A poison expert and former medical resident at the Mayo Clinic has been indicted for the murder of his wife, who was fatally poisoned.
Connor Fitzgerald Bowman, 30, was previously arrested and charged with second-degree murder in late October 2023. Last week, a grand jury in Olmsted County, Minn., formally indicted Connor on an upgraded charge of first-degree murder, as well as second-degree murder with intent.
If Connor is found guilty of first-degree murder, he will be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, according to a press release from the Olmsted County Attorney’s Office announcing the indictment.
Prosecutors wrote that Connor’s wife Betty Bowman, who also worked at the Mayo Clinic as a pharmacist, “died from a poisoning.” The grand jury found probable cause that Connor premeditated her murder.
A police investigation found evidence that Connor used liquid colchicine, a treatment for gout that is toxic is high quantities, to fatally poison Betty, according to a criminal complaint filed in Minnesota district court.
Connor was completing medical school and worked as a poison specialist at the University of Kansas at the time of Betty’s death.
Betty, 32, suddenly became ill and was admitted to a hospital on Aug. 16, 2023 for severe gastrointestinal distress and dehydration. Her condition rapidly deteriorated and she died four days later on Aug. 20 after suffering from organ failure.
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While Betty was in the hospital, her husband suggested that she was suffering from hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis, also known as HLH, which is a rare immune deficiency disease.
Doctors tested for HLH but the results came back inconclusive. When Betty died, Connor told multiple people that she died from HLH, according to court documents. An online obituary for Betty states that she died from “a sudden onset autoimmune and infectious illness.”
After his wife died, Connor told medical examiners that she “should be cremated immediately” and claimed that Betty’s death was “natural,” the criminal complaint reads. He also attempted to cancel her autopsy, arguing that she “did not want to be a cadaver.”
The Medical Examiner’s Office ended up halting the cremation order for Betty due to “possible suspicious circumstances.”
Betty’s autopsy eventually revealed that she died of toxic effects of colchicine and her death was ruled a homicide.
At an unspecified time, the Medical Examiner’s Office received a call from a woman, who wasn’t identified in the court documents, who stated that Betty and Connor were having “marital issues and were talking about a divorce following infidelity and a deteriorating relationship.”
In interviews with some of the victim’s friends, police learned that Connor was in debt and the couple kept different bank accounts. Connor also allegedly told a friend that he was going to receive US$500,000 in life insurance as a result of his wife’s death.
Just before Betty was admitted to the hospital, she texted a friend that she was drinking with her husband and had fallen ill after ingesting a smoothie he had made for her.
Police obtained a search warrant for Connor’s online activity and it revealed internet searches for colchicine, as well as sodium nitrate, another poison. He also searched things like “internet browsing history: can it be used in court?” and “delete amazon data police” in early August.
On Aug. 10, Connor’s search history showed he converted his wife’s weight to kilograms and multiplied it by 0.8. According to the criminal complaint, 0.8 mg/kg is “considered the lethal dosage rate for colchicine.”
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Connor began searching to buy liquid colchicine online on the same date. Around the same time, police found evidence that Connor made a purchase through Stripe.com, a service used by online stores.
Connor was eventually arrested for his wife’s murder on Oct. 20, 2023.
Mayo Clinic spokesperson Amanda Dyslin released a statement after his arrest that did not identify Connor by name, but indicated he was a resident at the hospital.
“We are aware of the recent arrest of a former Mayo Clinic resident on charges unrelated to his Mayo Clinic responsibilities. The resident’s training at Mayo Clinic ended earlier this month,” the statement said. Dyslin did not say why the training ended.
A GoFundMe page has been set up in Betty’s memory, to raise funds for her memorial costs and other bills.
“I would like to sincerely thank everyone for their generous support on the GoFundMe page,” writes Betty’s mother Nancy Sponsel. “The donations have been overwhelming and I feel truly blessed to have so many wonderful people out there. This has exceeded more than I could ever imagine. I want to thank everyone again for your generosity. Betty was an amazing person and we miss her dearly.”
The GoFundMe has raised over US$13,000 of its US$15,000 goal as of Friday.
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