ROCHESTER, Minn. – The criminal complaint against ex-Mayo doctor Connor Bowman alleges a complex and bidden online search for a rare medicine that he then served her in a smoothie. She became deadly ill the next morning and died of organ failure four days later. Then, according to the criminal complaint, Bowman tried to have her cremated. The coroner was suspicious, however, and intervened. The jig was up. Bowman, 30, was arrested Friday and arraigned Monday. The charge: Second-degree murder with intent. An option now for county prosecutor Mark Ostrem is to ask a judge to empanel a grand jury to elevate the charge to first-degree murder. In Minnesota, a grand jury indictment is necessary for a charge of first-degree murder, which can be punishable by life imprisonment. These are sordid deails as alleged in the criminal complaint:
> Betty Bowman died August 20, four days after being admitted to a Mayo emergency room. Cause of death was recorded as cardiac issues and eventual organ failure.
> Connor Bownan told Macken Funeral Homes, which arranged services, that death was hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis. HLH is extremely rare — a sudden-onset autoimmune and infectious illness in which a patient’s immune system attacks the organs. Betty Bowman’s hospital records, however, did not identify an HLH diagnosis.
> Connor Bowman attempted to cancel an autopsy and to cremate the body.
> The Southeast Minnesota medical examiner halted the cremation order for after learning that her death might be suspicious.
> Connor Bowman asked for a list of substances that toxicologists would be testing for.
> Regional medical examiners noted that Betty Bowman’s symptoms although similar to food poisoning, did not respond to cinventional treatment
> A woman called the medical examiner with concerns about the state of the Bowman marriage, She said that they had discussed divorce.
In happier moment. Connor and Betty Jo Bowman, From a family album.
Bowman profiles
Betty Jo Bownan, 32, was a pharmacist in the operating room at Mayo Clinic. She wa a 2017 grafuate of the Kansas Staw University pharmacy school. Connor Bowman, 30, was graduate io the University of Kansas medical school and in a residency at Mayo. He had earlier training in pharmaceuticals.
> Another woman told police that the couple kept separate bank accounts, since Connor Bowman had debts from pharmacy and medical school. The woman told police that Connor Bowman said he would get $500,000 in life insurance after Betty Bowman’s death.
> A man told police that Betty Bowman had texted him on August 15, saying she was drinking with Connor, then the next morning became sick. The man quoted Betty that she suspected something had been mixed into a smoothie that made her sick.
> Police received a report that Connor Bowman had used his Mayo Clinic credentials to access Betty Bowman’s patient account and electronic health records between August 16 and August 20. That was the period when she was hospitalized and dying. He claimed that Betty had given him permission to access her information.
> There was no allegation that at Conor Bowman changed any notes or information in Betty’s records but that he kept checking records from August 23 for a week or so.
> Police seized Connor Bowman’s electronic devices, including a University of Kansas laptop. In discussing the seizure with a university staffer, Bowman acknowledged he was a suspect in Betty Bowman’s death. Meanwhile, the university. had traced his internet browsing and found him searching for sodium nitrate, a food preservative that can limit oxygen transport though the body. He also searched for vendors selling the product. The university also said that Bowman’s had been researching colchicine, which is used to treat gout, He also browsed about whether evidence from police racking of Amazon deliveries can be used in court. Police had tracked package delivery on August 5.
> On August 10 Bowman searched for “food v. industrial grade sodium nitrate” and then searched for how medical professionals assess the lethality of substances. On the same day Bowman used Betty Bowman’s weight to determine what wouod be a lethal dose would be for colchicine, then searched for the substance on GoodRx.
> Bowman made purchases online around the time he was searching for liquid colchicine.
> Medical examiners found colchicine in Betty Bowman’s blood and urine. The level of colchicine in her blood on August 17 was 29 ng/mL, a large amount. This was about 24 hours after she first exhibited symptoms.
> The medical examiner declared that Betty Bowman’s death was the due to toxic effects of colchicine. The manner of death was as listed homicide.
> Bowman was arrested.
> Connor Bowman’s residence and located a receipt for a $450,000 bank deposit.