Calvert Police Recover Frozen Remains of Two Children

Post by tiny dancer
Calvert Police Recover Frozen Remains of Two Children
By Matt Zapotosky and Debbi Wilgoren
Washington Post Staff Writers
Monday, September 29, 2008; 10:04 AM
Calvert County sheriff's deputies on Saturday recovered the bodies of two
small children from a standalone freezer after being called to a
neighborhood in Lusby to investigate the report of an injured child.
In a news release issued this morning, authorities said they had arrested a
woman who allegedly told them the children were her adopted daughters and
their remains had been frozen since at least February.
The woman, 43-year-old Renee Bowman, allegedly also told investigators that
she had beaten a third adopted daughter. That girl, aged 7, was found by
investigators Saturday after escaping from a locked bedroom by jumping out
the window, the Calvert sheriff's office said.
Bowman was charged with child abuse in connection with the 7-year-old. At a
hearing this morning in Calvert District Court, Judge Robert Riddle ordered
her held without bond.
Authorities said the two dead children's remains were encased in a block of
ice, and their identities likely will not be confirmed until the ice melts
and autopsies can be performed,
Because Bowman allegedly told investigators that she had moved to Lusby from
Rockville in February, and had brought the children's remains with her,
authorities believe the girls died in Rockville, investigators said. Any
criminal charges relating to their deaths would therefore likely come from
Montgomery County, rather than Calvert.
Bowman allegedly told investigators she had adopted all three girls from the
District of Columbia.
The investigation began Saturday morning, after a tipster reported that a
young girl was wandering around a neighborhood in Lusby neighborhood
unattended, said Detective Sgt. Michael Moore of the Calvert Investigative
Team.
When authorities arrived in the neighborhood around 9:30 a.m., Moore said,
they saw that the 7-year-old girl was wounded and transported her to
Children's Hospital.
The girl told hospital officials that she had been beaten by her mother,
whom she identified as Bowman. Investigators said the girl had been locked
in a second-floor bedroom in a home on Buckskin Trail, and had jumped out
the window to escape.
Bowman came to the sheriff's office later on Saturday, after learning they
had found her daughter. According to investigators, "she confessed to
beating the victim with a 'hard heeled shoe.' " Detectives obtained a search
warrant for the house on Buckskin Trail in an effort to find the shoe and
other evidence, a release issued by the sheriff's department said. While
searching the house, they found human remains -- apparently of two young
children--in the freezer.
"Due to the condition of the remains . . . the Medical Examiners Office
requested the entire freezer be brought to Baltimore so the evidence could
be removed," the release said.
While Bowman allegedly told detectives the remains were those of her other
two daughters, authorities said they do not yet know how many remains are in
the freezer and have not confirmed their identities.
The bodies were inside a freezer that "was probably the normal height, and
probably four foot wide," Moore said. "All we see is a big block of ice with
these two children encapsulated in them. . . . We can't even do the autopsy
probably until tomorrow because we're still trying to thaw them out."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/29/AR2008092900796.html

More questions than answers here. How did she qualify to adopt even one
child? Wonder if she's a single "parent", or if a partner is involved.
She doesn't look particularly bright in the mug shot. Could just be a
bad pick, I guess, but she looks slack-jawed.

Wonder if they were all adopted at once, or over time, and were they
blood-siblings? Were they formally adopted, or did she just take them
over from some other person, like maybe a druggie friend.... wonder how
long this goes back. Glad one kid made it out alive is the best I can
say.

Chocolic

2008-09-30 04:10:21 UTC

Post by tiny dancer
Calvert Police Recover Frozen Remains of Two Children
By Matt Zapotosky and Debbi Wilgoren
Washington Post Staff Writers
Monday, September 29, 2008; 10:04 AM
Calvert County sheriff's deputies on Saturday recovered the bodies of two
small children from a standalone freezer after being called to a
neighborhood in Lusby to investigate the report of an injured child.
In a news release issued this morning, authorities said they had arrested
a woman who allegedly told them the children were her adopted daughters
and their remains had been frozen since at least February.
The woman, 43-year-old Renee Bowman, allegedly also told investigators
that she had beaten a third adopted daughter. That girl, aged 7, was
found by investigators Saturday after escaping from a locked bedroom by
jumping out the window, the Calvert sheriff's office said.
Bowman was charged with child abuse in connection with the 7-year-old. At
a hearing this morning in Calvert District Court, Judge Robert Riddle
ordered her held without bond.
Authorities said the two dead children's remains were encased in a block
of ice, and their identities likely will not be confirmed until the ice
melts and autopsies can be performed,
Because Bowman allegedly told investigators that she had moved to Lusby
from Rockville in February, and had brought the children's remains with
her, authorities believe the girls died in Rockville, investigators said.
Any criminal charges relating to their deaths would therefore likely come
from Montgomery County, rather than Calvert.
Bowman allegedly told investigators she had adopted all three girls from
the District of Columbia.
The investigation began Saturday morning, after a tipster reported that a
young girl was wandering around a neighborhood in Lusby neighborhood
unattended, said Detective Sgt. Michael Moore of the Calvert
Investigative Team.
When authorities arrived in the neighborhood around 9:30 a.m., Moore
said, they saw that the 7-year-old girl was wounded and transported her
to Children's Hospital.
The girl told hospital officials that she had been beaten by her mother,
whom she identified as Bowman. Investigators said the girl had been
locked in a second-floor bedroom in a home on Buckskin Trail, and had
jumped out the window to escape.
Bowman came to the sheriff's office later on Saturday, after learning
they had found her daughter. According to investigators, "she confessed
to beating the victim with a 'hard heeled shoe.' " Detectives obtained a
search warrant for the house on Buckskin Trail in an effort to find the
shoe and other evidence, a release issued by the sheriff's department
said. While searching the house, they found human remains -- apparently
of two young children--in the freezer.
"Due to the condition of the remains . . . the Medical Examiners Office
requested the entire freezer be brought to Baltimore so the evidence
could be removed," the release said.
While Bowman allegedly told detectives the remains were those of her
other two daughters, authorities said they do not yet know how many
remains are in the freezer and have not confirmed their identities.
The bodies were inside a freezer that "was probably the normal height,
and probably four foot wide," Moore said. "All we see is a big block of
ice with these two children encapsulated in them. . . . We can't even do
the autopsy probably until tomorrow because we're still trying to thaw
them out."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/29/AR2008092900796.html

More questions than answers here. How did she qualify to adopt even one
child? Wonder if she's a single "parent", or if a partner is involved. She
doesn't look particularly bright in the mug shot. Could just be a bad
pick, I guess, but she looks slack-jawed.
Wonder if they were all adopted at once, or over time, and were they
blood-siblings? Were they formally adopted, or did she just take them over
from some other person, like maybe a druggie friend.... wonder how long
this goes back. Glad one kid made it out alive is the best I can say.

This kind of crap pisses me off. This is where "pro-choice" comes to play.

A pregnant teen or woman feeling confident carrying her unwanted child to
full term so it can be adopted by loving parents can sometimes be a load of
propaganda shit. Where were the CPS people in this case? Or social
services people that are supposed to monitor children and the people
adopting them before they are adopted. I really hope there are some heads
made accountable and criminally charged and fired over this.

When you think of the really sincere and good people that want to adopt but
can't because of some stupid reason.

Grrrrr.

Chocolic

JonesieCat

2008-09-30 18:42:57 UTC

Post by tiny dancer
Calvert Police Recover Frozen Remains of Two Children
By Matt Zapotosky and Debbi Wilgoren
Washington Post Staff Writers
Monday, September 29, 2008; 10:04 AM
Calvert County sheriff's deputies on Saturday recovered the bodies of
two small children from a standalone freezer after being called to a
neighborhood in Lusby to investigate the report of an injured child.
In a news release issued this morning, authorities said they had
arrested a woman who allegedly told them the children were her adopted
daughters and their remains had been frozen since at least February.
The woman, 43-year-old Renee Bowman, allegedly also told investigators
that she had beaten a third adopted daughter. That girl, aged 7, was
found by investigators Saturday after escaping from a locked bedroom by
jumping out the window, the Calvert sheriff's office said.
Bowman was charged with child abuse in connection with the 7-year-old.
At a hearing this morning in Calvert District Court, Judge Robert Riddle
ordered her held without bond.
Authorities said the two dead children's remains were encased in a block
of ice, and their identities likely will not be confirmed until the ice
melts and autopsies can be performed,
Because Bowman allegedly told investigators that she had moved to Lusby
from Rockville in February, and had brought the children's remains with
her, authorities believe the girls died in Rockville, investigators
said. Any criminal charges relating to their deaths would therefore
likely come from Montgomery County, rather than Calvert.
Bowman allegedly told investigators she had adopted all three girls from
the District of Columbia.
The investigation began Saturday morning, after a tipster reported that
a young girl was wandering around a neighborhood in Lusby neighborhood
unattended, said Detective Sgt. Michael Moore of the Calvert
Investigative Team.
When authorities arrived in the neighborhood around 9:30 a.m., Moore
said, they saw that the 7-year-old girl was wounded and transported her
to Children's Hospital.
The girl told hospital officials that she had been beaten by her mother,
whom she identified as Bowman. Investigators said the girl had been
locked in a second-floor bedroom in a home on Buckskin Trail, and had
jumped out the window to escape.
Bowman came to the sheriff's office later on Saturday, after learning
they had found her daughter. According to investigators, "she confessed
to beating the victim with a 'hard heeled shoe.' " Detectives obtained a
search warrant for the house on Buckskin Trail in an effort to find the
shoe and other evidence, a release issued by the sheriff's department
said. While searching the house, they found human remains -- apparently
of two young children--in the freezer.
"Due to the condition of the remains . . . the Medical Examiners Office
requested the entire freezer be brought to Baltimore so the evidence
could be removed," the release said.
While Bowman allegedly told detectives the remains were those of her
other two daughters, authorities said they do not yet know how many
remains are in the freezer and have not confirmed their identities.
The bodies were inside a freezer that "was probably the normal height,
and probably four foot wide," Moore said. "All we see is a big block of
ice with these two children encapsulated in them. . . . We can't even do
the autopsy probably until tomorrow because we're still trying to thaw
them out."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/29/AR2008092900796.html

More questions than answers here. How did she qualify to adopt even one
child? Wonder if she's a single "parent", or if a partner is involved.
She doesn't look particularly bright in the mug shot. Could just be a bad
pick, I guess, but she looks slack-jawed.
Wonder if they were all adopted at once, or over time, and were they
blood-siblings? Were they formally adopted, or did she just take them
over from some other person, like maybe a druggie friend.... wonder how
long this goes back. Glad one kid made it out alive is the best I can
say.

This kind of crap pisses me off. This is where "pro-choice" comes to play.
A pregnant teen or woman feeling confident carrying her unwanted child to
full term so it can be adopted by loving parents can sometimes be a load
of propaganda shit. Where were the CPS people in this case? Or social
services people that are supposed to monitor children and the people
adopting them before they are adopted. I really hope there are some heads
made accountable and criminally charged and fired over this.
When you think of the really sincere and good people that want to adopt
but can't because of some stupid reason.
Grrrrr.
Chocolic

So are we to believe that this woman moved house with the freezer full and
heavy? Is that how people move freezers?? huh?

jc

Poe

2008-09-30 18:56:27 UTC

Post by tiny dancer
Calvert Police Recover Frozen Remains of Two Children
By Matt Zapotosky and Debbi Wilgoren
Washington Post Staff Writers
Monday, September 29, 2008; 10:04 AM
Calvert County sheriff's deputies on Saturday recovered the bodies of
two small children from a standalone freezer after being called to a
neighborhood in Lusby to investigate the report of an injured child.
In a news release issued this morning, authorities said they had
arrested a woman who allegedly told them the children were her adopted
daughters and their remains had been frozen since at least February.
The woman, 43-year-old Renee Bowman, allegedly also told investigators
that she had beaten a third adopted daughter. That girl, aged 7, was
found by investigators Saturday after escaping from a locked bedroom by
jumping out the window, the Calvert sheriff's office said.
Bowman was charged with child abuse in connection with the 7-year-old.
At a hearing this morning in Calvert District Court, Judge Robert Riddle
ordered her held without bond.
Authorities said the two dead children's remains were encased in a block
of ice, and their identities likely will not be confirmed until the ice
melts and autopsies can be performed,
Because Bowman allegedly told investigators that she had moved to Lusby
from Rockville in February, and had brought the children's remains with
her, authorities believe the girls died in Rockville, investigators
said. Any criminal charges relating to their deaths would therefore
likely come from Montgomery County, rather than Calvert.
Bowman allegedly told investigators she had adopted all three girls from
the District of Columbia.
The investigation began Saturday morning, after a tipster reported that
a young girl was wandering around a neighborhood in Lusby neighborhood
unattended, said Detective Sgt. Michael Moore of the Calvert
Investigative Team.
When authorities arrived in the neighborhood around 9:30 a.m., Moore
said, they saw that the 7-year-old girl was wounded and transported her
to Children's Hospital.
The girl told hospital officials that she had been beaten by her mother,
whom she identified as Bowman. Investigators said the girl had been
locked in a second-floor bedroom in a home on Buckskin Trail, and had
jumped out the window to escape.
Bowman came to the sheriff's office later on Saturday, after learning
they had found her daughter. According to investigators, "she confessed
to beating the victim with a 'hard heeled shoe.' " Detectives obtained a
search warrant for the house on Buckskin Trail in an effort to find the
shoe and other evidence, a release issued by the sheriff's department
said. While searching the house, they found human remains -- apparently
of two young children--in the freezer.
"Due to the condition of the remains . . . the Medical Examiners Office
requested the entire freezer be brought to Baltimore so the evidence
could be removed," the release said.
While Bowman allegedly told detectives the remains were those of her
other two daughters, authorities said they do not yet know how many
remains are in the freezer and have not confirmed their identities.
The bodies were inside a freezer that "was probably the normal height,
and probably four foot wide," Moore said. "All we see is a big block of
ice with these two children encapsulated in them. . . . We can't even do
the autopsy probably until tomorrow because we're still trying to thaw
them out."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/29/AR2008092900796.html

More questions than answers here. How did she qualify to adopt even one
child? Wonder if she's a single "parent", or if a partner is involved.
She doesn't look particularly bright in the mug shot. Could just be a bad
pick, I guess, but she looks slack-jawed.
Wonder if they were all adopted at once, or over time, and were they
blood-siblings? Were they formally adopted, or did she just take them
over from some other person, like maybe a druggie friend.... wonder how
long this goes back. Glad one kid made it out alive is the best I can
say.

This kind of crap pisses me off. This is where "pro-choice" comes to play.
A pregnant teen or woman feeling confident carrying her unwanted child to
full term so it can be adopted by loving parents can sometimes be a load
of propaganda shit. Where were the CPS people in this case? Or social
services people that are supposed to monitor children and the people
adopting them before they are adopted. I really hope there are some heads
made accountable and criminally charged and fired over this.
When you think of the really sincere and good people that want to adopt
but can't because of some stupid reason.
Grrrrr.
Chocolic

So are we to believe that this woman moved house with the freezer full and
heavy? Is that how people move freezers?? huh?
jc

IDK what else was in it, but it should have been heavy since the kids
were reportedly encased in ice blocks, and water is so heavy. Still,
moving men with their hand trucks can move pretty heavy items. We had a
500+ LB iron heating stove taken away by just a couple guys, I was
surprised but they did get it onto a truck and out of here. She must
have had a lock on it, though, so they didn't peek inside.

Kris Baker

2008-09-30 19:25:02 UTC

Post by tiny dancer
Calvert Police Recover Frozen Remains of Two Children
By Matt Zapotosky and Debbi Wilgoren
Washington Post Staff Writers
Monday, September 29, 2008; 10:04 AM
Calvert County sheriff's deputies on Saturday recovered the bodies of
two small children from a standalone freezer after being called to a
neighborhood in Lusby to investigate the report of an injured child.
In a news release issued this morning, authorities said they had
arrested a woman who allegedly told them the children were her adopted
daughters and their remains had been frozen since at least February.
The woman, 43-year-old Renee Bowman, allegedly also told investigators
that she had beaten a third adopted daughter. That girl, aged 7, was
found by investigators Saturday after escaping from a locked bedroom by
jumping out the window, the Calvert sheriff's office said.
Bowman was charged with child abuse in connection with the 7-year-old.
At a hearing this morning in Calvert District Court, Judge Robert
Riddle ordered her held without bond.
Authorities said the two dead children's remains were encased in a
block of ice, and their identities likely will not be confirmed until
the ice melts and autopsies can be performed,
Because Bowman allegedly told investigators that she had moved to Lusby
from Rockville in February, and had brought the children's remains with
her, authorities believe the girls died in Rockville, investigators
said. Any criminal charges relating to their deaths would therefore
likely come from Montgomery County, rather than Calvert.
Bowman allegedly told investigators she had adopted all three girls
from the District of Columbia.
The investigation began Saturday morning, after a tipster reported that
a young girl was wandering around a neighborhood in Lusby neighborhood
unattended, said Detective Sgt. Michael Moore of the Calvert
Investigative Team.
When authorities arrived in the neighborhood around 9:30 a.m., Moore
said, they saw that the 7-year-old girl was wounded and transported her
to Children's Hospital.
The girl told hospital officials that she had been beaten by her
mother, whom she identified as Bowman. Investigators said the girl had
been locked in a second-floor bedroom in a home on Buckskin Trail, and
had jumped out the window to escape.
Bowman came to the sheriff's office later on Saturday, after learning
they had found her daughter. According to investigators, "she confessed
to beating the victim with a 'hard heeled shoe.' " Detectives obtained
a search warrant for the house on Buckskin Trail in an effort to find
the shoe and other evidence, a release issued by the sheriff's
department said. While searching the house, they found human remains --
apparently of two young children--in the freezer.
"Due to the condition of the remains . . . the Medical Examiners Office
requested the entire freezer be brought to Baltimore so the evidence
could be removed," the release said.
While Bowman allegedly told detectives the remains were those of her
other two daughters, authorities said they do not yet know how many
remains are in the freezer and have not confirmed their identities.
The bodies were inside a freezer that "was probably the normal height,
and probably four foot wide," Moore said. "All we see is a big block of
ice with these two children encapsulated in them. . . . We can't even
do the autopsy probably until tomorrow because we're still trying to
thaw them out."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/29/AR2008092900796.html

More questions than answers here. How did she qualify to adopt even one
child? Wonder if she's a single "parent", or if a partner is involved.
She doesn't look particularly bright in the mug shot. Could just be a
bad pick, I guess, but she looks slack-jawed.
Wonder if they were all adopted at once, or over time, and were they
blood-siblings? Were they formally adopted, or did she just take them
over from some other person, like maybe a druggie friend.... wonder how
long this goes back. Glad one kid made it out alive is the best I can
say.

This kind of crap pisses me off. This is where "pro-choice" comes to play.
A pregnant teen or woman feeling confident carrying her unwanted child to
full term so it can be adopted by loving parents can sometimes be a load
of propaganda shit. Where were the CPS people in this case? Or social
services people that are supposed to monitor children and the people
adopting them before they are adopted. I really hope there are some
heads made accountable and criminally charged and fired over this.
When you think of the really sincere and good people that want to adopt
but can't because of some stupid reason.
Grrrrr.
Chocolic

So are we to believe that this woman moved house with the freezer full and
heavy? Is that how people move freezers?? huh?
jc

Freezers are assumed to be full, and movers don't look inside.

I'm trying to figure out why this woman was allowed to adopt,
unless she was a relative?

Kris

JonesieCat

2008-10-04 02:45:27 UTC

Post by tiny dancer
Calvert Police Recover Frozen Remains of Two Children
By Matt Zapotosky and Debbi Wilgoren
Washington Post Staff Writers
Monday, September 29, 2008; 10:04 AM
Calvert County sheriff's deputies on Saturday recovered the bodies of
two small children from a standalone freezer after being called to a
neighborhood in Lusby to investigate the report of an injured child.
In a news release issued this morning, authorities said they had
arrested a woman who allegedly told them the children were her adopted
daughters and their remains had been frozen since at least February.
The woman, 43-year-old Renee Bowman, allegedly also told investigators
that she had beaten a third adopted daughter. That girl, aged 7, was
found by investigators Saturday after escaping from a locked bedroom
by jumping out the window, the Calvert sheriff's office said.
Bowman was charged with child abuse in connection with the 7-year-old.
At a hearing this morning in Calvert District Court, Judge Robert
Riddle ordered her held without bond.
Authorities said the two dead children's remains were encased in a
block of ice, and their identities likely will not be confirmed until
the ice melts and autopsies can be performed,
Because Bowman allegedly told investigators that she had moved to
Lusby from Rockville in February, and had brought the children's
remains with her, authorities believe the girls died in Rockville,
investigators said. Any criminal charges relating to their deaths
would therefore likely come from Montgomery County, rather than
Calvert.
Bowman allegedly told investigators she had adopted all three girls
from the District of Columbia.
The investigation began Saturday morning, after a tipster reported
that a young girl was wandering around a neighborhood in Lusby
neighborhood unattended, said Detective Sgt. Michael Moore of the
Calvert Investigative Team.
When authorities arrived in the neighborhood around 9:30 a.m., Moore
said, they saw that the 7-year-old girl was wounded and transported
her to Children's Hospital.
The girl told hospital officials that she had been beaten by her
mother, whom she identified as Bowman. Investigators said the girl had
been locked in a second-floor bedroom in a home on Buckskin Trail, and
had jumped out the window to escape.
Bowman came to the sheriff's office later on Saturday, after learning
they had found her daughter. According to investigators, "she
confessed to beating the victim with a 'hard heeled shoe.' "
Detectives obtained a search warrant for the house on Buckskin Trail
in an effort to find the shoe and other evidence, a release issued by
the sheriff's department said. While searching the house, they found
human remains -- apparently of two young children--in the freezer.
"Due to the condition of the remains . . . the Medical Examiners
Office requested the entire freezer be brought to Baltimore so the
evidence could be removed," the release said.
While Bowman allegedly told detectives the remains were those of her
other two daughters, authorities said they do not yet know how many
remains are in the freezer and have not confirmed their identities.
The bodies were inside a freezer that "was probably the normal height,
and probably four foot wide," Moore said. "All we see is a big block
of ice with these two children encapsulated in them. . . . We can't
even do the autopsy probably until tomorrow because we're still trying
to thaw them out."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/29/AR2008092900796.html

More questions than answers here. How did she qualify to adopt even one
child? Wonder if she's a single "parent", or if a partner is involved.
She doesn't look particularly bright in the mug shot. Could just be a
bad pick, I guess, but she looks slack-jawed.
Wonder if they were all adopted at once, or over time, and were they
blood-siblings? Were they formally adopted, or did she just take them
over from some other person, like maybe a druggie friend.... wonder how
long this goes back. Glad one kid made it out alive is the best I can
say.

This kind of crap pisses me off. This is where "pro-choice" comes to play.
A pregnant teen or woman feeling confident carrying her unwanted child
to full term so it can be adopted by loving parents can sometimes be a
load of propaganda shit. Where were the CPS people in this case? Or
social services people that are supposed to monitor children and the
people adopting them before they are adopted. I really hope there are
some heads made accountable and criminally charged and fired over this.
When you think of the really sincere and good people that want to adopt
but can't because of some stupid reason.
Grrrrr.
Chocolic

So are we to believe that this woman moved house with the freezer full
and heavy? Is that how people move freezers?? huh?
jc

Freezers are assumed to be full, and movers don't look inside.
I'm trying to figure out why this woman was allowed to adopt,
unless she was a relative?
Kris

I had no idea. Learn new stuff everyday. huh.
jc

tiny dancer

2008-09-30 19:49:48 UTC

Post by tiny dancer
Calvert Police Recover Frozen Remains of Two Children
By Matt Zapotosky and Debbi Wilgoren
Washington Post Staff Writers
Monday, September 29, 2008; 10:04 AM
Calvert County sheriff's deputies on Saturday recovered the bodies of
two small children from a standalone freezer after being called to a
neighborhood in Lusby to investigate the report of an injured child.
In a news release issued this morning, authorities said they had
arrested a woman who allegedly told them the children were her adopted
daughters and their remains had been frozen since at least February.
The woman, 43-year-old Renee Bowman, allegedly also told investigators
that she had beaten a third adopted daughter. That girl, aged 7, was
found by investigators Saturday after escaping from a locked bedroom by
jumping out the window, the Calvert sheriff's office said.
Bowman was charged with child abuse in connection with the 7-year-old.
At a hearing this morning in Calvert District Court, Judge Robert
Riddle ordered her held without bond.
Authorities said the two dead children's remains were encased in a
block of ice, and their identities likely will not be confirmed until
the ice melts and autopsies can be performed,
Because Bowman allegedly told investigators that she had moved to Lusby
from Rockville in February, and had brought the children's remains with
her, authorities believe the girls died in Rockville, investigators
said. Any criminal charges relating to their deaths would therefore
likely come from Montgomery County, rather than Calvert.
Bowman allegedly told investigators she had adopted all three girls
from the District of Columbia.
The investigation began Saturday morning, after a tipster reported that
a young girl was wandering around a neighborhood in Lusby neighborhood
unattended, said Detective Sgt. Michael Moore of the Calvert
Investigative Team.
When authorities arrived in the neighborhood around 9:30 a.m., Moore
said, they saw that the 7-year-old girl was wounded and transported her
to Children's Hospital.
The girl told hospital officials that she had been beaten by her
mother, whom she identified as Bowman. Investigators said the girl had
been locked in a second-floor bedroom in a home on Buckskin Trail, and
had jumped out the window to escape.
Bowman came to the sheriff's office later on Saturday, after learning
they had found her daughter. According to investigators, "she confessed
to beating the victim with a 'hard heeled shoe.' " Detectives obtained
a search warrant for the house on Buckskin Trail in an effort to find
the shoe and other evidence, a release issued by the sheriff's
department said. While searching the house, they found human remains --
apparently of two young children--in the freezer.
"Due to the condition of the remains . . . the Medical Examiners Office
requested the entire freezer be brought to Baltimore so the evidence
could be removed," the release said.
While Bowman allegedly told detectives the remains were those of her
other two daughters, authorities said they do not yet know how many
remains are in the freezer and have not confirmed their identities.
The bodies were inside a freezer that "was probably the normal height,
and probably four foot wide," Moore said. "All we see is a big block of
ice with these two children encapsulated in them. . . . We can't even
do the autopsy probably until tomorrow because we're still trying to
thaw them out."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/29/AR2008092900796.html

More questions than answers here. How did she qualify to adopt even one
child? Wonder if she's a single "parent", or if a partner is involved.
She doesn't look particularly bright in the mug shot. Could just be a
bad pick, I guess, but she looks slack-jawed.
Wonder if they were all adopted at once, or over time, and were they
blood-siblings? Were they formally adopted, or did she just take them
over from some other person, like maybe a druggie friend.... wonder how
long this goes back. Glad one kid made it out alive is the best I can
say.

This kind of crap pisses me off. This is where "pro-choice" comes to play.
A pregnant teen or woman feeling confident carrying her unwanted child to
full term so it can be adopted by loving parents can sometimes be a load
of propaganda shit. Where were the CPS people in this case? Or social
services people that are supposed to monitor children and the people
adopting them before they are adopted. I really hope there are some
heads made accountable and criminally charged and fired over this.
When you think of the really sincere and good people that want to adopt
but can't because of some stupid reason.
Grrrrr.
Chocolic

So are we to believe that this woman moved house with the freezer full and
heavy? Is that how people move freezers?? huh?
jc

We have a large, chest-type freezer and that's how it was moved to our new
house. I didn't watch the movers, but it was here when I got here with the
dogs. And I didn't empty it before the move.

td

JonesieCat

2008-10-04 02:47:01 UTC

Post by JonesieCat
So are we to believe that this woman moved house with the freezer full
and heavy? Is that how people move freezers?? huh?
jc

We have a large, chest-type freezer and that's how it was moved to our new
house. I didn't watch the movers, but it was here when I got here with
the dogs. And I didn't empty it before the move.
td

Who knew? Well, everybody in this ng except for me, answering my own
question.
jc

Chocolic

2008-10-04 02:59:23 UTC

Post by JonesieCat
So are we to believe that this woman moved house with the freezer full
and heavy? Is that how people move freezers?? huh?
jc

We have a large, chest-type freezer and that's how it was moved to our
new house. I didn't watch the movers, but it was here when I got here
with the dogs. And I didn't empty it before the move.
td

Who knew? Well, everybody in this ng except for me, answering my own
question.
jc

You don't have to empty your bedroom dresser drawers either. They tape the
drawers shut so they don't slam open, pick them up and move them out.

Chocolic

JonesieCat

2008-10-04 23:06:43 UTC

Post by JonesieCat
So are we to believe that this woman moved house with the freezer full
and heavy? Is that how people move freezers?? huh?
jc

We have a large, chest-type freezer and that's how it was moved to our
new house. I didn't watch the movers, but it was here when I got here
with the dogs. And I didn't empty it before the move.
td

Who knew? Well, everybody in this ng except for me, answering my own
question.
jc

You don't have to empty your bedroom dresser drawers either. They tape
the drawers shut so they don't slam open, pick them up and move them out.
Chocolic

Now ya tell me.
jc

Chocolic

2008-10-05 01:35:35 UTC

Post by JonesieCat
So are we to believe that this woman moved house with the freezer full
and heavy? Is that how people move freezers?? huh?
jc

We have a large, chest-type freezer and that's how it was moved to our
new house. I didn't watch the movers, but it was here when I got here
with the dogs. And I didn't empty it before the move.
td

Who knew? Well, everybody in this ng except for me, answering my own
question.
jc

You don't have to empty your bedroom dresser drawers either. They tape
the drawers shut so they don't slam open, pick them up and move them out.
Chocolic

Now ya tell me.
jc

Years ago, when working at an insurance agency, we were moving to another
building. The movers just taped the file drawers shut and moved the whole
file cabinets. It was wonderful. Then when our family moved 20-ish years
later, I asked the movers. They said it's no harder to move the dresser
with everything in it, than it is to move the dresser and four boxes.

Chocolic

Nancy Rudins

2008-10-05 03:34:57 UTC

Post by JonesieCat
So are we to believe that this woman moved house with the freezer
full and heavy? Is that how people move freezers?? huh?
jc

We have a large, chest-type freezer and that's how it was moved to
our new house. I didn't watch the movers, but it was here when I
got here with the dogs. And I didn't empty it before the move.
td

Who knew? Well, everybody in this ng except for me, answering my own
question.
jc

You don't have to empty your bedroom dresser drawers either. They
tape the drawers shut so they don't slam open, pick them up and move
them out.
Chocolic

Now ya tell me.
jc

Years ago, when working at an insurance agency, we were moving to
another building. The movers just taped the file drawers shut and moved
the whole file cabinets. It was wonderful. Then when our family moved
20-ish years later, I asked the movers. They said it's no harder to
move the dresser with everything in it, than it is to move the dresser
and four boxes.
Chocolic

That makes sense.

--
E = F-flat
Musician's Theory of Relativity
***@att.net

JonesieCat

2008-10-05 17:25:08 UTC

Post by JonesieCat
So are we to believe that this woman moved house with the freezer
full and heavy? Is that how people move freezers?? huh?
jc

We have a large, chest-type freezer and that's how it was moved to our
new house. I didn't watch the movers, but it was here when I got here
with the dogs. And I didn't empty it before the move.
td

Who knew? Well, everybody in this ng except for me, answering my own
question.
jc

You don't have to empty your bedroom dresser drawers either. They tape
the drawers shut so they don't slam open, pick them up and move them out.
Chocolic

Now ya tell me.
jc

There is a cultural difference emerging here. Hmmmm.
jc

Yeah Rightie

2008-10-01 04:05:00 UTC

On alt.true-crime, Tue, 30 Sep 2008 18:42:57 GMT, Re: Calvert
Police Recover Frozen Remains of Two Children, "JonesieCat"

Post by JonesieCat
So are we to believe that this woman moved house with the freezer full and
heavy? Is that how people move freezers?? huh?

Whenever we shifted we used to tape the lid of the freezer shut
with duct tape so articles wouldn't defrost. We usually tried to
use as much of the contents as we could before we shifted though.
It isn't too difficullt to shift a fully loaded freezer though
with a hand truck or a load skate or two.

JonesieCat

2008-10-04 02:49:19 UTC

Post by Yeah Rightie
On alt.true-crime, Tue, 30 Sep 2008 18:42:57 GMT, Re: Calvert
Police Recover Frozen Remains of Two Children, "JonesieCat"

Post by JonesieCat
So are we to believe that this woman moved house with the freezer full and
heavy? Is that how people move freezers?? huh?

For some reason I had it in my head that it would need to be empty, or else
would be prohibitively heavy if it was big enough to hold 2 children-sized
ice blocks. Can you tell I've never had a stand-alone freezer?

jc

Poe

2008-09-30 19:27:53 UTC

Post by tiny dancer
Calvert Police Recover Frozen Remains of Two Children
By Matt Zapotosky and Debbi Wilgoren
Washington Post Staff Writers
Monday, September 29, 2008; 10:04 AM
Calvert County sheriff's deputies on Saturday recovered the bodies of
two small children from a standalone freezer after being called to a
neighborhood in Lusby to investigate the report of an injured child.
In a news release issued this morning, authorities said they had
arrested a woman who allegedly told them the children were her
adopted daughters and their remains had been frozen since at least
February.
The woman, 43-year-old Renee Bowman, allegedly also told
investigators that she had beaten a third adopted daughter. That
girl, aged 7, was found by investigators Saturday after escaping from
a locked bedroom by jumping out the window, the Calvert sheriff's
office said.
Bowman was charged with child abuse in connection with the
7-year-old. At a hearing this morning in Calvert District Court,
Judge Robert Riddle ordered her held without bond.
Authorities said the two dead children's remains were encased in a
block of ice, and their identities likely will not be confirmed until
the ice melts and autopsies can be performed,
Because Bowman allegedly told investigators that she had moved to
Lusby from Rockville in February, and had brought the children's
remains with her, authorities believe the girls died in Rockville,
investigators said. Any criminal charges relating to their deaths
would therefore likely come from Montgomery County, rather than Calvert.
Bowman allegedly told investigators she had adopted all three girls
from the District of Columbia.
The investigation began Saturday morning, after a tipster reported
that a young girl was wandering around a neighborhood in Lusby
neighborhood unattended, said Detective Sgt. Michael Moore of the
Calvert Investigative Team.
When authorities arrived in the neighborhood around 9:30 a.m., Moore
said, they saw that the 7-year-old girl was wounded and transported
her to Children's Hospital.
The girl told hospital officials that she had been beaten by her
mother, whom she identified as Bowman. Investigators said the girl
had been locked in a second-floor bedroom in a home on Buckskin
Trail, and had jumped out the window to escape.
Bowman came to the sheriff's office later on Saturday, after learning
they had found her daughter. According to investigators, "she
confessed to beating the victim with a 'hard heeled shoe.' "
Detectives obtained a search warrant for the house on Buckskin Trail
in an effort to find the shoe and other evidence, a release issued by
the sheriff's department said. While searching the house, they found
human remains -- apparently of two young children--in the freezer.
"Due to the condition of the remains . . . the Medical Examiners
Office requested the entire freezer be brought to Baltimore so the
evidence could be removed," the release said.
While Bowman allegedly told detectives the remains were those of her
other two daughters, authorities said they do not yet know how many
remains are in the freezer and have not confirmed their identities.
The bodies were inside a freezer that "was probably the normal
height, and probably four foot wide," Moore said. "All we see is a
big block of ice with these two children encapsulated in them. . . .
We can't even do the autopsy probably until tomorrow because we're
still trying to thaw them out."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/29/AR2008092900796.html

More questions than answers here. How did she qualify to adopt even
one child? Wonder if she's a single "parent", or if a partner is
involved. She doesn't look particularly bright in the mug shot. Could
just be a bad pick, I guess, but she looks slack-jawed.
Wonder if they were all adopted at once, or over time, and were they
blood-siblings? Were they formally adopted, or did she just take them
over from some other person, like maybe a druggie friend.... wonder
how long this goes back. Glad one kid made it out alive is the best I
can say.

This kind of crap pisses me off. This is where "pro-choice" comes to play.
A pregnant teen or woman feeling confident carrying her unwanted child
to full term so it can be adopted by loving parents can sometimes be a
load of propaganda shit. Where were the CPS people in this case? Or
social services people that are supposed to monitor children and the
people adopting them before they are adopted. I really hope there are
some heads made accountable and criminally charged and fired over this.
When you think of the really sincere and good people that want to adopt
but can't because of some stupid reason.
Grrrrr.
Chocolic

Agreed, and how did this woman qualify to begin with? I thought adoption
agencies took a detailed look at potential adoptive parents. I know that
sometimes they can miss things, but we're talking 3 kids here, all badly
abused I guess, since two died, and the 3rd with obvious injuries. It
makes no sense, so I am wondering if this was more of a shady adoption -
like among friends or something, taking over unwanted kids of loser
acquaintances, or something along those lines. A situation of throwaway
kids where official adoption agencies and CPS was perhaps never involved.

tiny dancer

2008-09-30 03:52:00 UTC

Cops: Md. Mom Kept Dead Kids in Freezer
Mother Moved Children's Bodies Across Two Counties, Police Say
By SARAH NETTER
Sept. 29, 2008-

Police in two Maryland counties are trying to figure out how a woman
allegedly has been able to live with the frozen corpses of her children for
at least a year without anyone knowing.

The children's remains, which police believe to be the two young daughters
of Renee Bowman of Lusby, Md., were found last week stuffed in a freezer in
the family's home. Police made the discovery after raiding the home in
search of evidence relating to child abuse charges involving a third
daughter, Calvert County Sheriff's Office Lt. Bobby Jones told ABCNews.com.

While the medical examiner's office has not formally identified the girls,
Jones said they are believed to be Bowman's adopted daughters, born in 1997
and 1999.

Police are still piecing together a timeline for the family, but believe the
two girls were killed in Montgomery County one to two years ago. Their
frozen bodies may have been transported in a freezer when Bowman and her now
7-year-old daughter, also adopted, moved more than an hour away to Lusby in
February.

"We believe they've been in the freezer the whole time," Jones said.

Montgomery County Police Lt. Paul Starks said police were interviewing
people in the area to determine when the family lived in the town of
Rockville and "also when the children were last seen alive."

She has not yet been charged with the murder of the children, Starks said,
because police have not yet confirmed where exactly they were killed.

Bowman is being held without bond in Calvert County on child abuse charges,
Jones said, while the Montgomery County authorities investigate.

The case was set in motion last week when Calvert County police officers
were called to a home on Pawnee Lane after Bowman's 7-year-old knocked on
the door of a neighbor after jumping out of her second-story bedroom window
on nearby Buckskin Trail.

"When the officer got there, he saw she has some signs of what looked to be
physical abuse and neglect," Jones said.

The girl showed police where she had jumped out the window, telling officers
that she had been locked in her bedroom and left unattended. Bowman, Jones
said, was charged with first-degree assault and child abuse, both felonies.

"She basically admitted that she had struck the child with a hard-heeled
shoe," he said.

A search warrant was granted to look for further evidence, which led police
to find the frozen bodies in a basement freezer Friday.

Jones said police in Calvert County never had a reason to question the
welfare of Bowman or any children. The only contact police have made with
her since she moved into town was a routine traffic stop.

Likewise, Child Protective Services in Montgomery County also never had
reason to visit the home, Starks said.

A teenage neighbor said he lives about three houses away from Bowman's
Buckskin Trail house, but never knew the woman or her 7-year-old.

"I've seen a car there a couple of times, but never people," he said.

The teen said the two-story tan house was blocked off with police-tape, and
a crush of police and news vehicles made it nearly impossible to get a car
down the street.

"It's, like, unusual it would happen around here," he said.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=5914864&page=1

Local
Children found dead in freezer were DC foster kids
By BEN NUCKOLS, The Associated Press
2008-09-29 21:06:47.0
Current rank: # 11 of 5,044

LUSBY, Md. -
The woman who says she lived for months with the corpses of her two
daughters in a freezer was the girls' foster mother before she adopted them
from the District of Columbia.

D.C. officials said at a news conference Monday in Washington that
Renee Bowman adopted the oldest girl, who would now be 11, in July 2001.
Three years later, she adopted a girl who would now be 9 and her 7-year-old
sister.

Calvert County authorities found human remains in a freezer Saturday
in Bowman's Lusby home. They say Bowman told investigators they are the
bodies of the 9-year-old and the 11-year-old.

The remains were found after the 7-year-old girl ran away from the
house. Authorities say she was covered in blood and feces and had injuries
all over her body. Bowman has been charged with child abuse.

http://www.examiner.com/a-1613229~Children_found_dead_in_freezer_were_DC_foster_kids.html?cid=temp-popular

tiny dancer

2008-09-30 15:31:32 UTC

2 bodies found in freezer
Calvert Co. mother is held in deaths of adopted daughters, 9 and 11
By Nicole Fuller

September 30, 2008

LUSBY

She walked barefoot along the gravel road, her pink nightshirt stained. The
girl wore her hair in pigtails, each fastened with a pink barrette, her dark
hair so matted it looked as if it were in dreadlocks.

Phillip Garrett, smoking a cigarette on his neighbor's front lawn in the
Calvert County neighborhood, called out to the girl.

"My mother beats me. She just beats me to death," the 7-year-old, covered in
bruises and cuts, responded, according to witnesses and police.

Those startling words Friday night set off an investigation by the Calvert
County sheriff's office that resulted in a grim discovery Saturday at the
girl's home - children's remains in a large freezer in the basement.

Renee D. Bowman, 43, a former Rockville resident and the adoptive mother of
the girl and two others, was ordered held without bond yesterday on first-
and second-degree child abuse charges.

Bowman admitted beating the girl found Friday night, saying she had "lost
her temper" and hit the girl with a "hard-heeled shoe," according to Calvert
County Detective Sgt. Michael Moore Jr.

Confronted later with the evidence of remains in the freezer, Bowman said
she had stored the bodies of her two other adopted daughters in the freezer
since she moved from Rockville in February to the rented, tan, single-story
rambler in the 200 block of Buckskin Trail in Lusby, Calvert County
sheriff's officials said. The case is being investigated as a homicide,
Moore said.

"It's a tragedy," he said. "Children don't get to vote on where they come in
this life. You would pray and hope the system would have helped them. All we
can do is hope the system doesn't let down this little girl. She's a
7-year-old and has been brutally victimized.

"She has been put through hell."

The surviving girl has open sores and lesions on her buttocks and lower
thighs, marks on her neck made by a cord, rope or other item and bruises on
her hands and lips, police said.

Montgomery County police said they are awaiting a determination from the
state medical examiner before any charges are filed. Because the remains
were encased in a large block of ice, autopsies have not yet been performed.
They are scheduled today at the state medical examiner's office in
Baltimore.

Officials from the medical examiner's office did not return phone calls last
night.

Calvert County authorities are also interviewing a man, whom they declined
to identify. They said he had a relationship with Bowman and lived at the
Lusby home "on and off." Moore described the man, whom he said was not the
girl's father, as being "very cooperative." Moore declined to say whether
the man was a suspect in the investigation.

Bowman, who adopted the three children in Washington, D.C., after serving as
their foster mother, was receiving state benefits for the three girls, two
of them biological sisters, according to Moore, who added that she did not
have a job.

D.C. officials said at a news conference that Bowman adopted the oldest
girl, who would be 11, in July 2001. Three years later, she adopted a girl
who would now be 9 and her 7-year-old sister.

The surviving girl was being treated yesterday at a Washington hospital.

D.C. social services officials did not return several calls yesterday
seeking comment.

Lt. Paul Starks, a spokesman for the Montgomery County Police Department,
said that a preliminary investigation revealed Bowman may have lived in the
Aspen Hill area before moving to Calvert County. Detectives are trying to
put together a timeline of events and determine when the girls were last
seen and whether they attended Montgomery County schools, authorities said.

Bowman's previous home on Vandalia Drive in Rockville was empty yesterday,
its walls and floors bare. Like the other five houses on Vandalia Court,
it's a one-story brick residence with a carport and shrubs in the small
front yard.

Some of Bowman's former neighbors said they recall a man also living in the
home and said the couple didn't socialize much.

"We would see them coming and going," said Shirley Kapp. "We never saw a
child over there, but I understand there was."

A man who lives across the street recalled that the neighbors moved away in
the middle of the night.

As the news media descended yesterday on the narrow street in rural Lusby
where Bowman lived, several neighbors became emotional.

"I'm dumbfounded," said Chrissy Vaselaros-Stevenson, 33, who lives nearby.
"I'm just trying to comprehend. It's heartbreaking. You think about young
kids. How can you not feed your kids? How can you kill them?"

Neighbor Nancy Sears, 60, wept softly as she sat on her front patio. She
could see the front yard of the Bowman home, surrounded by yellow police
tape, with a police officer parked in the driveway. Sears said she had
assumed that just a man and a woman lived there. She said the woman
frequently was outside with two dogs: a black Doberman pincher and another,
brownish in color. Last week, the man was outside mowing the lawn.

"I never, ever, ever - the whole time - saw any children," Sears said. "No
kids' toys outside."

Garrett, who discovered the girl walking on the gravel road Friday, called
911 just before 5 p.m.

"She was very brave," Garrett said. "She definitely looked like she had been
through a lot."

According to Garrett, the girl told him her mother had "locked her out" and
she had spent the night outdoors. Police said the girl had been locked in
her bedroom and jumped from the window to escape.

Garrett, 21, a fashion designer who lives with his parents, said he embraced
the girl, while she stood limp. She did not cry and said she had not eaten
for days. When Garrett offered to order a pizza, she made a request:
pepperoni and ham.

As police arrived and began talking to the girl, she said she attended
school, though authorities said yesterday that she did not appear to be
enrolled in school. She repeatedly asked about the couple she referred to as
her mother and father.

"She kept asking, 'Is my mother going to be arrested?'"

Alternately, she expressed love for the man she called her father, according
to Garrett.

"She was very protective of her 'father,'" Garrett said. "He was the only
one that cared. He was the one that took care of her."

Of her two sisters, Garrett said, "She said her siblings had been beaten to
death and one day, they just didn't come back."

Renee Bowman arrived at the sheriff's office late Friday night, looking for
her daughter. By 2:30 a.m. Saturday, police had executed a search warrant at
her home, which had four cats and a dog.

Officers opened the large freezer in the basement and found partial human
remains. They later executed a second search warrant, and about a half-dozen
investigators hauled the freezer away Saturday.

"It's just crazy," said Sears, the neighbor. "I just thank God that she got
away."

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/crime/bal-te.md.children30sep30,0,3505899.story

JonesieCat

2008-09-30 18:41:40 UTC

Post by tiny dancer
2 bodies found in freezer
Calvert Co. mother is held in deaths of adopted daughters, 9 and 11
By Nicole Fuller
September 30, 2008
LUSBY
She walked barefoot along the gravel road, her pink nightshirt stained.
The girl wore her hair in pigtails, each fastened with a pink barrette,
her dark hair so matted it looked as if it were in dreadlocks.
Phillip Garrett, smoking a cigarette on his neighbor's front lawn in the
Calvert County neighborhood, called out to the girl.
"My mother beats me. She just beats me to death," the 7-year-old, covered
in bruises and cuts, responded, according to witnesses and police.
Those startling words Friday night set off an investigation by the Calvert
County sheriff's office that resulted in a grim discovery Saturday at the
girl's home - children's remains in a large freezer in the basement.
Renee D. Bowman, 43, a former Rockville resident and the adoptive mother
of the girl and two others, was ordered held without bond yesterday on
first- and second-degree child abuse charges.
Bowman admitted beating the girl found Friday night, saying she had "lost
her temper" and hit the girl with a "hard-heeled shoe," according to
Calvert County Detective Sgt. Michael Moore Jr.
Confronted later with the evidence of remains in the freezer, Bowman said
she had stored the bodies of her two other adopted daughters in the
freezer since she moved from Rockville in February to the rented, tan,
single-story rambler in the 200 block of Buckskin Trail in Lusby, Calvert
County sheriff's officials said. The case is being investigated as a
homicide, Moore said.
"It's a tragedy," he said. "Children don't get to vote on where they come
in this life. You would pray and hope the system would have helped them.
All we can do is hope the system doesn't let down this little girl. She's
a 7-year-old and has been brutally victimized.
"She has been put through hell."
The surviving girl has open sores and lesions on her buttocks and lower
thighs, marks on her neck made by a cord, rope or other item and bruises
on her hands and lips, police said.
Montgomery County police said they are awaiting a determination from the
state medical examiner before any charges are filed. Because the remains
were encased in a large block of ice, autopsies have not yet been
performed. They are scheduled today at the state medical examiner's office
in Baltimore.
Officials from the medical examiner's office did not return phone calls
last night.
Calvert County authorities are also interviewing a man, whom they declined
to identify. They said he had a relationship with Bowman and lived at the
Lusby home "on and off." Moore described the man, whom he said was not the
girl's father, as being "very cooperative." Moore declined to say whether
the man was a suspect in the investigation.
Bowman, who adopted the three children in Washington, D.C., after serving
as their foster mother, was receiving state benefits for the three girls,
two of them biological sisters, according to Moore, who added that she did
not have a job.
D.C. officials said at a news conference that Bowman adopted the oldest
girl, who would be 11, in July 2001. Three years later, she adopted a girl
who would now be 9 and her 7-year-old sister.
The surviving girl was being treated yesterday at a Washington hospital.
D.C. social services officials did not return several calls yesterday
seeking comment.
Lt. Paul Starks, a spokesman for the Montgomery County Police Department,
said that a preliminary investigation revealed Bowman may have lived in
the Aspen Hill area before moving to Calvert County. Detectives are trying
to put together a timeline of events and determine when the girls were
last seen and whether they attended Montgomery County schools, authorities
said.
Bowman's previous home on Vandalia Drive in Rockville was empty yesterday,
its walls and floors bare. Like the other five houses on Vandalia Court,
it's a one-story brick residence with a carport and shrubs in the small
front yard.
Some of Bowman's former neighbors said they recall a man also living in
the home and said the couple didn't socialize much.
"We would see them coming and going," said Shirley Kapp. "We never saw a
child over there, but I understand there was."
A man who lives across the street recalled that the neighbors moved away
in the middle of the night.
As the news media descended yesterday on the narrow street in rural Lusby
where Bowman lived, several neighbors became emotional.
"I'm dumbfounded," said Chrissy Vaselaros-Stevenson, 33, who lives nearby.
"I'm just trying to comprehend. It's heartbreaking. You think about young
kids. How can you not feed your kids? How can you kill them?"
Neighbor Nancy Sears, 60, wept softly as she sat on her front patio. She
could see the front yard of the Bowman home, surrounded by yellow police
tape, with a police officer parked in the driveway. Sears said she had
assumed that just a man and a woman lived there. She said the woman
frequently was outside with two dogs: a black Doberman pincher and
another, brownish in color. Last week, the man was outside mowing the
lawn.
"I never, ever, ever - the whole time - saw any children," Sears said. "No
kids' toys outside."
Garrett, who discovered the girl walking on the gravel road Friday, called
911 just before 5 p.m.
"She was very brave," Garrett said. "She definitely looked like she had
been through a lot."
According to Garrett, the girl told him her mother had "locked her out"
and she had spent the night outdoors. Police said the girl had been locked
in her bedroom and jumped from the window to escape.
Garrett, 21, a fashion designer who lives with his parents, said he
embraced the girl, while she stood limp. She did not cry and said she had
not eaten for days. When Garrett offered to order a pizza, she made a
request: pepperoni and ham.
As police arrived and began talking to the girl, she said she attended
school, though authorities said yesterday that she did not appear to be
enrolled in school. She repeatedly asked about the couple she referred to
as her mother and father.
"She kept asking, 'Is my mother going to be arrested?'"
Alternately, she expressed love for the man she called her father,
according to Garrett.
"She was very protective of her 'father,'" Garrett said. "He was the only
one that cared. He was the one that took care of her."
Of her two sisters, Garrett said, "She said her siblings had been beaten
to death and one day, they just didn't come back."
Renee Bowman arrived at the sheriff's office late Friday night, looking
for her daughter. By 2:30 a.m. Saturday, police had executed a search
warrant at her home, which had four cats and a dog.
Officers opened the large freezer in the basement and found partial human
remains. They later executed a second search warrant, and about a
half-dozen investigators hauled the freezer away Saturday.
"It's just crazy," said Sears, the neighbor. "I just thank God that she
got away."
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/crime/bal-te.md.children30sep30,0,3505899.story

I can't imagine where that little girl got the courage to walk to the
neighbors, and tell them. Apparently she jumped out the window and then her
mother wouldn't allow her back inside? The "mother" is a sadist. This 7yo
sounds like a very bright little thing. When she asked if her mother would
be arrested, I wonder what her feelings are? So often kids still love their
abusers. But my sense is that this child didn't. Not sure about the man the
kid said was caring. How caring could he be, living with or witnessing a
child in her condition?

jc

E/C Annie

2008-10-01 02:58:02 UTC

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lusby,_Maryland

I worked with Judge Riddle when he was a State's Atty in Calvert
County. Calvert is a relatively small, rural county. You're either
very wealthy or very poor, not too many middle class folks over
there. Solomon's Island is a lovely resort town on the water where
most of the wealthy live. Lusby otoh is a rather poor area. This
woman will probably be represented by the public defender's office in
Montgomery Co. which is a high-end county. If she killed these
children, she'd get a better sentence in Calvert.

Pitiful story ... woman is clearly not too stupid as she moved about
to keep anyone, including school officials, from catching up with her.

e/c annie

E/C Annie

2008-10-01 03:12:55 UTC

Bowman Family Friend Says She Knew Something Was Wrong
posted 7:35 pm Tue September 30, 2008 - WASHINGTON

For one woman who knows Renee Bowman, it was one word that startled
her.

"I was like, 'The freezer, oh my God, the freezer,'" said the woman,
who did not want to be identified.

It was in that freezer that investigators say they found human remains
believed to be that of two of Bowman's adopted children. The children
are officially listed as missing for now. Bowman allegedly told
investigators the children's bodies were in the freezer.

The medical examiner took possession of the freezer and the remains
for identification and autopsies. The results had not been made public
as of Friday night.

The family friend said Bowman asked her family several times to carry
the freezer when she moved, arousing suspicions in the back of her
mind.

"And that's when the antennas went up. I told my daughter, 'Something
wrong here,'" recalled the family friend.

Investigators say there was nothing about the freezer to indicate the
horrors it held.

"It was just in the basement corner, nothing around it," said Rosemary
King of the Calvert County Investigative Team, who also said the
freezer was not locked or duct-taped closed.

The friend said her daughter went to high school with Bowman at Saint
Patrick's Academy in Downtown D.C. The two were best friends, she
said, hanging out and spending holidays together, including
Thanksgiving 2007. But there was one thing missing: the kids.

"I asked her at Thanksgiving. I said, 'Renee, nobody sends their kids
away for holidays.' I said, 'It's Thanksgiving, they belong here with
us.'"

She says her daughter wonders if she could have prevented it.

"My daughter feels responsible, because, she said, 'Momma, had I
called when you told me to, maybe I could have saved those two kids,"
said the woman.

The friend said Bowman had not reacted well to questions about her
adopted children in the past. Several years ago, the oldest daughter,
who was born in 1997, was enrolled in day care at at Douglas Memorial
Church in Northeast.

"The daycare lady asked Renee why is she eating so much for a little
girl," the family friend recalled.

The friend said Bowman pulled the girl out of day care, and decided to
home school her children.

"And that's the last time we believe the kids were in any educational
setting," she said.

Bowman admitted to abusing her adopted children, according to court
documents, which say Bowman told police she knew what she did was
wrong, that she was out of control, needed help and that she was angry
about her daughter's mental capacity.

"All she would ever say, 'Does God forgive you for everything?' All
she would say," recalled the friend.

Bowman's third adopted daughter escaped from the home, triggering the
investigation. She remains at Children's hospital and could be
released as early as Thursday, officials said. She will be placed with
a foster family, according to Maryland's Department of Human
Resources.
http://www.wjla.com/news/stories/0908/557813.html

Chocolic

2008-10-01 04:16:21 UTC

E/C Annie

2008-10-01 10:53:03 UTC

Bowman Family Friend Says She Knew Something Was Wrong
posted 7:35 pm Tue September 30, 2008 - WASHINGTON
For one woman who knows Renee Bowman, it was one word that startled
her.
"I was like, 'The freezer, oh my God, the freezer,'" said the woman,
who did not want to be identified.
It was in that freezer that investigators say they found human remains
believed to be that of two of Bowman's adopted children. The children
are officially listed as missing for now. Bowman allegedly told
investigators the children's bodies were in the freezer.
The medical examiner took possession of the freezer and the remains
for identification and autopsies. The results had not been made public
as of Friday night.
The family friend said Bowman asked her family several times to carry
the freezer when she moved, arousing suspicions in the back of her
mind.
"And that's when the antennas went up. I told my daughter, 'Something
wrong here,'" recalled the family friend.
Investigators say there was nothing about the freezer to indicate the
horrors it held.
"It was just in the basement corner, nothing around it," said Rosemary
King of the Calvert County Investigative Team, who also said the
freezer was not locked or duct-taped closed.
The friend said her daughter went to high school with Bowman at Saint
Patrick's Academy in Downtown D.C. The two were best friends, she
said, hanging out and spending holidays together, including
Thanksgiving 2007. But there was one thing missing: the kids.
"I asked her at Thanksgiving. I said, 'Renee, nobody sends their kids
away for holidays.' I said, 'It's Thanksgiving, they belong here with
us.'"
She says her daughter wonders if she could have prevented it.
"My daughter feels responsible, because, she said, 'Momma, had I
called when you told me to, maybe I could have saved those two kids,"
said the woman.
The friend said Bowman had not reacted well to questions about her
adopted children in the past. Several years ago, the oldest daughter,
who was born in 1997, was enrolled in day care at at Douglas Memorial
Church in Northeast.
"The daycare lady asked Renee why is she eating so much for a little
girl," the family friend recalled.
The friend said Bowman pulled the girl out of day care, and decided to
home school her children.
"And that's the last time we believe the kids were in any educational
setting," she said.
Bowman admitted to abusing her adopted children, according to court
documents, which say Bowman told police she knew what she did was
wrong, that she was out of control, needed help and that she was angry
about her daughter's mental capacity.
"All she would ever say, 'Does God forgive you for everything?' All
she would say," recalled the friend.
Bowman's third adopted daughter escaped from the home, triggering the
investigation. She remains at Children's hospital and could be
released as early as Thursday, officials said. She will be placed with
a foster family, according to Maryland's Department of Human
Resources.http://www.wjla.com/news/stories/0908/557813.html
-----------------------------
That poor little girl. She loses her real mom/dad for whatever reason.
Then she is adopted by a monster. I wonder how long she had been with this
monster. I wonder if she witnessed the other two being murdered.
I still want to know how the frick Bowman was able to adopt these kids.
Chocolic

Our nation's capital, I believe, is where the adoption took place. We
should be ashamed as a nation at how easily kids are given away to
murderers.

e/c annie

tiny dancer

2008-10-01 14:42:32 UTC

Post by tiny dancer
Calvert Police Recover Frozen Remains of Two Children
By Matt Zapotosky and Debbi Wilgoren
Washington Post Staff Writers
Monday, September 29, 2008; 10:04 AM
Calvert County sheriff's deputies on Saturday recovered the bodies of two
small children from a standalone freezer after being called to a
neighborhood in Lusby to investigate the report of an injured child.
In a news release issued this morning, authorities said they had
arrested
a
woman who allegedly told them the children were her adopted daughters and
their remains had been frozen since at least February.
The woman, 43-year-old Renee Bowman, allegedly also told investigators that
she had beaten a third adopted daughter. That girl, aged 7, was found by
investigators Saturday after escaping from a locked bedroom by jumping out
the window, the Calvert sheriff's office said.
Bowman was charged with child abuse in connection with the 7-year-old.
At
a
hearing this morning in Calvert District Court, Judge Robert Riddle ordered
her held without bond.
Authorities said the two dead children's remains were encased in a block of
ice, and their identities likely will not be confirmed until the ice melts
and autopsies can be performed,
Because Bowman allegedly told investigators that she had moved to Lusby from
Rockville in February, and had brought the children's remains with her,
authorities believe the girls died in Rockville, investigators said. Any
criminal charges relating to their deaths would therefore likely come from
Montgomery County, rather than Calvert.
Bowman allegedly told investigators she had adopted all three girls from the
District of Columbia.
The investigation began Saturday morning, after a tipster reported that a
young girl was wandering around a neighborhood in Lusby neighborhood
unattended, said Detective Sgt. Michael Moore of the Calvert
Investigative
Team.
When authorities arrived in the neighborhood around 9:30 a.m., Moore said,
they saw that the 7-year-old girl was wounded and transported her to
Children's Hospital.
The girl told hospital officials that she had been beaten by her mother,
whom she identified as Bowman. Investigators said the girl had been locked
in a second-floor bedroom in a home on Buckskin Trail, and had jumped out
the window to escape.
Bowman came to the sheriff's office later on Saturday, after learning they
had found her daughter. According to investigators, "she confessed to
beating the victim with a 'hard heeled shoe.' " Detectives obtained a search
warrant for the house on Buckskin Trail in an effort to find the shoe and
other evidence, a release issued by the sheriff's department said. While
searching the house, they found human remains -- apparently of two young
children--in the freezer.
"Due to the condition of the remains . . . the Medical Examiners Office
requested the entire freezer be brought to Baltimore so the evidence could
be removed," the release said.
While Bowman allegedly told detectives the remains were those of her other
two daughters, authorities said they do not yet know how many remains
are
in
the freezer and have not confirmed their identities.
The bodies were inside a freezer that "was probably the normal height, and
probably four foot wide," Moore said. "All we see is a big block of ice with
these two children encapsulated in them. . . . We can't even do the autopsy
probably until tomorrow because we're still trying to thaw them out."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/29/AR200...

Bowman Family Friend Says She Knew Something Was Wrong
posted 7:35 pm Tue September 30, 2008 - WASHINGTON
For one woman who knows Renee Bowman, it was one word that startled
her.
"I was like, 'The freezer, oh my God, the freezer,'" said the woman,
who did not want to be identified.
It was in that freezer that investigators say they found human remains
believed to be that of two of Bowman's adopted children. The children
are officially listed as missing for now. Bowman allegedly told
investigators the children's bodies were in the freezer.
The medical examiner took possession of the freezer and the remains
for identification and autopsies. The results had not been made public
as of Friday night.
The family friend said Bowman asked her family several times to carry
the freezer when she moved, arousing suspicions in the back of her
mind.
"And that's when the antennas went up. I told my daughter, 'Something
wrong here,'" recalled the family friend.
Investigators say there was nothing about the freezer to indicate the
horrors it held.
"It was just in the basement corner, nothing around it," said Rosemary
King of the Calvert County Investigative Team, who also said the
freezer was not locked or duct-taped closed.
The friend said her daughter went to high school with Bowman at Saint
Patrick's Academy in Downtown D.C. The two were best friends, she
said, hanging out and spending holidays together, including
Thanksgiving 2007. But there was one thing missing: the kids.
"I asked her at Thanksgiving. I said, 'Renee, nobody sends their kids
away for holidays.' I said, 'It's Thanksgiving, they belong here with
us.'"
She says her daughter wonders if she could have prevented it.
"My daughter feels responsible, because, she said, 'Momma, had I
called when you told me to, maybe I could have saved those two kids,"
said the woman.
The friend said Bowman had not reacted well to questions about her
adopted children in the past. Several years ago, the oldest daughter,
who was born in 1997, was enrolled in day care at at Douglas Memorial
Church in Northeast.
"The daycare lady asked Renee why is she eating so much for a little
girl," the family friend recalled.
The friend said Bowman pulled the girl out of day care, and decided to
home school her children.
"And that's the last time we believe the kids were in any educational
setting," she said.
Bowman admitted to abusing her adopted children, according to court
documents, which say Bowman told police she knew what she did was
wrong, that she was out of control, needed help and that she was angry
about her daughter's mental capacity.
"All she would ever say, 'Does God forgive you for everything?' All
she would say," recalled the friend.
Bowman's third adopted daughter escaped from the home, triggering the
investigation. She remains at Children's hospital and could be
released as early as Thursday, officials said. She will be placed with
a foster family, according to Maryland's Department of Human
Resources.http://www.wjla.com/news/stories/0908/557813.html
-----------------------------
That poor little girl. She loses her real mom/dad for whatever reason.
Then she is adopted by a monster. I wonder how long she had been with this
monster. I wonder if she witnessed the other two being murdered.
I still want to know how the frick Bowman was able to adopt these kids.
Chocolic

Our nation's capital, I believe, is where the adoption took place. We
should be ashamed as a nation at how easily kids are given away to
murderers.

e/c annie

Since the kids were already in foster care, and they are minority children,
I'd guess it isn't too hard to adopt, unfortunately.

td

Poe

2008-10-01 16:42:24 UTC

Post by tiny dancer
Calvert Police Recover Frozen Remains of Two Children
By Matt Zapotosky and Debbi Wilgoren
Washington Post Staff Writers
Monday, September 29, 2008; 10:04 AM
Calvert County sheriff's deputies on Saturday recovered the bodies of two
small children from a standalone freezer after being called to a
neighborhood in Lusby to investigate the report of an injured child.
In a news release issued this morning, authorities said they had
arrested
a
woman who allegedly told them the children were her adopted daughters and
their remains had been frozen since at least February.
The woman, 43-year-old Renee Bowman, allegedly also told investigators that
she had beaten a third adopted daughter. That girl, aged 7, was found by
investigators Saturday after escaping from a locked bedroom by jumping out
the window, the Calvert sheriff's office said.
Bowman was charged with child abuse in connection with the 7-year-old.
At
a
hearing this morning in Calvert District Court, Judge Robert Riddle ordered
her held without bond.
Authorities said the two dead children's remains were encased in a block of
ice, and their identities likely will not be confirmed until the ice melts
and autopsies can be performed,
Because Bowman allegedly told investigators that she had moved to Lusby from
Rockville in February, and had brought the children's remains with her,
authorities believe the girls died in Rockville, investigators said. Any
criminal charges relating to their deaths would therefore likely come from
Montgomery County, rather than Calvert.
Bowman allegedly told investigators she had adopted all three girls from the
District of Columbia.
The investigation began Saturday morning, after a tipster reported that a
young girl was wandering around a neighborhood in Lusby neighborhood
unattended, said Detective Sgt. Michael Moore of the Calvert
Investigative
Team.
When authorities arrived in the neighborhood around 9:30 a.m., Moore said,
they saw that the 7-year-old girl was wounded and transported her to
Children's Hospital.
The girl told hospital officials that she had been beaten by her mother,
whom she identified as Bowman. Investigators said the girl had been locked
in a second-floor bedroom in a home on Buckskin Trail, and had jumped out
the window to escape.
Bowman came to the sheriff's office later on Saturday, after learning they
had found her daughter. According to investigators, "she confessed to
beating the victim with a 'hard heeled shoe.' " Detectives obtained a search
warrant for the house on Buckskin Trail in an effort to find the shoe and
other evidence, a release issued by the sheriff's department said. While
searching the house, they found human remains -- apparently of two young
children--in the freezer.
"Due to the condition of the remains . . . the Medical Examiners Office
requested the entire freezer be brought to Baltimore so the evidence could
be removed," the release said.
While Bowman allegedly told detectives the remains were those of her other
two daughters, authorities said they do not yet know how many remains
are
in
the freezer and have not confirmed their identities.
The bodies were inside a freezer that "was probably the normal height, and
probably four foot wide," Moore said. "All we see is a big block of ice with
these two children encapsulated in them. . . . We can't even do the autopsy
probably until tomorrow because we're still trying to thaw them out."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/29/AR200...

Bowman Family Friend Says She Knew Something Was Wrong
posted 7:35 pm Tue September 30, 2008 - WASHINGTON
For one woman who knows Renee Bowman, it was one word that startled
her.
"I was like, 'The freezer, oh my God, the freezer,'" said the woman,
who did not want to be identified.
It was in that freezer that investigators say they found human remains
believed to be that of two of Bowman's adopted children. The children
are officially listed as missing for now. Bowman allegedly told
investigators the children's bodies were in the freezer.
The medical examiner took possession of the freezer and the remains
for identification and autopsies. The results had not been made public
as of Friday night.
The family friend said Bowman asked her family several times to carry
the freezer when she moved, arousing suspicions in the back of her
mind.
"And that's when the antennas went up. I told my daughter, 'Something
wrong here,'" recalled the family friend.
Investigators say there was nothing about the freezer to indicate the
horrors it held.
"It was just in the basement corner, nothing around it," said Rosemary
King of the Calvert County Investigative Team, who also said the
freezer was not locked or duct-taped closed.
The friend said her daughter went to high school with Bowman at Saint
Patrick's Academy in Downtown D.C. The two were best friends, she
said, hanging out and spending holidays together, including
Thanksgiving 2007. But there was one thing missing: the kids.
"I asked her at Thanksgiving. I said, 'Renee, nobody sends their kids
away for holidays.' I said, 'It's Thanksgiving, they belong here with
us.'"
She says her daughter wonders if she could have prevented it.
"My daughter feels responsible, because, she said, 'Momma, had I
called when you told me to, maybe I could have saved those two kids,"
said the woman.
The friend said Bowman had not reacted well to questions about her
adopted children in the past. Several years ago, the oldest daughter,
who was born in 1997, was enrolled in day care at at Douglas Memorial
Church in Northeast.
"The daycare lady asked Renee why is she eating so much for a little
girl," the family friend recalled.
The friend said Bowman pulled the girl out of day care, and decided to
home school her children.
"And that's the last time we believe the kids were in any educational
setting," she said.
Bowman admitted to abusing her adopted children, according to court
documents, which say Bowman told police she knew what she did was
wrong, that she was out of control, needed help and that she was angry
about her daughter's mental capacity.
"All she would ever say, 'Does God forgive you for everything?' All
she would say," recalled the friend.
Bowman's third adopted daughter escaped from the home, triggering the
investigation. She remains at Children's hospital and could be
released as early as Thursday, officials said. She will be placed with
a foster family, according to Maryland's Department of Human
Resources.http://www.wjla.com/news/stories/0908/557813.html
-----------------------------
That poor little girl. She loses her real mom/dad for whatever reason.
Then she is adopted by a monster. I wonder how long she had been with this
monster. I wonder if she witnessed the other two being murdered.
I still want to know how the frick Bowman was able to adopt these kids.
Chocolic

Our nation's capital, I believe, is where the adoption took place. We
should be ashamed as a nation at how easily kids are given away to
murderers.
e/c annie
Since the kids were already in foster care, and they are minority children,
I'd guess it isn't too hard to adopt, unfortunately.
td

Are you saying that prospective adoptive situations of minority children
are not as stringently scrutinized as a white child's would be? If so,
that's very disturbing, not to mention disgusting.

tiny dancer

2008-10-01 17:08:39 UTC

Post by tiny dancer
Calvert Police Recover Frozen Remains of Two Children
By Matt Zapotosky and Debbi Wilgoren
Washington Post Staff Writers
Monday, September 29, 2008; 10:04 AM
Calvert County sheriff's deputies on Saturday recovered the bodies of two
small children from a standalone freezer after being called to a
neighborhood in Lusby to investigate the report of an injured child.
In a news release issued this morning, authorities said they had
arrested
a
woman who allegedly told them the children were her adopted daughters and
their remains had been frozen since at least February.
The woman, 43-year-old Renee Bowman, allegedly also told investigators that
she had beaten a third adopted daughter. That girl, aged 7, was found by
investigators Saturday after escaping from a locked bedroom by jumping out
the window, the Calvert sheriff's office said.
Bowman was charged with child abuse in connection with the 7-year-old.
At
a
hearing this morning in Calvert District Court, Judge Robert Riddle ordered
her held without bond.
Authorities said the two dead children's remains were encased in a
block
of
ice, and their identities likely will not be confirmed until the ice melts
and autopsies can be performed,
Because Bowman allegedly told investigators that she had moved to Lusby from
Rockville in February, and had brought the children's remains with her,
authorities believe the girls died in Rockville, investigators said. Any
criminal charges relating to their deaths would therefore likely come from
Montgomery County, rather than Calvert.
Bowman allegedly told investigators she had adopted all three girls
from
the
District of Columbia.
The investigation began Saturday morning, after a tipster reported that a
young girl was wandering around a neighborhood in Lusby neighborhood
unattended, said Detective Sgt. Michael Moore of the Calvert Investigative
Team.
When authorities arrived in the neighborhood around 9:30 a.m., Moore said,
they saw that the 7-year-old girl was wounded and transported her to
Children's Hospital.
The girl told hospital officials that she had been beaten by her mother,
whom she identified as Bowman. Investigators said the girl had been locked
in a second-floor bedroom in a home on Buckskin Trail, and had jumped out
the window to escape.
Bowman came to the sheriff's office later on Saturday, after learning they
had found her daughter. According to investigators, "she confessed to
beating the victim with a 'hard heeled shoe.' " Detectives obtained a search
warrant for the house on Buckskin Trail in an effort to find the shoe and
other evidence, a release issued by the sheriff's department said. While
searching the house, they found human remains -- apparently of two young
children--in the freezer.
"Due to the condition of the remains . . . the Medical Examiners Office
requested the entire freezer be brought to Baltimore so the evidence could
be removed," the release said.
While Bowman allegedly told detectives the remains were those of her other
two daughters, authorities said they do not yet know how many remains
are
in
the freezer and have not confirmed their identities.
The bodies were inside a freezer that "was probably the normal height, and
probably four foot wide," Moore said. "All we see is a big block of ice with
these two children encapsulated in them. . . . We can't even do the autopsy
probably until tomorrow because we're still trying to thaw them out."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/29/AR200...

Bowman Family Friend Says She Knew Something Was Wrong
posted 7:35 pm Tue September 30, 2008 - WASHINGTON
For one woman who knows Renee Bowman, it was one word that startled
her.
"I was like, 'The freezer, oh my God, the freezer,'" said the woman,
who did not want to be identified.
It was in that freezer that investigators say they found human remains
believed to be that of two of Bowman's adopted children. The children
are officially listed as missing for now. Bowman allegedly told
investigators the children's bodies were in the freezer.
The medical examiner took possession of the freezer and the remains
for identification and autopsies. The results had not been made public
as of Friday night.
The family friend said Bowman asked her family several times to carry
the freezer when she moved, arousing suspicions in the back of her
mind.
"And that's when the antennas went up. I told my daughter, 'Something
wrong here,'" recalled the family friend.
Investigators say there was nothing about the freezer to indicate the
horrors it held.
"It was just in the basement corner, nothing around it," said Rosemary
King of the Calvert County Investigative Team, who also said the
freezer was not locked or duct-taped closed.
The friend said her daughter went to high school with Bowman at Saint
Patrick's Academy in Downtown D.C. The two were best friends, she
said, hanging out and spending holidays together, including
Thanksgiving 2007. But there was one thing missing: the kids.
"I asked her at Thanksgiving. I said, 'Renee, nobody sends their kids
away for holidays.' I said, 'It's Thanksgiving, they belong here with
us.'"
She says her daughter wonders if she could have prevented it.
"My daughter feels responsible, because, she said, 'Momma, had I
called when you told me to, maybe I could have saved those two kids,"
said the woman.
The friend said Bowman had not reacted well to questions about her
adopted children in the past. Several years ago, the oldest daughter,
who was born in 1997, was enrolled in day care at at Douglas Memorial
Church in Northeast.
"The daycare lady asked Renee why is she eating so much for a little
girl," the family friend recalled.
The friend said Bowman pulled the girl out of day care, and decided to
home school her children.
"And that's the last time we believe the kids were in any educational
setting," she said.
Bowman admitted to abusing her adopted children, according to court
documents, which say Bowman told police she knew what she did was
wrong, that she was out of control, needed help and that she was angry
about her daughter's mental capacity.
"All she would ever say, 'Does God forgive you for everything?' All
she would say," recalled the friend.
Bowman's third adopted daughter escaped from the home, triggering the
investigation. She remains at Children's hospital and could be
released as early as Thursday, officials said. She will be placed with
a foster family, according to Maryland's Department of Human
Resources.http://www.wjla.com/news/stories/0908/557813.html
-----------------------------
That poor little girl. She loses her real mom/dad for whatever reason.
Then she is adopted by a monster. I wonder how long she had been with this
monster. I wonder if she witnessed the other two being murdered.
I still want to know how the frick Bowman was able to adopt these kids.
Chocolic

Our nation's capital, I believe, is where the adoption took place. We
should be ashamed as a nation at how easily kids are given away to
murderers.
e/c annie
Since the kids were already in foster care, and they are minority
children, I'd guess it isn't too hard to adopt, unfortunately.
td

Are you saying that prospective adoptive situations of minority children
are not as stringently scrutinized as a white child's would be? If so,
that's very disturbing, not to mention disgusting.

You don't think that is true? I'm certainly not suggesting it's something I
support, but we've seen it again and again with hard to place children,
haven't we?? What about all the learning disabled children we've seen
right here? Remember all those kids a couple years ago, who were kept in
cages? And how many times have we seen these same sort of results.
Remember the woman who adopted from New York who were discovered, was it in
Florida? I think it's probably far easier to *adopt* children from the
foster care system than it is to *adopt* healthy, newborn infants or
toddlers of any race.

Poe

2008-10-01 17:59:06 UTC

Post by tiny dancer
Calvert Police Recover Frozen Remains of Two Children
By Matt Zapotosky and Debbi Wilgoren
Washington Post Staff Writers
Monday, September 29, 2008; 10:04 AM
Calvert County sheriff's deputies on Saturday recovered the bodies of two
small children from a standalone freezer after being called to a
neighborhood in Lusby to investigate the report of an injured child.
In a news release issued this morning, authorities said they had
arrested
a
woman who allegedly told them the children were her adopted daughters and
their remains had been frozen since at least February.
The woman, 43-year-old Renee Bowman, allegedly also told investigators that
she had beaten a third adopted daughter. That girl, aged 7, was found by
investigators Saturday after escaping from a locked bedroom by jumping out
the window, the Calvert sheriff's office said.
Bowman was charged with child abuse in connection with the 7-year-old.
At
a
hearing this morning in Calvert District Court, Judge Robert Riddle ordered
her held without bond.
Authorities said the two dead children's remains were encased in a
block
of
ice, and their identities likely will not be confirmed until the ice melts
and autopsies can be performed,
Because Bowman allegedly told investigators that she had moved to Lusby from
Rockville in February, and had brought the children's remains with her,
authorities believe the girls died in Rockville, investigators said. Any
criminal charges relating to their deaths would therefore likely come from
Montgomery County, rather than Calvert.
Bowman allegedly told investigators she had adopted all three girls
from
the
District of Columbia.
The investigation began Saturday morning, after a tipster reported that a
young girl was wandering around a neighborhood in Lusby neighborhood
unattended, said Detective Sgt. Michael Moore of the Calvert Investigative
Team.
When authorities arrived in the neighborhood around 9:30 a.m., Moore said,
they saw that the 7-year-old girl was wounded and transported her to
Children's Hospital.
The girl told hospital officials that she had been beaten by her mother,
whom she identified as Bowman. Investigators said the girl had been locked
in a second-floor bedroom in a home on Buckskin Trail, and had jumped out
the window to escape.
Bowman came to the sheriff's office later on Saturday, after learning they
had found her daughter. According to investigators, "she confessed to
beating the victim with a 'hard heeled shoe.' " Detectives obtained a search
warrant for the house on Buckskin Trail in an effort to find the shoe and
other evidence, a release issued by the sheriff's department said. While
searching the house, they found human remains -- apparently of two young
children--in the freezer.
"Due to the condition of the remains . . . the Medical Examiners Office
requested the entire freezer be brought to Baltimore so the evidence could
be removed," the release said.
While Bowman allegedly told detectives the remains were those of her other
two daughters, authorities said they do not yet know how many remains
are
in
the freezer and have not confirmed their identities.
The bodies were inside a freezer that "was probably the normal height, and
probably four foot wide," Moore said. "All we see is a big block of ice with
these two children encapsulated in them. . . . We can't even do the autopsy
probably until tomorrow because we're still trying to thaw them out."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/29/AR200...

Bowman Family Friend Says She Knew Something Was Wrong
posted 7:35 pm Tue September 30, 2008 - WASHINGTON
For one woman who knows Renee Bowman, it was one word that startled
her.
"I was like, 'The freezer, oh my God, the freezer,'" said the woman,
who did not want to be identified.
It was in that freezer that investigators say they found human remains
believed to be that of two of Bowman's adopted children. The children
are officially listed as missing for now. Bowman allegedly told
investigators the children's bodies were in the freezer.
The medical examiner took possession of the freezer and the remains
for identification and autopsies. The results had not been made public
as of Friday night.
The family friend said Bowman asked her family several times to carry
the freezer when she moved, arousing suspicions in the back of her
mind.
"And that's when the antennas went up. I told my daughter, 'Something
wrong here,'" recalled the family friend.
Investigators say there was nothing about the freezer to indicate the
horrors it held.
"It was just in the basement corner, nothing around it," said Rosemary
King of the Calvert County Investigative Team, who also said the
freezer was not locked or duct-taped closed.
The friend said her daughter went to high school with Bowman at Saint
Patrick's Academy in Downtown D.C. The two were best friends, she
said, hanging out and spending holidays together, including
Thanksgiving 2007. But there was one thing missing: the kids.
"I asked her at Thanksgiving. I said, 'Renee, nobody sends their kids
away for holidays.' I said, 'It's Thanksgiving, they belong here with
us.'"
She says her daughter wonders if she could have prevented it.
"My daughter feels responsible, because, she said, 'Momma, had I
called when you told me to, maybe I could have saved those two kids,"
said the woman.
The friend said Bowman had not reacted well to questions about her
adopted children in the past. Several years ago, the oldest daughter,
who was born in 1997, was enrolled in day care at at Douglas Memorial
Church in Northeast.
"The daycare lady asked Renee why is she eating so much for a little
girl," the family friend recalled.
The friend said Bowman pulled the girl out of day care, and decided to
home school her children.
"And that's the last time we believe the kids were in any educational
setting," she said.
Bowman admitted to abusing her adopted children, according to court
documents, which say Bowman told police she knew what she did was
wrong, that she was out of control, needed help and that she was angry
about her daughter's mental capacity.
"All she would ever say, 'Does God forgive you for everything?' All
she would say," recalled the friend.
Bowman's third adopted daughter escaped from the home, triggering the
investigation. She remains at Children's hospital and could be
released as early as Thursday, officials said. She will be placed with
a foster family, according to Maryland's Department of Human
Resources.http://www.wjla.com/news/stories/0908/557813.html
-----------------------------
That poor little girl. She loses her real mom/dad for whatever reason.
Then she is adopted by a monster. I wonder how long she had been with this
monster. I wonder if she witnessed the other two being murdered.
I still want to know how the frick Bowman was able to adopt these kids.
Chocolic

Our nation's capital, I believe, is where the adoption took place. We
should be ashamed as a nation at how easily kids are given away to
murderers.
e/c annie
Since the kids were already in foster care, and they are minority
children, I'd guess it isn't too hard to adopt, unfortunately.
td

Are you saying that prospective adoptive situations of minority children
are not as stringently scrutinized as a white child's would be? If so,
that's very disturbing, not to mention disgusting.

I agree that kids in foster care who get adopted often end up in bad
situations, it seems. I was thinking more along the lines of
mistreatment along lines of white vs. minorities when it comes to
ensuring, as best as is possible, a good adoptive home.

j***@evms.edu

2008-10-01 19:31:54 UTC

Post by tiny dancer
Calvert Police Recover Frozen Remains of Two Children
By Matt Zapotosky and Debbi Wilgoren
Washington Post Staff Writers
Monday, September 29, 2008; 10:04 AM
Calvert County sheriff's deputies on Saturday recovered the bodies of two
small children from a standalone freezer after being called to a
neighborhood in Lusby to investigate the report of an injured child.
In a news release issued this morning, authorities said they had
arrested
a
woman who allegedly told them the children were her adopted daughters and
their remains had been frozen since at least February.
The woman, 43-year-old Renee Bowman, allegedly also told investigators that
she had beaten a third adopted daughter. That girl, aged 7, was found by
investigators Saturday after escaping from a locked bedroom by jumping out
the window, the Calvert sheriff's office said.
Bowman was charged with child abuse in connection with the 7-year-old.
At
a
hearing this morning in Calvert District Court, Judge Robert Riddle ordered
her held without bond.
Authorities said the two dead children's remains were encased in a
block
of
ice, and their identities likely will not be confirmed until the ice melts
and autopsies can be performed,
Because Bowman allegedly told investigators that she had moved to Lusby from
Rockville in February, and had brought the children's remains with her,
authorities believe the girls died in Rockville, investigators said. Any
criminal charges relating to their deaths would therefore likely come from
Montgomery County, rather than Calvert.
Bowman allegedly told investigators she had adopted all three girls
from
the
District of Columbia.
The investigation began Saturday morning, after a tipster reported that a
young girl was wandering around a neighborhood in Lusby neighborhood
unattended, said Detective Sgt. Michael Moore of the Calvert Investigative
Team.
When authorities arrived in the neighborhood around 9:30 a.m., Moore said,
they saw that the 7-year-old girl was wounded and transported her to
Children's Hospital.
The girl told hospital officials that she had been beaten by her mother,
whom she identified as Bowman. Investigators said the girl had been locked
in a second-floor bedroom in a home on Buckskin Trail, and had jumped out
the window to escape.
Bowman came to the sheriff's office later on Saturday, after learning they
had found her daughter. According to investigators, "she confessed to
beating the victim with a 'hard heeled shoe.' " Detectives obtained a search
warrant for the house on Buckskin Trail in an effort to find the shoe and
other evidence, a release issued by the sheriff's department said. While
searching the house, they found human remains -- apparently of two young
children--in the freezer.
"Due to the condition of the remains . . . the Medical Examiners Office
requested the entire freezer be brought to Baltimore so the evidence could
be removed," the release said.
While Bowman allegedly told detectives the remains were those of her other
two daughters, authorities said they do not yet know how many remains
are
in
the freezer and have not confirmed their identities.
The bodies were inside a freezer that "was probably the normal height, and
probably four foot wide," Moore said. "All we see is a big block of ice with
these two children encapsulated in them. . . . We can't even do the autopsy
probably until tomorrow because we're still trying to thaw them out."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/29/AR200...

Bowman Family Friend Says She Knew Something Was Wrong
posted 7:35 pm Tue September 30, 2008 - WASHINGTON
For one woman who knows Renee Bowman, it was one word that startled
her.
"I was like, 'The freezer, oh my God, the freezer,'" said the woman,
who did not want to be identified.
It was in that freezer that investigators say they found human remains
believed to be that of two of Bowman's adopted children. The children
are officially listed as missing for now. Bowman allegedly told
investigators the children's bodies were in the freezer.
The medical examiner took possession of the freezer and the remains
for identification and autopsies. The results had not been made public
as of Friday night.
The family friend said Bowman asked her family several times to carry
the freezer when she moved, arousing suspicions in the back of her
mind.
"And that's when the antennas went up. I told my daughter, 'Something
wrong here,'" recalled the family friend.
Investigators say there was nothing about the freezer to indicate the
horrors it held.
"It was just in the basement corner, nothing around it," said Rosemary
King of the Calvert County Investigative Team, who also said the
freezer was not locked or duct-taped closed.
The friend said her daughter went to high school with Bowman at Saint
Patrick's Academy in Downtown D.C. The two were best friends, she
said, hanging out and spending holidays together, including
Thanksgiving 2007. But there was one thing missing: the kids.
"I asked her at Thanksgiving. I said, 'Renee, nobody sends their kids
away for holidays.' I said, 'It's Thanksgiving, they belong here with
us.'"
She says her daughter wonders if she could have prevented it.
"My daughter feels responsible, because, she said, 'Momma, had I
called when you told me to, maybe I could have saved those two kids,"
said the woman.
The friend said Bowman had not reacted well to questions about her
adopted children in the past. Several years ago, the oldest daughter,
who was born in 1997, was enrolled in day care at at Douglas Memorial
Church in Northeast.
"The daycare lady asked Renee why is she eating so much for a little
girl," the family friend recalled.
The friend said Bowman pulled the girl out of day care, and decided to
home school her children.
"And that's the last time we believe the kids were in any educational
setting," she said.
Bowman admitted to abusing her adopted children, according to court
documents, which say Bowman told police she knew what she did was
wrong, that she was out of control, needed help and that she was angry
about her daughter's mental capacity.
"All she would ever say, 'Does God forgive you for everything?' All
she would say," recalled the friend.
Bowman's third adopted daughter escaped from the home, triggering the
investigation. She remains at Children's hospital and could be
released as early as Thursday, officials said. She will be placed with
a foster family, according to Maryland's Department of Human
Resources.http://www.wjla.com/news/stories/0908/557813.html
-----------------------------
That poor little girl. She loses her real mom/dad for whatever reason.
Then she is adopted by a monster. I wonder how long she had been with this
monster. I wonder if she witnessed the other two being murdered.
I still want to know how the frick Bowman was able to adopt these kids.
Chocolic

Our nation's capital, I believe, is where the adoption took place. We
should be ashamed as a nation at how easily kids are given away to
murderers.
e/c annie
Since the kids were already in foster care, and they are minority
children, I'd guess it isn't too hard to adopt, unfortunately.
td

Are you saying that prospective adoptive situations of minority children
are not as stringently scrutinized as a white child's would be? If so,
that's very disturbing, not to mention disgusting.

I believe, because the woman is a minority - and the children are/were
minority and of special needs, that it's not too hard
to adopt given these circumstances. I suppose the 'system' might be
grateful for those who come forward and request or don't mind adopting
children with disabilities.

E/C Annie

2008-10-01 21:50:16 UTC