A recent warrant release suggests that Dr. Connor Bowman, a former Mayo Clinic doctor accused of fatally poisoning his wife after their open marriage failed, may have referred to himself as a widower on the dating app Bumble even before her death.
Dr. Connor Bowman Accused of Poisoning Wife
Dr. Bowman, 31, faces murder charges following the death of his wife, pharmacist Betty Bowman, 32, who fell seriously ill and died from organ failure in Rochester, Minnesota, on August 20 allegedly after ingesting a drug used to treat gout.
The warrant, released Tuesday indicates that Bowman had been communicating with multiple women on the dating app around the time of his wife's alleged murder.
Investigators are seeking Bumble's cooperation to access Bowman's conversations and details about when he changed his marital status on his profile.
Phone records show that Bowman looked up the gender-neutral/masculine version of the word "widow" on August 18 - just two days before Betty died.
At least one woman who matched with him on the app later told police that his profile identified him as a widower. However, it remains unclear when the change to his dating profile status was made.
'Widower' Doctor Told Different Stories to Women About His Wife's Death
Bowman, a poison specialist, allegedly provided different stories to the women about what happened to his wife in the weeks following her death.
One woman claimed she matched with him on September 5 and asked if it was appropriate for him to flirt with others after his wife's death. Bowman allegedly responded that he was okay with moving on to a new person and that Betty would have wanted him to be happy.
He allegedly told another woman that his wife had died from listeria poisoning earlier in the summer. Another woman claimed she was led to believe that Betty had died earlier while on comfort care due to a morphine overdose approximately a year prior.
A woman who matched with Bowman on August 29, nine days after Betty's death, found it strange that he brought up a large life insurance payout he'd received and that he had used it to pay off his student loan debt.
Bowman was seized in October and accused of first- and second-degree murder over his wife's death. Toxicology reports disclosed the presence of the drug colchicine, used to treat gout, in Betty's system the day after she was hospitalized.
Following her death, Bowman supposedly tried to discourage the medical examiner's office from executing an autopsy and advocated for instant cremation, claiming her death was "natural."
He specified in Betty's obituary that she suffered from hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis, a rare illness where the immune system attacks the body's organs.
One of Betty's friends reported to the police that her marriage was declining due to infidelity and other issues. Friends claimed the couple had an open relationship but that Bowman had developed an emotional connection to another woman, leading his wife to threaten divorce.
Bowman is currently held in the Olmsted County Adult Detention Center on $2 million bail and is scheduled to appear in court on June 11.
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