Connor Bowman's defense attorney files notice of defense he plans to rely on during jury trial – Post Bulletin

ROCHESTER – The defense team for Connor Bowman, a Rochester man accused of poisoning his wife in 2023, filed a brief outlining its defense arguments during the jury trial ahead of Wednesday's contentious omnibus hearing.

Connor Fitzgerald Bowman is charged with two counts of murder, one count of premeditated murder in the first degree and one count of unintentional murder in the second degree.

Bowman's defense attorney, Michael Schatz, said in court documents filed Tuesday that during the jury trial, the defendant will rely on his defense's arguments that Bowman is not guilty, there was another perpetrator and his wife's death may have been a suicide.

In a court document filed by prosecutors on August 28, an order was requested prohibiting the defense from presenting any defense other than “not guilty.”

A jury trial for Bowman has not yet been scheduled.

His wife, Betty Bowman, died on August 20 after coming to the emergency room several days earlier complaining of dehydration and diarrhea.

According to the indictment, Rochester police were notified of a suspicious death by the Southeast Minnesota Medical Examiner's Office on August 21. Betty Bowman was scheduled to be cremated, but the plan was canceled after the Medical Examiner's Office learned of possible suspicious circumstances.

She was admitted to hospital on August 16 with severe gastrointestinal complaints and dehydration and her condition deteriorated rapidly.

A woman called the examiner's office and said that Betty and her husband were having marital problems and were discussing filing for divorce on the grounds of infidelity.

Her symptoms were similar to food poisoning, but standard treatments were ineffective and her condition continued to deteriorate in hospital. She suffered from heart problems, fluid buildup in her lungs and eventually organ failure. She underwent surgery after it was discovered that part of her colon was necrotic, or dead tissue.

While his wife was in the hospital, Connor Bowman told doctors that she had hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis, a rare autoimmune disease in which white blood cells attack organs.

He told several people that she had died of this disease, even though his wife's tests had shown inconclusive results. He also mentioned this in her obituary.

He urged the medical examiner to cremate her immediately, arguing that her death was natural. He also tried to cancel the autopsy and asked investigators if the toxicology analysis would be more thorough than usual.

Connor Bowman worked in poison control in Kansas.

According to the lawsuit, the couple had separate bank accounts due to debt and he was supposed to receive a $500,000 life insurance policy upon her death.

A witness told police that Betty Bowman had been drinking with Connor on August 15 and felt ill the next morning. She told her friend that she believed the drink, a large smoothie, caused the illness.

A detective discovered that Connor Bowman had viewed his wife's medical records while she was in the hospital.

A University of Kansas laptop belonging to Connor Bowman was searched by the university, which conducted internet searches for colchicine, a drug used to treat gout. There were also several internet searches related to hiding information from police on the laptop, as well as a search for the source of sodium nitrate, a drug used to restrict oxygen levels in the bloodstream, according to a court document.

Connor Bowman also searched for and found the lethal dose of colchicine for his wife's weight, according to the report. Police also discovered that he had purchased colchicine online.

During the investigation, search warrants for his electronic devices revealed that he had been messaging women on dating apps as a “widow” before Betty Bowman’s death.

A toxicology report listed colchicine as a substance in Betty Bowman's system. She suffered no ailments that would have required the drug. According to a search warrant filed in December 2023, Connor Bowman allegedly told an online pharmacy that the Mayo Clinic had confronted him about ordering sildenafil citrate, generic Viagra, and colchicine from an online pharmacy less than two weeks before his wife's death.

He was arrested on October 20, 2023. Police found a receipt for a $450,000 bank deposit in his apartment.

In June, Connor Bowman's attorneys filed 12 motions to suppress evidence and a motion to have a grand jury dismiss an indictment for first-degree murder in connection with Betty Bowman.