Written by DCist contributor Andrew Helms
Written by DCist contributor Andrew Helms
Montgomery County Police say they have tentatively identified the two bodies found in Renee Bowman's freezer as two of Bowman's adopted daughters. They also released this undated photo of Jasmine Nicole Bowman, who would now be 9, and Minnet Cecila Bowman, who would be 11. A family friend made the identification, though as the Post points out, it's not yet an official identification. Still, police don't expect to discover the bodies belonged to anyone else once the autopsies are completed.
The Post continues its tireless, grim updates of the Renee Bowman case, with the latest crediting three reporters in the byline and four other individuals as having contributed. New details: a lawyer who represented Bowman in a personal injury case between 2003 and 2005 describes her as being "not the same person" she was then. Bowman is apparently confused about what's going on, even though she told police one of her daughters died of starvation, while the other died from injuries sustained after a fall. Maryland medical examiners have not yet determined causes of death for the two bodies, believed to be those of Bowman's adopted daughters, that were found in a freezer inside her home in Calvert County, Md. With a case like this, you really have to hope that this woman had some sort of psychotic break and suddenly became totally nuts. Otherwise all you're left with is something far more sinister.
The Calvert County, Md. Sheriff's Department has arrested one Renee Bowman, 43, after discovering what appeared to be the bodies of two children in a freezer in Bowman's home over the weekend. Authorities went to the house responding to a report of child abuse, after neighbors found Bowman's 7-year-old adopted daughter alone outside the house, showing signs of abuse and neglect. When they searched the house, they found the remains, and Bowman allegedly told them that the bodies belonged to her two other adopted daughters, and that they had both been in the freezer since February. Bowman used to live in Rockville, in Montgomery County, but moved to Calvert County in February, so charges related to the bodies could ultimately be filed in Montgomery. Bowman is currently being held in Calvert County on charges of first-degree child abuse.
After a long holiday weekend it's always nice to check out the DCist pool to see where our regular contributors have been off to, cameras always in tow. Though we'll no doubt hear a "it's not in D.C.!" complaint from someone, it's nice to see what our readers find outside the Beltway on occasion, especially for those of us who were stuck in the city over Thanksgiving. Chip py the photo guy took this wonderful shot of an old barn in Calvert County, Md. How did you spend your weekend? EXIF.
Following a national trend, District officials have placed Wal-Mart squarely in the sights of pending legislation. The D.C. Examiner is reporting today that six of the City Council's 13 members have signed onto legislation that would ban the construction or development of big box stores larger than 80,000 square feet if any more than 15 percent of their merchandise were tax-free. The legislation, sponsored by David Catania (I-At Large) would directly affect Wal-Mart and Target,...
Wal-Mart--the love 'em or hate 'em big box retailer -- has managed to stretch a 97,687-square-foot loophole in a 75,000-square-foot Calvert County regulation aimed at limiting the ability of big box retailers to set up shop in historic town centers, according to the Post.
As D.C. juveline car theives are snatching cars for joyriding at alarming rates, police in Calvert County are not pursuing the case of the mysterious seahorse sculpture-napping that appears to be teenage prank. The beloved statue was outside the Adams Ribs restaurant near Prince Frederick earlier this summer when it was stolen. The sculpture is back, the Post reports, found dumped behind the cafeteria at a county middle school, where a group of the school's students painted the fiberglass creature in the spirit of Vincent VanGogh's "Starry Night" for a countywide public art project. Police said that if the horse was returned unharmed by the end of September, they wouldn't pursue the case.