Dr. Connor Bowman, a 30-year-old doctor at Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, has been charged with first-degree murder and second-degree murder with intent for the poisoning death of his wife, Betty Bowman, 32.
Initially arrested in October, Dr. Bowman was initially charged with second-degree murder, but this was later upgraded. He is accused of using colchicine, a gout medication not prescribed to his wife, to fatally poison her. Suspicious of the circumstances surrounding her death and his insistence on cremation without an autopsy, medical examiners found the cause of death to be colchicine toxicity. Investigation revealed Dr. Bowman’s research into lethal dosages of colchicine and his efforts to cover his tracks online. Betty, a pharmacist at Mayo Clinic, experienced symptoms resembling food poisoning before her condition worsened, leading to cardiac issues, fluid accumulation in the lungs, and organ failure. Dr. Bowman had suggested a rare illness as the cause, but tests were inconclusive. He conducted his research using University of Kansas-owned devices while working as a poison specialist.