Murder suspect who initially fled, awarded bond in recent hearing
Published 7:00 am Saturday, February 1, 2020
During a bond hearing held Thursday, 61-year-old Charles Bowman was granted bond in relation to his alleged involvement with the first-degree murder of his wife Kathleen Bowman in 2018.
This decision comes after Bowman was initially denied bond during a court appearance in September 2018, according to previous coverage.
Bowman fled the area after the Pearl River County Sheriff’s Department began investigating the disappearance of his wife.
The case began in the summer of 2018, when concerned family members contacted the Sheriff’s Department because they had not heard from Kathleen Bowman since Mother’s Day, previous coverage states. Deputies conducted a welfare check at the Bowmans’ home, but Charles Bowman told them that he was the only person home, according to previous coverage.
At a later date, the home was searched again after investigators received a tip from a Gulf Coast law enforcement agency. While Bowman was not home during that search because he had already fled, charred human remains were found, according to previous coverage. The remains were identified as those of Kathleen Bowman by a forensic anthropologist and forensic odontologist, previous coverage states.
After more than two weeks on the run, Bowman was captured in July of 2018 by the U.S. Marshals Service at a campground in Utah, according to previous coverage. A bond hearing held shortly after his capture led to his request for bond being denied.
However, on Thursday, Bowman was granted a $75,000 property bond that will include electronic monitoring, said 15th District Attorney Hal Kittrell. Sometimes posting property is more difficult than a cash bond, said Kittrell. The bond includes conditions Bowman must abide by, said Kittrell. Bowman will have a 6 p.m. curfew, law enforcement will monitor him once a week, he will not be allowed to have alcohol, drugs, pornography or firearms, he will not be allowed to leave Pearl River County, except to meet with his attorney, and he must contact his attorney by email or phone at least twice a week. Court Judge Prentiss Harrell presided over that bond hearing.
The District Attorney’s office asked the court to grant a continuance to allow the office additional time to go through other documents gained in the investigation and give those documents to Bowman’s defense attorney, Kittrell said. Along with a bond, the court granted continuance until May 4.
The defense filed a motion for the bond, leading to the court taking the matter up, Kittrell said.
“We were opposed, but the court granted bond,” Kittrell said.
The Pearl River County Sheriff’s Department referred all comments about Bowman being granted bond to the 15th District Attorney’s office.