Doctor accused of poisoning wife may have been calling himself a 'widower' before her death, police say
A Minnesota doctor accused of poisoning his wife to death was most likely already calling himself a widower before she died, according to newly unsealed court documents.
Dr. Connor Bowman, 31, was arrested in October and charged with second-degree murder linked to the death of Betty Bowman, a Mayo Clinic pharmacist who died Aug. 20, only four days after she was hospitalized.
An Aug. 18 Google search by Connor Bowman showed he wanted to know whether the word "widow" is "gender neutral," Rochester Police Detective Alex Kendrick said in a search warrant affidavit.
"These searches, and other conversations identified so far appeared consistent with the statements provided by witnesses during the investigation, that Connor was identifying himself as a widower, even before Betty died," Kendrick wrote.
At least two women communicated with Connor Bowman via the dating app Bumble, on Aug. 29 and Sept. — within days of Betty Bowman's death — the search warrant affidavit said.
In the first chat, the woman said she "thought it was strange" that Bowman had "brought up the large life insurance payout he received, using it to pay off student loan debt," Kendrick wrote.
The affidavit alleges that in the Sept. 5 communication, Bowman said his late wife would have wanted him back out on the dating circuit.
"She later asked when Betty died, and Connor replied that Betty died earlier in the summer, and that she confronted him later when she learned it had only been 2 and a half weeks since Betty’s death," the affidavit said.
Sarah Leeser, a longtime friend of the victim, said Bowman didn't seem too upset shortly after his wife's death.
"Sarah advised that another red flag for her in this situation was that Connor had not shown any grief after Betty’s death," police said the friend told them. "Connor even invited her and some other friends out for drinks ... two days after Betty’s death and appeared to be happy or at least indifferent to Betty’s death."
Leeser told NBC News on Wednesday that she vividly recalled Connor Bowman's demeanor at the hospital as inconsistent with a man about to lose his wife.
"At the hospital, it [his reaction and behavior] was off," she said. "I mean, everyone else was devastated, and he was not."
Still, in that moment, said Leeser, 33, she never suspected her friend could have been the victim of foul play.
"It wasn't really in my head. I was just thinking about Betty," said Leeser, who is running a GoFundMe effort for the victim's mother, covering travel and other expenses connected to the alleged murder.
Betty Bowman died of colchicine toxicity, and a medical examiner ruled her death a homicide. Connor Bowman had worked in a "poison control center for an extended period of time prior to his residency," according to the search warrant affidavit.
Bowman's attorney could not immediately be reached for comment Wednesday.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
