← True Crime with Kendall Rae
True Crime with Kendall Rae
Poison Expert Allegedly Spikes Wife’s Smoothie?! The Case of Betty Bowman
00:51:42
Loading summary
Transcript33 lines
- [00:00]
Kendall Rae
With a five dollar meal deal with new McValue. You pick a McDouble or a McChicken, then get a small fry, a small drink and a four piece McNuggets. That's a lot of McDonald's for not a lot of money.
- [00:12]
Connor Bowman
Prices and Participation may vary.
- [00:13]
Kendall Rae
McDouble meal, $6 in some markets for a limited time only. Why, hello everyone, and welcome back to yet another episode of True Crime with Kendall Rae. Thank you so much for joining me today. As always, I truly appreciate you spending your time with me. And to those of you who are new to the show, welcome. So happy to have you here. So, guys, today we're getting into a case that. Oh, it's just. It's like one of those where I just want to bash my head on the wall. It is so frustrating, so unnecessary. And the killer in this case is such an idiot. I can't believe people still try to do the things that he has done in the way that he has done it. It is so ridiculous. And the victim in this case, Betty Bowman, was such a beautiful soul. She was so kind, incredibly smart. She was a pharmacist at the Mayo Clinic nonetheless. And from what I've heard about her, from what I've read about her, she seemed to just be such a genuine person, one of the warmest and kindest people that so many had ever come across. From what I understand about her, Betty seemed to be someone took time to enjoy the little things in life, appreciated every little bit of life's beauty. Like I've heard an example where, you know, she would sometimes be late to things because she would stop and take in a rainbow. How many of us, when we see something beautiful outside, like a rainbow, for example, and we're running late, would take the time to stop and just enjoy it? Not many. She's described as someone who people feel they were lucky to know, lucky to have in their lives. And obviously I am telling you about her today and her story because her life was taken. And while the person who is accused of killing her has not yet been found guilty, many believe that the evidence is hard to ignore, myself included. And I feel like most of you will agree. And that being said, of course everyone I speak about in this episode is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. So Betty Jo Sponsel was born on December 13, 1990 in Wichita, Kansas, to her parents, Nancy and David. And she had one sister named Brianna. And she has been described as many great things. And I've already gone over some of those. But two Things that really stood out to me most was her kindness and her intelligence. Her mom said that even when she was young, Betty never was the type to yell or scream or get mad at anybody. She just had a very chill vibe about her. And she especially never talked negatively about other people. And that's something I find to be very rare in humans. I mean, I think we are all guilty of doing that, but that's something that her mom and others have noted, is that she just didn't really have that in her. She was just wanted the best for everyone else and was kind in the way she spoke about other people. She was also someone who always made the time for the people she loved and approached everything in life with a caring heart. I've also heard her described as someone who could really restore your faith in humanity. And if that's not one of the best qualities, you know, one of the best ways that someone can describe a person, one of the best compliments, then I don't know what is. Betty was described as a true, genuine friend, an incredible daughter, and someone that people really just felt lucky to know. And, oh, I cannot forget about her dog. Such a cute dog. I love corgis. And she had the best name for her, Cory Sir Crumpet the Second. I mean, that is seriously one of the best names I've ever heard for a dog. And Sir Crumpet the Second was her world. So, as you can imagine, she took him to as many places that she could. I mean, he was with her as often as she could have him around. Betty was someone who really loved to travel. And when he could go with her, Crumpet was a great companion. She also was outrageously Smart. And in 2017, she graduated from the University of Kansas's School of Pharmacy with a doctorate in pharmaceuticals. And a year after that, she completed her residency at a hospital in Topeka. KU is also where she got her undergraduate degree. And it just so happened to be where she met her future husband, Connor Bowman. Now, Connor was two years younger than her, but he was on somewhat of a similar trajectory with his career as she was. Like Betty, he got his doctorate degree in pharmacy as well from KU, but afterwards he started medical school at KU's medical center, and both of them, as of 2023, were employed by the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. Betty is a pharmacist and Connor as an internal medicine resident, which is obviously very impressive. If you aren't aware, the Mayo Clinic is one of the best hospitals in the country and is just highly regarded. It's so competitive, so hard to get into. So it's very impressive that both of them were there. So today I want to tell you about a product that I absolutely love.
- [05:24]
Connor Bowman
Something that I've been using for the past two and a half years and, you know, spent my own money on. After my daughter was born, I experienced a lot of hair thinning and shedding and I honestly was freaking out. There were times in the shower where giant clumps were coming out and I didn't know what to do. So I started looking into products online and also treatments that very expensive and looked painful. And that's when I found Neutral and I decided to give it a shot.
- [05:45]
Kendall Rae
And boy, am I happy I did.
- [05:46]
Connor Bowman
Because it has really, really transformed my hair. Neutrophil is the number one dermatologist recommended hair growth supplement brand trusted by over one and a half million people. And that's why this Mother's Day Neutrophil makes the perfect gift. There's something for every mom on your list. The postpartum formula is great for women in their first year after giving birth. The women's balance formula is Perfect for Women 45 and up experiencing perimenopause or menopause. And of course, the women's formula are great for those who are in between life stages. That's what I'm currently on. Of course, anything truly worthwhile does take time and effort. And with Neutral, you can see thicker, stronger, faster growing hair and less shedding in just three to six months. And that's about how long it took for me. I'd say probably closer to six months. But once I started seeing the results, I was so, so happy, I can't even tell you to finally have found something that really does work. So this Mother's Day, consider Neutral the bestselling hair growth supplement, whether you're gifting.
- [06:35]
Kendall Rae
To yourself or a loved one.
- [06:37]
Connor Bowman
NEUTRFUL is offering our listeners $10 off any order. Enjoy free shipping. When you subscribe, go to neutral.com and enter promo code Kendall Ray Gift. That's n neutrophil.com spelled n u t r a f o l.com promo code Kendall Ray Gift. Once again, neutrophil.com promo code Kendall Ray Gift.
- [06:55]
Kendall Rae
And Connor and Betty had gotten married in May of 2021 in Independence, Missouri. But with their work, Rochester is where they would end up living. And I wish I could say that things were going well there as far as their relationship goes, but that wasn't necessarily the case. I mean, really wasn't the case at all. And I need to give some context here. So Betty and Connor were in an open relationship, which is totally fine. Really works for some people. But as you probably know from people in your life who are in open relationships or things you've just heard, it can be really, really challenging. But it was something that they both wanted to do. It was something, you know, they agreed upon and were happy with, at least for a little while. But it did come with one pretty big condition, which was that neither of them could get emotionally attached to anyone else, which seems to be a common rule that people set in open relationships. And it totally makes sense to my understanding. They were basically allowed to be physical with other people. But as soon as any kind of emotional attachment formed, or, you know, wanting it to be something more than that, it was important that they broke it off. Now, I'm definitely not an expert in open relationships. I actually. I don't know anyone who has been in an open relationship, so I don't even have any personal context or comparison. But I know in monogamous relationships, communication is everything. And I'm sure this applies to any type of relationship in general. And in their situation, this was all that they were really asking of the other person to communicate. And I'm sure you see where this is going. But Connor was not honest with Betty. You see, there was a woman that Connor started seeing, and according to friends, he became infatuated with this other woman. I mean, almost obsessed with, you could say. And Betty just, over time, started to realize it. And so at one point, he and this other woman broke up. And I guess he was super, super depressed over it, more than he should be for a woman that, according to their agreement, he never should have been so attached to in the first place. Right. And eventually it got to the point where Betty told him that if he couldn't choose her over this other person, then it was, you know, it was time for them to probably get divorce proceedings started. And honestly, I do believe that she was inching towards divorce anyway because Connor had also been lying to her about money. And as we all know, that is actually one of the top reasons, if not the top reason, if I'm. I could be mistaken, but it's definitely up there in, like, the top three reasons that people end up getting a divorce. And Betty knew that he had a ton of debt from medical school, and because of that, they actually kept separate bank accounts, which was very smart on her part. But apparently one day she was just going through the mail, and that's how she ended up finding out that he was lying to her about how much debt he was actually in. And he was in quite a bit of debt, half a million dollars to be exact. Now, at this point in time, there aren't that many details about this, but it was definitely clear to her that he had been keeping secrets. And not to mention, the two of them also did not have the same opinion when it came to having kids. Connor wanted them, and Betty just wasn't quite ready. Her friends and family say that they all wanted her to leave Connor. And while they tried to get her to go, she was a second chance type of person. And personally, I think being able to give someone a second chance can be a great quality in a person. I always go back to this lyric from one of my favorite songs from Gregory Allen Isakov, and it's if there weren't second chances, then we'd all be alone. So I think in most situations, a second chance can be a great thing, right? And it's a great quality of Betty that she was willing to give him that second chance. So even when he was actively lying to her, Betty had hope that maybe he would change. And I don't know if Connor was capable of changing or if he wanted to change because that's really the main ingredient that someone needs. If they're going to actually make their life better or make their relationship better or whatever it is, they've got to want to do it themselves. You can bring a horse to water, you can't make a drink. Which brings me to August 16th of 2023. This was the day that Betty was admitted to the Mayo Clinic for what she believed was food poisoning. She'd been having diarrhea since like 2am and she was incredibly dehydrated. And so food poisoning kind of made sense. And that's what doctors also figured it was too. And that's what they treated her for. The problem though, is that she wasn't responding to any of the typical treatment that they would do for food poisoning. In fact, Betty was getting progressively worse over the course of four days. She experienced cardiac issues, fluid in her lungs, organ failure, and even had to undergo emergency surgery to remove a portion of her colon after they discovered that some of the tissue had died. And during this time, her mom, her sister, and also over a dozen friends came to visit her. But none of them could make sense of how Betty got so sick so suddenly. Eventually, in the hospital, she became unconsc. And you got to remember we're talking about an Otherwise perfectly healthy 32 year old woman who worked in health care. So to go from perfectly fine to having all of these major issues and going completely unconscious in the hospital, people couldn't wrap their mind around what was going on here, what's wrong with Betty? And doctors couldn't even really understand what was going on. But Connor, he had an explanation. Now, HLH stands for a condition that is very, very hard to say. I'm going to do my best, but bear with me. HLH stands for hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis. And HLH is rare. It's a life threatening disorder where the immune system attacks its own blood cells and organs. And Connor was telling people that this is what Betty had. And because your average person doesn't know what HLH is, it wasn't really something that they questioned. Plus, if you were to google it, you would see that the symptoms of HL mirrored what Betty was experiencing. I mean, the diarrhea, the organ failure, everything. It's also super hard to diagnose, which is why many people believe that he suggested it in the first place. But here's the thing, though. Betty did not have hlh. And we know that because Connor asked doctors to run a test for it, and it came back inconclusive. Don't forget, Connor was a med student and a resident at that hospital. So he wasn't some average Joe telling these doctors what to do. He had some cred. I mean, not a lot, but some. But despite the results coming back as inconclusive, he still confidently told people that that's what Betty had. And ultimately, it's what he told people that she died from. Because on August 20, four days after being admitted, Betty passed away from organ failure. But her exact cause of death had yet to be determined. Now, because the circumstances of her death were so sudden, the hospital sent her body to the medical examiner's office for an autopsy. Here's where things get super, super weird, though. Okay? Connor not only attempted to cancel the autopsy, but he practically begged them to cremate her immediately. Big red flag, right? And he said that this was because his wife didn't want to be a cadaver, so they needed to do this right away. He insisted that her death was natural and that they should just trust him and skip everything that they were planning to do to figure out why she died. And obviously, most of the time, when a loved one dies suddenly and you don't have answers as to what happened, most people want to go forward with an autopsy and try to figure it out. Most people of course, in some cases you may not want to for whatever reason, but the reasons that Connor had were certainly not good reasons. And after all that, he then emailed someone from the medical examiner's office asking if the toxicology analysis that they were planning to do was more thorough than the one that the hospital performed. And he even asked for a list of what exactly they planned to test for. So red flags with Connor are popping up left and right here. And luckily and not surprisingly, the medical examiner's office thought that this was a strange request too. Oh, and apparently a day after Betty died, while Connor was being weird, a friend called the medical examiner's office and reported that he and Betty were having problems in their marriage. Problems that we've already talked about things. Things like infidelity and plans for divorce. So that call, plus Connor's just strange behavior and weird requests made them think, huh, Something is not right here. And they not only ignored him and did the autopsy anyway, but they also alerted the Rochester Police Department that something was up.
- [16:20]
Connor Bowman
Life doesn't happen bi weekly, so why should Payday the money that you earn can be in your hands today with Earn In Now. Earn an is an app that gives.
- [16:27]
Kendall Rae
You access to your pay as you.
- [16:29]
Connor Bowman
Work up to 150 per day with a max of 750 between paydays. Just download the Earn an app and verify your paycheck. Then access up to 150 a day as you work and leave an optional tip. Any money that you access, plus tips are automatically repaid from your next paycheck.
- [16:44]
Kendall Rae
This could really come in handy for a special night out, maybe a last.
- [16:47]
Connor Bowman
Minute gift for a loved one. Or in our case, it's always nice to have something like this for an unexpected trip to the vet because you never know how much you're going to end up paying there. So make Earn In a part of your financial routine and join Earn In's over 4 million customers who say things like When I think of Earnin, I think about financial stability, security. It gives me a lot of peace of mind. So download Earn in today.
- [17:07]
Kendall Rae
That's spelled E A R N I.
- [17:09]
Connor Bowman
N in the Google Play or Apple App Store. When you download the Earn in app, type in True Crime with Kendall Ray under Podcast when you sign up. It really helps the show. That's True Crime with Kendall Rae under Podcast. Earn in is a financial technology company, not a bank. Cash outs are based on your available earnings. Standard cash outs take one to two business days with no mandatory fees option.
- [17:27]
Kendall Rae
To expedite your transfer For a fee.
- [17:28]
Connor Bowman
Tips are voluntary and do not affect the service. See the cash out user agreement for details. Service is not available in all states.
- [17:38]
Kendall Rae
Now, I don't want to deviate too far from the investigation, but just listen to this. After Betty passed away, Connor wrote her obituary. And despite HLH not being her cause of death, he still listed that she died from a, quote, sudden onset autoimmune disease and infectious illness. And I think, understandably, a lot of her friends and family were sort of torn about what they thought had happened. I mean, on one hand, they considered Betty a healthy person. I mean, certainly not an unhealthy person. And at no point had she ever mentioned having this rare autoimmune disorder, which felt suspicious. And on the other hand, it's not like any of them were outwardly talking about their health problems. So they figured maybe this was something that she just kept to herself, which, of course, people do keep health conditions to themselves, and it's absolutely their right to do so. So, overall, it seems like most people in her life were just feeling confused. And one thing's for sure, everyone in her life was just shocked. And especially, well, almost everybody was really besides themselves with grief. Understandably. Connor, though, as you could have guessed, not so much. And his behavior got even weirder because one of Betty's closest friends, her name is Sarah, later told investigators that only three days after Betty died, that girl that he had been seeing came over to the house. And by that point, Connor had already taken down all of Betty's photos. Why would anyone do this? Why would any grieving husband do this? I mean, you just wouldn't, right? I mean, maybe in certain situations, I don't want to have, like, a blanket. Everyone wouldn't do this. I think it's very rare to take down all their photos. Of course, I'm sure there are people who just can't, you know, look at the person in those moments or whatever the case may be. But this really stood out to people as very strange behavior. Understandably so. Not to mention her friend Sarah felt like Connor was sort of just indifferent, almost even happy, even though his wife had just suddenly died. And I guess he even invited some of Betty's friends over to take some of her belongings. And this is when Sarah witnessed Connor smiling, hugging, and kissing this other girl that he had been seeing. Now, obviously, we do know that they were in an open relationship, but it just felt like he wasn't showing any signs of grief at all. And let's be honest. I mean, we know that Betty was Not okay with Connor's relationship with this other woman because it had turned into more of an emotional attachment versus just a casual hookup or, you know, situation like that. And so overall, it's pretty disrespectful, if you ask me. I mean, if you ask really anyone to be bringing this person around after your wife has just died into your home. And if you think all of that is bizarre, just wait until you hear everything else that they uncovered during their investigation. So once the Rochester Police Department got involved, things moved very fast. After speaking with some of Betty's friends and family, as well as executing a few search warrants, they realized that their suspicions may have been spot on. Detective Kendrick took the lead on the case, and he spoke to a guy that Betty was dating. And remember, there's nothing wrong with her dating. It was a casual situation, as far as we know. And they just refer to this guy as SS I'm not sure what his name is. And it's. That doesn't really matter. That's just how he's referred to in the criminal complaint. And he shed some light on what the days were like leading up to her death. According to this guy ss he and Betty were messaging on August 14th, which is when she told him that she had the next few days off of work. Betty had mentioned to him that she was looking forward to spending some time with him during these couple of days off. And on the 15th, the two of them did see each other, and they also continued to message on and off throughout the day. And then that night, though, Betty mentioned something important to the case. She told this guy that she was at home with Connor and the two of them were drinking. And I don't believe they were heavily drinking or anything. She had just mentioned that she had a drink. And then the next morning, she said something even more interesting. She told this guy SS that she couldn't see him that day because she had been getting sick since 2am which she herself attributed to the drink that Connor had made for her, which he had actually mixed into a smoothie. Now, she said it was so bad that she hadn't slept, she couldn't even walk, actually, and that she needed to go to the emergency room. So it was bad, and she knew it was bad. Betty also mentioned that she thinks the reason that she was sick was because of the smoothie that Connor had made for her. Now, SS Said that he immediately felt like something was really weird here because he knew that. That Connor wasn't really the type of guy to make her a smoothie and it wasn't until days later, after Betty had passed, that he realized how weird it actually was. And then there was Sarah's conversation with detectives. Now, she is referred to as SEL in the criminal complaint, but we now do know that it was her. And she explained that she also had texted Betty on the 16th, and that's when she learned that her friend was super sick and going to the hospital. And Betty even mentioned that things were going downhill. And of course, Sarah thought the whole thing was strange because as far as she knew, Betty was a really healthy person. Oh, and listen to this. Apparently, right after she died, Connor told Sarah that he was going to get $500,000 from her life insurance policy. Ding, ding, ding. I'm sure a lot of you can see where this is going, because this happens so very often. And I'm sorry, but who is thinking about money? I mean, life insurance policies, right after your wife dies, the love of your life or who is supposed to be dies. Maybe someone who is also coincidentally, $500,000 in debt. Pretty interesting, if you ask me. And then Sarah was also the person who told detectives about Betty and Connor's separate bank accounts, you know, because of his debt. And I'm sure things are really starting to click here for you. And it was clicking for investigators as. And guess what, it gets even worse. Because imagine what Connor had been doing the last six years. He had worked for the poison control center at the University of Kansas Health system. And I'm sure most of you are familiar with what a poison control center does. People call if they have ingested something or if someone they know, maybe even a child, has accidentally ingested something that could potentially be poison. And the operators then advise them on if they need medical attention or not, which, as I'm sure you would probably guess, gave him certain knowledge and access to information regarding different types of poison. And so they searched the laptop that the university had provided him, and it revealed something that you were all going to find very interesting. And real quickly, for some context here, it was actually an employee of KU who contacted detectives and told them that they had information that they should probably know about. And here's what they said. Apparently, Connor told them that he was a suspect in his wife's death, and that prompted them to pull his data. And this dumbass must have thought that his searches were private, because the computer had a VPN authentication installed, which just means that the computer had to verify that it was Connor before he could access the secure network. But little did dummy dums know, his employers could actually see everything that he was looking up. And what's even crazier is this is something that his employers had told him when he got the computer. And I guess he just forgot because listen to this. Connor was over here searching, researching colchicine. Now, we have talked about colchicine before, and I'm sure many of your heads are already going in this direction because of the symptoms that she was experiencing. I don't know if you guys remember this or not, but back in 2023, I covered the case of Mary Yoder. If you haven't seen it, I'll link it below. But that was, I think, the first case where I personally heard about colchicine. But if you don't know what it is, it's actually a medication that they use to treat gout, but it's highly toxic if you take too much of it or if you take it when you don't need it. And here's why. They knew right away that this was suspicious, because investigators learned that Connor never received a call about colchicine or even about gout, and neither did any of his co workers. So there was absolutely no reason that Connor needed to be looking up colchicine. And he made that search on August 5th, in addition to also searching for these things and get ready because it is so dumb. I just, I really can't believe that where we are in society and, you know, this day and age with technology, that people still don't understand that if you search for these things, investigators are going to find out. But let's go over some of those things that he was looking up, starting with Internet browsing history. Can it be used in court police Track package deliver and delete Amazon data police. He also looked up VPN sodium nitrate and Google shop pages for vendors selling sodium nitrate. Now, sodium nitrate, I'm sure many of you know, is actually, actually very common. It's used in food preservation. So think of cured meats like hot dogs, maybe sausage. It keeps food from going bad, but if it is consumed in high doses, it can be lethal. And it's also important to note that it is water soluble, so it dissolves in water quickly and would be pretty easy to hide in something like, I don't know, a smoothie. And then on August 10th, Connor searched food versus industrial grade sodium nitrate, and he accessed a medical journal that discussed the lethality of different substances. And then he used his computer to convert Betty's weight to kilograms. And then he multiplied it by 0.8. And 0.8 is considered the lethal dose for colchicine. So that shows us that he was allegedly looking into how much colchicine he would need to give Betty in order for her to die. And the following day, he went on to the Goodrx website and looked up liquid colchicine. And around that time, he visited the website stripe.com which is an online payment platform. It's also been reported that he bought a gift card for an online pharmacy which sells, you guessed it, colchicine. And later on, investigators learned that he made a $52 purchase for colchicine from the website truepill.com and he did so using his Mayo Clinic employee email. That's right. Right. He used his employee email to make the purchase. I mean, there are really no words to describe what a dumbass this man truly is. And this is also a fun fact. He also made a fun little purchase for an erectile dysfunction drug. Trouble getting hard, you know, after knowing what you're going to be doing to your wife, potentially. And if all of that weren't enough, Connor then allegedly reached out to the online pharmacy provider and asked them to delete his account and delete his purchase history, because he said that his wife fraudulently made these purchases pretending to be him. But wait, there's more. Connor was apparently accessing Betty's patient portal and health records without the hospital's consent. Well, initially, she did give him access to look at it and review it, but when she died, that access went away. However, Connor doesn't seem to care about much much and doesn't really think through anything he does, it seems. So he went in and accessed it anyway. And on the 22nd, he apparently created a documentation encounter, but he didn't do anything to it. So he basically created a blank note. And in doing so, he was identified as part of her care team, which allowed him to look at her records without entering his credentials. And according to the criminal complaint, from August 23rd through the 31st, he was viewing images, medications, notes, and other encounters. Clearly, this is a big no, no. And anyone that works in the medical field, or really any professional field, knows that you can't be doing shit like this. But Connor is stupid. I mean, I don't know how else to say it, and it never really ceases to amaze me how stupid people can actually be. But as I always say, we love stupid because stupid gets caught. And the other thing I always say, and that I will never understand, is why you don't just get a damn divorce. Why is killing someone a better option in someone's mind? It is so twisted. I will seriously never get it. And it's going to be so much easier than going to jail for the rest of your life, potentially. And thankfully, that is what Connor is facing. On October 20, 2023, after her blood and urine samples contained elevated levels of colchicine in her system, Connor Bowman was arrested and charged with second degree murder. He had the option of either a 2 million DOL conditional bail, where he would have to wear a GPS monitor, or a $5 million unconditional bail. And ultimately, they have found no evidence to suggest that Betty had gout. And they also knew that the hospital never administered colchicine to her, meaning that there was only one explanation for how it got into her system, and that's that she was poisoned. And obviously, at this point, Connor's involvement is, of course, alleged, but Betty's cause of death certainly isn't. It is a fact that colchicine is what killed Bet and that her manner of death is homicide. And with all the evidence that I just presented to you, investigators were able to go ahead and make the arrest. They also executed a search warrant on his house, where they ended up finding a receipt for a $450,000 bank deposit. It's not explained in much detail, but I think the implication here, obviously, is that this money came from her life insurance. And clearly that amount is almost equal to what Connor owed. So this suggests a potential motive. Now, after he was arrested, I think things started to really click for people in her life. You know, things were making sense about the weird comments that he was making and the behaviors that he was exhibiting right after Betty died, and here are a few examples. After her funeral, Connor was talking to a mutual friend, a friend that went to medical school. And he was asking, in her professional opinion, what she thought of Betty's lab reports. And in the moment, they thought that he was just trying to make sense of her sudden death, of course, but now they think it's possible that he was trying to gauge whether anyone could see something that would point to his guilt. At the time, nothing seemed, you know, nothing seemed out of place or unusual or. But you. I start to look back now, and you think, well. Well, you know, maybe what was that about? You just start getting haunted by little, little things that you would think nothing of at the time, because why would you. And then we need to talk about Betty's funeral, because that's also an interesting topic here, because it happened before Connor was arrested, and he was actually the one who planned the funeral, which was not surprising. It actually was alarmingly clear, as many people who attended could have said, because the whole thing felt like it was kind of about him. There weren't any pictures of Betty with her family. And Sarah said, like, it almost felt like Connor was trying to prove how close the two of them were. But what's strange about that, though, is Connor ended up not showing up to the Celebration of Life that her family had hosted for Betty, which is just so, so disrespectful and totally bizarre. But I guess this, in hindsight, I'm really glad that his sorry ass didn't go, because at least then they can have that memory untainted by his, you know, who knows what weird behavior he would have exhibited there. But I wanted to talk a little bit more about the Celebration of Life event that her family hosted. And I love this, but the celebration was Rainbow Pride and Corgi theme, because those were the things that were most important to Betty. I don't believe I've mentioned this earlier, but she was bisexual and was a proud member of the LGBTQ+ community. Her family even had people donate to the Trevor Project in her memory, which is the leading suicide prevention and crisis intervention, non profit organization for LGBTQ plus young people. Now, Connor also asked people to make donations there, and he raised $4,000 for the organization, which is the only, and I mean only, props I will give him. And I don't even feel like he really deserves that because I think that was more performative than anything. And another strange thing Connor did is, is he went up to some of her friends and asked them what they told investigators, which, in my opinion, shouldn't really matter if you didn't do anything, right? And unfortunately, this case and Connor's behavior got even worse because it turns out that this alleged incident wasn't the first time that he may have tried to poison her. Of course, this is not confirmed, at least in any legal capacity. But. But a friend of Betty's reported that on August 10, Connor made Betty a smoothie. And this friend was actually at the house when Betty started to drink it. And I guess it tasted strange to her. So she had this friend take a sip, and apparently when she did, it tasted bitter and salty, which of course is not something that most people are expecting when you take a sip of a smoothie. And the friend, actually, this is eerie, joked with Betty that maybe Connor was trying to poison her. And I believe that this was completely, you know, meant as a joke at the time, in hindsight is 20 20, of course, but I guess Betty sort of Joked along with her. They kind of laughed about it, and then just chucked the smoothie and forgot about the whole thing. But this friend even mentioned that she thought the fact that he made her a smoothie to begin with was strange because, as she put it, he never made anything for anybody. It seems so weird to me that Betty and Connor were even together in the first place because. Because Betty is described as this person who is so caring, willing to do anything for anybody. And Connor, it would surprise people if he would do something as little as make a smoothie for his wife. Like, I don't know. It's bizarre. But once investigators learned about this, I mean, looking back, they wonder if this had been the first attempt. And of course, we don't know for sure, but it seems that way.
- [37:13]
Evan Jess
Foreign.
- [37:19]
Kendall Rae
So kind of in the background of all of this, there were a number of search warrants that were being executed, and mostly on electronic data like computers, bank accounts, phones, those kinds of things. And that's actually how they ended up getting a lot of information about how and when Connor purchased the colchicine. And earlier, I told you that he bought it through True Pill, but the specific retailer was actually Mark Cuban's Cost plus drug company. And also, through these search warrants, they were able to find more about Connor's search history. And it keeps getting dumber, you guys, because we learned that two days before Betty died, he Googled, is widow gender neutral? Like, he was trying to figure out if widow was a gender neutral term. Like, I'm guessing, because he was wondering if it would apply to him. And he was also looking up a substance called oil of wintergreen, which. Which, like sodium nitrate, can be poisonous if too much is ingested. So things were really not looking good for Mr. Connor. And investigators also learned about some of his online activity after she died. And get prepared to be pissed off, you guys. Rocks for brains over here. Was back on Bumble only nine days after she died. And on September 5, he actually changed his profile on Bumble to indicate that he was a widow. You know, bring in the sympathy. I mean, truly, what a sick, heartless person to just be back on these dating apps as if nothing had happened only nine days later. I mean, I don't know if this man even has a heart in his body. And one of the women that he was talking with on Bumble actually asked if he was okay to be flirting so soon after his wife had passed. And Connor legitimately told her that this is what his wife would have wanted. I mean, truly, what a sick person. I mean, of course I don't know Betty personally, but I can imagine what she would have wanted was the opportunity to divorce you and to still be alive. But what do I know? And it gets even worse because Connor was telling a few different women a few different stories about Betty's death. Like, like what killed her. There was a different explanation for everyone as far as when she died, how she died, etc. I mean, he was just really seeking the sympathy to, I mean, bring women in. I mean, how sick can you be? He even told one of them that she died of listeria poisoning over a year ago. And then he told someone else that she died from a morphine overdose earlier that summer. And he even told one woman about the half a million dollar life insurance policy and, and he was already telling some of his friends about that as well. So essentially this man was bragging about the large amount of insurance money he was about to make off of his dead wife. I mean, what a sicko. There really aren't any words for Connor. And obviously all of this makes him look like a heartless, sick asshole, but it also doesn't make him look good in the eyes of the law because with his knowledge of poison and his background in medicine, anything other than grieving is naturally going to make him seem suspicious. So the fact that he was just outwardly blabbing to a lot of just random people that he didn't even know about the money, I mean, yikes, dude. And again, it's all still alleged at this point. But a lot of his actions here are clearly suggesting premeditation. And while he wasn't initially charged with premeditated murder, they did eventually tack that on. On January 5, 2024, Connor was indicted on a single charge of first degree murder, which is in addition to the second degree charge that already facing. And if he is convicted, and I really, really hope he is, he faces a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole. And I wish I had a trial date that I could give you guys at this point in time, but it seems that that is still up in the air and there's been a few delays and whatnot. And sometimes it does just take a while for trials to be scheduled. It's just the nature of it, especially because there are a few hearings that need to take place beforehand. The defense, no surprise here, has tried to get a ton of evidence thrown out, especially when it relates to the electronic data. But for the most part, those efforts have luckily been unsuccessful. And back In June of 2024, his attorneys filed 12 motions. And later in August, the response was that their motions weren't specific enough. So they had the chance to go back and explain why they wanted certain evidence to be tossed. And basically the two big questions at stake are whether Connor had had a reasonable expectation of privacy while using his work computer and whether the warrants had enough probable cause to seize that information. Now, there was a hearing in September to go over these questions which again, the defense really tried to question the validity of the search warrants and the scope of what information was seized. The thing is though, they still weren't being specific enough about what evidence they believe was obtained without probable cause. So the judge basically had to be like, okay, you have until the end of the month to spell this out more clearly. And then October, the Judge ruled that five of their 12 motions were straight up dismissed. So I'm sure you're wondering about the other motions. Well, five of the motions she still hadn't decided on and she said they would be discussed at a later date. And then two of their motions, she did actually end up ruling in their favor. She said that he did have the reasonable expectation of privacy related to motions 4 and 9. And motion 4 discussed the 14 electronic devices that were seized from the Bowman house. And then Motion 9 had to do with Connor searching and using the website True Pill as well as Mark Cuban's Cost plus drug company. And if you remember, that's where he allegedly purchased the colchicine. But fear not, because this did not mean that the evidence was thrown out. All it means is that the defense is able to challenge the admissibility and possibly have it excluded from being brought up in the trial. Possibly. And on February 10th of 2025, they were back in court challenging it all over again. Both sides called a witness to the stand. And it sounds like it was a lot of the same thing really. The defense's witness spoke to how much data was collected and how the amount of data they got was beyond the scope of the search warrants. And the prosecution's witness spoke about how the data was extracted and explained that they basically can't pick and choose what information they receive. But he assured judged that any non evidentiary information would not be considered in their investigation.
- [44:02]
Olivia Prazinski
Today, protecting the privacy of patients while reviewing electronic data for trial was the.
- [44:08]
Kendall Rae
Focus of the defense and prosecution. Kimt News. There's Evanberg was in the courtroom while Bowman appeared for a contested omnibus hearing. He has the latest breakdown from the courtroom.
- [44:21]
Evan Jess
Evan Jess, A big sticking point for the past several months of this case has been filed that were seized by the Rochester Police Department's technology Forensics unit. And whether or not any medical records seized during that search violated the scope of RPD's warrant. Over nine terabytes of data were seized from Bowman's work laptops, his personal computer and his iPhone. Today, the court went over the files seized from his personal devices. Bowman's defense is seeking to find evidence of medical privacy violations and exploratory rummaging to help prove. To prove that, Tara Olson, an investigator with the county public defender's office, went over what she's found so far. Some of the files she's cataloged include Google Drive and iCloud data, PDFs, and around 20 screenshots of patients private medical details. The state called a witness of their own, RPD's Detective Brock Newman, who was part of the team that conducted the search. Newman argued that using the software tools he had available, it wouldn't have been possible to pull data or analyze selectively. He testified that doing so would have limited the scope of the search and hindered the investigation.
- [45:24]
Kendall Rae
And because, of course, it's a legal system and things just tend to take forever, it feels like no decision was actually made, in fact. The defense then had the chance to file several more arguments which came to light on March 10th. The defense attorneys for the former Mayo Clinic doctor accused of poisoning his wife.
- [45:44]
Olivia Prazinski
Making a big push to get some.
- [45:45]
Kendall Rae
Of the evidence dismissed from an impending trial.
- [45:48]
Olivia Prazinski
Connor Bowman is charged with first degree.
- [45:50]
Kendall Rae
Murder for his wife Betty Bowman's death in August 2023. KGDC's Olivia Prazinski joins us live in the studio tonight. Olivia, in looking through these lengthy court documents, why do the defense attorneys believe some evidence should be thrown out?
- [46:04]
Olivia Prazinski
Yeah, Brock and Kaitlyn, there are two main arguments in the court filings. First, that some warrants fail to sufficiently identify items that need to be seized, which is a constitutional requirement. And second, investigators seized large amounts of private health information, violating medical privilege. There were three briefs filed making their arguments to the judge. The first document challenges some of the warrants failed to meet a standard, meaning the warrants were overbroad and lacked specificity. The defense attorneys arguing investigators were rummaging through electronic devices. The documents allege some seized items might include First Amendment material. The defense team giving an example that authorities seized documents referencing death and or research involving substances that can result in death inside the home of a practicing physician. The second court filing alleges some searches violated medical privilege, noting the Bowmans were both medical professionals and Connor worked also remotely for poison control. Again, the defense arguing the warrants failed to be specific and limitations resulted in the seizure of vast digital data spanning years, if not decades. The final court document continues the argument that medical privilege was violated. According to the brief, large amounts of private health information was collected, which Connor's defense team argues that data is protected by doctor patient press privilege. The defense team goes on to add that the innocent third parties are protected from unreasonable searches, and this type of information requires the highest level of reasonableness to access. The attorneys say those searches were unreasonable.
- [47:43]
Kendall Rae
And as of the day that I'm recording this, which is April 11, the judge still hasn't made a decision. I was hoping that a decision would come in early April, but I haven't seen anything pop up yet. I even checked right before recording and. And nothing yet. Although if something does come up between the date that I record this and the date that it goes up, I will of course pin a comment or put something in the description box or show notes, something like that, to let you guys know. The process of getting justice can be so lengthy, so frustrating, and just so emotionally draining for those involved. And so I really, you know, just feel bad for Betty's loved ones at this point that they have to go through this whole process and wait for everything on top of all the grief they're dealing with. I do really believe that there's tons of very solid evidence here. So I think it's very possible that justice is right on the horizon for Betty, and I personally feel confident in that. Of course, you never really know, but at this point, I think it's just important that we try to show Betty's family, you know, her friends and loved ones, as much support as we possibly can. And you guys always do an amazing job of that in the comments or, you know, reaching out to them in other ways ways. And I know that that really goes a long way to feel like you're not alone in the fight, because the fight for justice can really feel lonely. Also, if you're interested in showing them some extra support, they do have a GoFundMe and it was set up by her friend Sarah, who I've mentioned in this episode. And 100 of the donations will be given directly to Betty's mom, Nancy. They're raising money for all the expenses they're having to take on as a result of her death. And guys, they're really, really close to reaching their goal. It's possible they're already there by the time that you open it, but if they haven't yet reached that number, I. If we could give them that final push. When I'm recording this, I believe there's only $1300 left until they hit 15,000. So if you even have a dollar, I mean, it makes a huge difference. My team and I will also be reaching out to them to see if they're interested in getting a hope grant from my foundation, Higher Hope. Because there's just really no reason they should have to take on these costs alone. I mean, they should never had to have been in this situation in the first place. And any support that we can offer, we are happy to do so. This case just heartbreaking on so many levels. I mean, Betty was so young and had so much life ahead of her. So many opportunities to affect people's lives in a positive way, and now she doesn't have the chance to do that because Connor is such a selfish, miserable, evil person. In my opinion, she truly deserves so much better than what happened to her. And hopefully I'll be able to update you guys soon that she finally got justice. And I'm sure some of you are curious out there. And so I did want to give you an update on Sir Crumpet ii. He is just such a cute boy. And the update is he's doing just fine. I was very happy to hear that he is in the care of Betty's family and he's being spoiled by all of her loved ones. But, yeah, I'm looking forward to seeing justice for Betty. You know, like I said, you never really know, but I feel really confident that that really is, you know, gonna be coming soon. And I hope that provides some type of relief in some way to her family and her friends. I mean, she was loved by so many, so many people, and I look forward to hopefully connecting with them and hopefully we can help in some way. I mean, I know that nothing can bring her back. No justice, no amount of financial support, but, you know, hopefully that will make a difference at least and kind of ease some of the stress. That is going to be it for me today. Guys, thank you for joining me for another episode. And make sure you follow the show on Spotify and Apple podcasts. It really does help me out. If you want to watch the video version of this show, you can find.
- [51:41]
Connor Bowman
It on my YouTube channel, which will.
- [51:43]
Kendall Rae
Be linked, or you can just search Kendall Rae. I will be back with another episode soon, but until then, stay safe out there.