to a man whose identity hasn't been revealed as a part of the investigation. The man told cops that Betty allegedly told him on August 14, 2023, that she wanted to spend some time with her husband and thus, was taking a few days off. On August 16, she reportedly told him that she was feeling extremely unwell, citing a large smoothie she drank as a possible reason behind the same.
As per Law&Crime, Betty Bowman had also graduated from the University of Kansas, where she studied in the school of pharmacy.
