Betty Jo Bowman of Rochester, Olmsted County, Minnesota, United States has died. She was 32.
Bowman worked as a hospital pharmacist in Rochester while her husband Dr. Connor Fitzgerald Bowman, 30, went through an internal medicine residency. They both worked at Mayo Clinic and he used to work in poison control in Kansas, USA.
Born in Wichita, Kansas, Betty earned her pharmaceutical doctorate from the University of Kansas School of Pharmacy in 2017. On May 30, 2021, she and Connor got married at The Rhapsody in Independence, Missouri, USA.
Due to infidelity issues, Betty and Connor were allegedly talking about filing for divorce. On August 15, 2023, she felt sick after drinking with him.
Connor is accused of poisoning Betty. His laptop from the University of Kansas was searched by the university, which found internet searches for colchicine, sodium nitrate and hiding information from police on the laptop.
On August 16, 2023, Betty was admitted to a hospital with severe gastrointestinal distress and dehydration. While her symptoms were similar to food poisoning, she did not respond to standard treatments.
At the hospital, Betty continued to deteriorate. She experienced cardiac issues, fluid in her lungs and eventually organ failure.
Doctors discovered that part of Betty’s colon was necrotic so she was taken into surgery. Connor suggested to the doctors that she was suffering from hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis.
Connor told different people that Betty died from the rare autoimmune disease and included it in her obituary. However, testing from her came back inconclusive for it.
A toxicology report listed colchicine as a substance in Betty’s system although she did not suffer from any ailments that would require the drug. On August 20, 2023, she passed away.
On October 20, 2023, Connor was arrested, booked into the Olmsted County Adult Detention Center in Rochester and charged with second-degree murder with intent but not premeditated. Police officers found a receipt for a bank deposit of $450,000 in his residence in Rochester.
Due to debt, Betty and Connor had separate bank accounts. He was going to receive $500,000 in life insurance following her death.
Judge Lisa Hayne ordered Connor be held on $2 million bail or bond. On November 1, 2023, he will be back in court.
CONAN Daily 