ROCHESTER, Minn. (Court TV) — A man who prosecutors say referred to himself as a “widower” before his wife’s death will stand trial on charges he killed her after an appeals court refused to review his case.
Dr. Connor Bowman is charged with first-degree murder in the death of his wife, who was poisoned. (Rochester Police Department via Scripps News)
Connor Bowman, 33, is charged with first- and second-degree murder in the death of his wife, Betty Bowman, 32. At the time of his wife’s death, Connor Bowman was a medical resident and poison specialist at Mayo Clinic; Betty Bowman was a pharmacist who worked there as well.
The defendant had appealed to Minnesota’s Court of Appeals, arguing that the indictment against him should be dismissed because the prosecution presented inadmissible evidence and made inappropriate comments to the grand jury and that a judge improperly presided over the proceedings.
In an order handed down on Wednesday, the Minnesota Court of Appeals said that after a careful review of the circumstances, “discretionary review is not warranted.” The judges found that the trial court’s previous order denying Connor Bowman’s motion to dismiss “thoroughly addressed each of petitioner’s arguments concerning the alleged errors in the grand jury proceedings with citations to the transcript describing the district court judge’s role in the proceedings and where the prosecutor made the allegedly improper remarks.” The petition submitted to the appellate court, the judges noted, failed to “quote or cite any specific portions of the transcript in support of the arguments for discretionary review.”
Betty Bowman was initially hospitalized on Aug. 16, 2023, with symptoms consistent with food poisoning. She told a friend that morning that she thought she got sick from a smoothie her husband had given her the night before. Betty Bowman’s condition deteriorated after she was admitted to the hospital, and she died four days later.
Connor Bowman wrote his wife’s obituary, which states that she died after a “sudden onset autoimmune and infectious illness.” But the medical examiner found the circumstances of Betty Bowman’s death suspicious, and ultimately determined that she died from toxic levels of colchicine, a medication for gout that she had never been prescribed.
Prosecutors said in court documents that Connor Bowman was active on the Bumble dating app and he was allegedly identifying himself as a widower “even before Betty died.” His internet browsing history also revealed searches for “is widow gender neutral” and “police search history,” as well as a visit to an article titled “Internet browsing history: Can it be used in court?”
Connor Bowman remains in custody at the Olmsted County Jail on a $2 million bond.
