Lusby, MD - Renee Bowman, 43, had three daughters, all adopted. Now she has one daughter and two frozen corpses. And if you ask me, I think she was hoping to go 3-for-3 on the corpses. Bowman’s youngest child, a seven year old girl, was found horribly abused on Friday night after she jumped from a window in the home while Bowman was away. On Saturday, police found the remains of the girl’s older sisters, ages nine and eleven, in the basement freezer.
On Friday night, the little 7-year-old managed to escape her nightmare of Mommy Hell when Bowman left the home and went to the District of Columbia. She had locked the child in a bedroom while she was gone, and the little girl managed to jump out a window. She was walking from door to door wearing nothing but a t-shirt soaked in blood and fecal matter when a neighbor saw the child, gave her some clothes, and called 911.
The little girl had been beaten so badly that she had “open sores and lesions on her buttocks and lower thighs”, according to the initial police report made Friday night. She had been choked with a rope or cord hard enough to leave the marks around her neck. The child also had multiple bruises to her lips and her hands. She told police that she jumped out the window to get away from her mother’s constant beatings.
Nobody was home when investigators first went to the home, so the seven-year-old was taken into Child Protective Services emergency custody. Sometime later, Renee Bowman turned up at the sheriff’s office and verified that she had locked her daughter in a bedroom so she could make the trip fifty miles north to D.C.
When Bowman was interviewed by deputies about her youngest daughter, she admitted beating the child with a “hard-heeled shoe”. Bowman told officers that sometimes she “just loses control” and that she knew that what she did was wrong. She said she was “out of control and needs help.” Yeah, that’s just great. But she didn’t think to mention her other two daughters.
Bowman was arrested at that time and held without bond pending arraignment. In the meantime, investigators got a search warrant for Bowman’s Lusby home.
While officers were going through the house, they found a large chest freezer in the basement and opened it - whether they had a tip that there were kids in the freezer, I don’t know yet. If they didn’t, they sure got a surprise. Two female children, aged approximately nine and eleven, were frozen solid inside the freezer. They appeared to have been in the freezer for some time, possibly months or years.
The freezer and its tragic contents have been taken to Baltimore for analysis by the Maryland Medical Examiner, and officials at that office say that autopsies could take while. See, you have to be careful with frozen bodies once they’re solid. If you thaw them too fast, they start to rapidly decompose and you can lose evidence. If you don’t thaw them at all, there’s a problem getting good soft tissue analysis. So it’s a delicate procedure, and apparently Bowman “encased” the girls in ice.
When asked “WTF?!” by traumatized investigators, Bowman was cool, giving what was essentially an “oh, yeah, THEM” type of response. She allowed as how the girls were her older two daughters, and calmly stated that she had frozen the girls before she moved to Lusby from Rockville, Maryland, in February. She has not offered a cause of death for her children or supplied a motive. But given what she did to her surviving little girl, I’m gonna put my money in the pool for death by strangulation secondary to child abuse.
Bowman’s youngest child, at least, was never enrolled in school in Calvert County. So for the last eight months she’s been at home with Mommie Dearest and the corpses of her two sisters. I’d suggest donations to a therapy fund for that kid. And here’s hoping she never has to see her adoptive mother again.
Note to CPS: I’m out of state, but I’ll take her. Hit me with an email. I know how to treat kids, and it does not involve ropes, cords, beatings with shoes, or freezing.
Renee Bowman remains in custody in the Calvert County Jail without bond. Currently, she is only charged with first-degree child abuse in the case of her youngest daughter, but prosecutors plan to add more charges as autopsy results become available. This case is still early in its investigation, so stay tuned for updates as they happen.
44 responses so far ↓
1
Castille
Sep 29, 2008 at 7:16 pm -What the fuck is that mop they stuck on the back of this bald woman’s head? She put her make-up on before heading on down to the sheriff’s office. Didn’t help that fugly mugshot any.
2
lapsus.lingua
Sep 29, 2008 at 7:27 pm -She was probably saving them for later, when she ran out of grocery money. Judging by those 10 or 12 chins, nasty fat bitch sure hasn’t missed any meals.
3
saltwatergirl
Sep 29, 2008 at 7:29 pm -One guess why she went to DC huh?
looks like a crackhead…scary
4
lakewriter51340
Sep 29, 2008 at 7:31 pm -Seriously, WTF? Are you with me on this? She MOVED from one county to another WITH the corpses in her freezer. She’d have had to unplug the freezer, have someone move it, or have it on a cart, as one cannot simply move a chest freezer alone, and plug it in again once there.
Or alternatively, she found another location to store the popsicle children while moving the freezer, or if she got a new freezer in her new house, she still transported them from one house to another without being detected.
I don’t know of a facility for the criminally insane that would be appropriate. I am generally anti-death penalty because of all the mistakes that have been made in convictions, but in an obvious case like this, and a mind where no one is home and the thought process is obviously unfixable, I am for a quick extermination just to save everyone the trouble.
I hope the DA can convict on the evidence available and the little girl won’t have to deal with this ever again. If she’d been the 11 year old or a teenager or young adult, I might think she’d feel some vindication and get some healing from getting on the stand, no matter how scary, and putting this woman (not a mother) away. However, I can see no such positive outcome for a seven year old. I think she needs to be placed out of Maryland far away from all of this with a very therapeutic, loving and hopefully permanent home.
5
lapsus.lingua
Sep 29, 2008 at 7:38 pm -AMEN!!!
6
jenthgr8
Sep 29, 2008 at 7:47 pm -This is one of the more sickening cases I’ve seen since joining up. This poor little girl. I can’t even imagine what hell she must have gone through. SHE JUMPED OUT OF A FUCKING WINDOW. Just to escape this sick fat bitch. Poor, poor kid. I’m having a hard time wrapping my mind around this one.
7
The Masked Web Avenger
Sep 29, 2008 at 7:57 pm -I have never wanted to beat the shit out of a woman so bad. I think it is very very wrong for a man to hit a woman, but this bitch deserves to be the exception to the rule. I think we should start writing random female inmates a Calvert County Jail letting them know what there new roomate did. Let the lovely ladies of Calvert seek justice on that ass.
8
WhatThe
Sep 29, 2008 at 8:15 pm -WOW. Good for this little girl, for jumping out of the damn window. What faith and stong will she must have had to go get herself some help. I can barely believe it. Do you think she knew her big sisters were in the freezer? God, what a nightmare. UGH.
9
cnkc
Sep 29, 2008 at 8:41 pm -That’s it. THAT. IS. IT.
How…HOW was this woman allowed to ADOPT?
Do you all KNOW what all kinds of training and psych testing my DH and I had to undergo to be FPs?????? Our classes were through a private agency, and we were jumping through hoops for weeks and MONTHS. Then more adoption studies, more hoops, more training, more classes….and to keep our license, a MINIMUM of 15 hours of training each every year.
How can this stuff happen? I DO NOT UNDERSTAND.
10
miss_luckycharm
Sep 29, 2008 at 8:51 pm -im new at posting comments,but what i wanted to know was what did she say happened to the other 2 girls. I mean was she that incognito that nobody recognized that this two other girls were missing. Cause if it were me i would be asking all type of questions cause im nosey like that,Im just surprised no neighbors asked questions.
11
April
Sep 29, 2008 at 8:58 pm -I am fucking disgusted. WTF did this bitch think?? That it was okay to beat, strangle and starve children?? Someone needs to beat, strangle and starver her fat, fugly ass. GRRRRRR!!!
12
The Masked Web Avenger
Sep 29, 2008 at 9:04 pm -Don’t forget to shove her ass in a freezer when your done April. You are going to need a big ass freezer.
13
April
Sep 29, 2008 at 9:16 pm -Damn - I forgot that part. Thanks MWA!!
14
The Masked Web Avenger
Sep 29, 2008 at 9:21 pm -Just doing my civic duty!
15
SilliMari
Sep 29, 2008 at 9:54 pm -Nobody knew to even ask about the girls…she moved! She left wherever it was that everyone knew about their existence and moved somewhere new.
I saw a clip of this shit on the news just a couple hours ago. F’king sick bitch
16
lakewriter51340
Sep 29, 2008 at 9:56 pm -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.
This is from http://www.examiner.com/a-1613.....mp-popular
So she’s been a foster mom since at least 2001, adopted one girl, and then the 9 year old and 7 year old were bio-sisters adopted in 2004, which would have made the little 7 year old only three. Geez, what a hard life she’s had, probably not knowing anything but abuse.
From http://www.myfoxdc.com/myfox/p.....geId=3.1.1
[The neighbor] Garrett, 21, who lives two houses down from Bowman, said he brought the girl to a neighbor’s house, called 911 and ordered her a pizza. She indicated she had last eaten on Tuesday when her father was at the home, said Garrett, who realized he had met her mother once and described her as “frazzled.”
“She didn’t seem like all her pieces were there,” Garrett said.
Evans said Bowman had a boyfriend who was cooperating with investigators. The boyfriend was a potential witness, but Evans would not comment on whether he was a suspect. He said the man did not live with Bowman and was not a father to her children.
No, ya think? Yet I can see in a suburb where people keep to themselves, sadly this can fall under the radar.
I wonder if this boyfriend is the “father” the little girl was referring to and how much of this he was aware of. It would seem that he brought them food and stuff, so it may have been a little better than just being Renee’s crack n fuck buddy.
I’m still left with: seriously WTF?
17
SilliMari
Sep 29, 2008 at 9:57 pm -I know she “adopted” these girls, but let me point something out that has changed over the years. *I* was adopted…my parents received NO money for me. Not on a monthly basis NOR for the legal procedures of the adoption. All monies paid came out of the pockets of my parents.
That’s not the same anymore. You can “adopt” children in the foster care system and STILL get monthly financial help. My ex-husband and his new wife have adopted a little girl from the foster system and get nearly $1,000/month til she’s 18.
This fat ugly piece of lard was in this for the money!
18
SilliMari
Sep 29, 2008 at 10:00 pm -Oh, so am I!
What kind of a man could get a damn hard-on over this NAAAASTY looking bitch!
19
lakewriter51340
Sep 29, 2008 at 10:03 pm -Which she spent on crack, high heels, rope and a freezer instead of food and clothes for them.
My understanding of that, and my bio-mom and her ex husband raised four teenagers this way — adoption from foster care where they still get a monthly stipend plus the kids are still on Medicaid as though they’re still foster kids — is that in exchange for accepting the government’s money, you still get the fun of government oversight. I don’t know if it’s a periodic social worker visit like for foster care but I think they filed semi annual reports and stuff that helped ensure the children were enrolled in school and going to doctors and dentists.
She doesn’t look like she could fill out a fake prescription or organize a trip to the bathroom. So, I do still think some caseworkers let these girls fall way through the cracks.
20
The Masked Web Avenger
Sep 29, 2008 at 10:08 pm -Burn the bitch! I’ll get the charcoal, somebody get the stake. Where is a good inquisitor (a’ la the Spanish Inquisition, my favorite inquisition by far!) when you need one. Those dudes ruled at burning people at the stake.
21
miss_luckycharm
Sep 29, 2008 at 10:12 pm -sillimari, thanx for that i was just confused i didnt read or see the video yet. But,thats understandable she is a fucking waste of space on this earth. Why adopt only to hurt them, i don’t get it.
22
silvahalo
Sep 29, 2008 at 11:36 pm -Oh, my lord, this poor child. The nightmare she has been living for years is unimaginable. Knowing her sisters were dead and frozen in the same house she was beaten is beyond cruel… it is evil. Look at that face ladies and gentlemen….evil before you. Not to mention she is a pieceofshit *M*F* child killer. And you know, I really *F* fathom child killers!
It would please me beyond orgasmic ecstasy to see this horrid ugly, pieceofshit die and stop breathing our air. First I want her to suffer. I want it all: Starvation, beatings, emotional abuse and oh, yes, *F* with an inanimate object repeatedly.
Unbelievable…just unbelievable…
Rest in peace little ones and I and pray this little girl will get all the love and support she will need for the remainder of her life.
23
Peeperann
Sep 30, 2008 at 9:55 am -Whoa, wait a minute?? The little girls said she had last eaten on Tuesday when her FATHER was at home?? WTF? There was a father? We need more info on this…..
Poor little girl, Thank God at 7 years old she had the presence of mind to jump out the window and go get help. God, what must she have been thru and I really hope she did not know her sisters were in the freezer……
And thank God for the neighbor who finally helped her and did the right thing….
24
claddaghgirl
Sep 30, 2008 at 10:23 am -Jesus … the level of insanity is just getting worse. God help this poor child and I hope the mother dies screaming.
25
CassieMomma
Sep 30, 2008 at 1:42 pm -Agreed! I need to stop asking why and just understand that there are people, no wasted breaths of air, on this earth that can’t have feelings and are just seriously fucked up!
Hope this poor girl can overcome, she seems very strong.
26
lakewriter51340
Sep 30, 2008 at 1:52 pm -I wonder if that was the boyfriend. Even though Renee said he did not live with them and was “not a father to the girls” it seemed like he was around in an on again off again way. I can see where maybe Renee (hard to imagine I know) was able to use the same sweet talking charm she used to become an adoptive mom in the first place to charm the boyfriend.
The boyfriend got close to the girls (how he could not know about the beatings I’m not sure at this point) and when it was revealed that indeed Renee was a messed up skank, he told the girls, “I’ll always be here for you and we’ll always be friends” whether he meant it or not. And feeling sorry for them, he did come over with food etc. once in a while.
I mean it does seem he was at least a step up from just a crack-and-suck buddy of Renee’s.
That’s my theory anyway.
It’s so sad that they were ADOPTED by her. I mean for the seven year old and her bio-sister, the two younger girls, while their bio-parents may have done some things that would have earned them a spot on the DD front page at some point, given that those girls lived to be 3 and 5, their approximate ages at adoption, it would almost have HAD to be an improvement over Renee.
27
mjmsepm
Sep 30, 2008 at 2:35 pm -So that 11 year old had to be alive in 2004 or I dont think she would of been able to adopt 2 more…right or is a nother social worker not doing there job!
28
lakewriter51340
Sep 30, 2008 at 5:39 pm -I just emailed the Calvert County Department of Social Services to find out if there’s an address we can send this girl clothing, toys, books, etc. through her caseworker that would actually get to her, just so she knows someone cares.
I mean, I know a lot of us are very passionate about the Caylee Anthony case and many people around the country have sent toys and gifts to Caylee, which is great.
I would submit, however, that this little girl is here, alive, now and feeling alone and scared, though I’m sure not as scared as she was living with that beast. I’ll bet she was told no one cares about her and she’s nothing.
I’ll post the address when I get it and DDers can send gifts at will.
I just look over at my own daughter, now 12, and wish for this little Bowman girl to have some clothes that make her feel pretty and special, a cuddly blanket, some books and toys.
29
Zibarro
Sep 30, 2008 at 9:12 pm -What an awesome gesture.
I pray this little girl finds loving, devoted, compassionate parents and can begin to heal from this house of horrors.
How frightening to know that your mother killed your biological sister, your adopted sister… and (even at 7 yrs old) you know things are looking bad for you too. So at your first opportunity, you jump out the window! Brave, brave child! Wonder if maybe the “boyfriend” told the little girl what she could do once “mom” left the house? Maybe he was scared of the beast within it? (I would be)
Of course, if he knew ALL that happened and was still happening (while it was happening) he should also face charges.
I guess his (and the father’s) roles still confuse me.
30
V
Sep 30, 2008 at 10:34 pm -WTF. And to think that these people who end up on the Demon are the ones that have been caught. Consider the numbers that haven’t been.
31
lissalou
Oct 1, 2008 at 12:06 am -I would love to send something to this little girl, I hope they let you have an address, let us know ASAP!
32
Lilbay
Oct 1, 2008 at 4:51 am -I believe the money was when she was Fostering They would not have paid her after adoption Not that I know of.
Also this woman fostered and adopted in DC and than Moved. Have we forgotten the case recently with the women in DC who was in the home and all her kids were in the home dead. DSS Closed the case when No one answered the door when they went back for a return visit.
DC Social Services SUCK!!!!! Plain and simple. Maryland is following short on their heels depending on the county you visit.
Believe me they have sooo many kids and cases and so few workers that they just can not handle it and in DC and MD there has been a hiring freeze for years So no wonder kids fall through cracks. Mind you I am NOT justifying the work they do or the actions of these people just saying it is honestly a wonder there is not more of these type cases.
As far as the “Father” They are referring to the boyfriend. i have to wonder how much this guy really knew. The little girl said he was the only one who ever cared so maybe he really did not know but than again how in fuck do you hide a freezer with a block of ice that contains two dead kids??
Statements form old neighbors stated they moved in the middle of the night when they left their old home to move here. So did he help move? Did he know?
I am betting yes to all that. i think the only thing saving his sorry ass is that he is willing to testify and that the little girl said he was caring and never abused them.
I pray they burn this bitch alive and wish to heck i was closer i would go to the trial.
I do feel so sorry for this little girl though MD has been advertising for foster families and adoptive ones left and right lately So i am betting they are running thin on options for kids like this.
I think it is wonderful that so many want to help this little girl. She truly needs a lot of hugs after life with that cow.
33
nadine
Oct 1, 2008 at 5:30 am -What a tragedy for the three of the girls and for the two who died from the bitch’s abuse, unexcusible and very unneccassary for this to happen, for the little girl that jumped out the window for help, GOD BLESS HER SOUL and for the courage it must have taken her to do so. May she find love and peace in her NEW life for herself and hopefully she will get a good family to give her that….. NOW FOR THE “MOM” yeah right? MOM? don’t think she should be called a mother, but anyway, for her may she rot inhell and never see daylight again, lock her ass up or torture her or plain out kill her, whatever who cares and now my question is this???? Is there no process that you must go through to adopt children? I thought that you needed to go through a big process and be married with spouse and have a mental evaluation to go through? Does that not exist anymore????????????
34
Lilbay
Oct 1, 2008 at 6:45 am -According to the news this morning on WJZ TV the woman did in fact go through that stuff and there are no other charges of abuse in this woman’s past.
The little girl is in the Hospital and it appears they have a loving foster home lined up for her when she is released.
Neighbors state they had no idea there was even a child at that home. I was under the impression the child was in school but I am thinking they moved before school started and never enrolled her in the Calvery County School system. If she had that child would have given up some red flags.
So it seems she likely told the other school they are moving and never told them where and then never placed her in the new school. Which makes me wonder how long it would have been before she too ended up dead. That poor baby.
Updated info and news can be read here
http://wjz.com/local/lusby.fre.....29304.html
35
c_ann
Oct 2, 2008 at 4:12 am -I want to know what the hell is wrong w/her neck.
36
Lilbay
Oct 2, 2008 at 7:31 am -Which one? :0)
By the way according to news The daughters were killed a year ago. They were actually moved several times since their death.
http://wjz.com/topstories/Calv.....29969.html
37
lakewriter51340
Oct 3, 2008 at 2:31 pm -I received this email today in response to my inquiry about sending clothes, toys and/or books to the surviving girl:
Dear [my first name]:
We thank you for your thoughtfulness. Anything that you would like to send will be delivered to this child or held in trust for her. She is a size 7 and likes pink and yellow. Items, gift cards, or donations can be sent to:
Calvet County Department of Social Services
Calvert’s Child
200 Duke Street
Prince Frederick, MD 20678
Again, thank you for your kindness.
Amye W. Scrivener, LCSW-C
Assistant Director for Services
Calvert County Dept of Social Services
443-550-6967
38
CassieMomma
Oct 3, 2008 at 2:39 pm -Ok for some reason I just started crying…..hope no one walks by (I am at work). Thank you so much for sharing the address, I feel very compelled to send something, she has to know that people care, even if it’s just a card wishing her well.
39
lakewriter51340
Oct 3, 2008 at 3:15 pm -I know…I had a little tear reading “she likes pink and yellow” for some reason. I think it brought home that this is a little person with longings and a soul and her soul is still alive after all of this. I felt it too when she asked specifically for I believe ham and pineapple on the pizza the neighbor ordered for her.
It makes me feel like it will be a long road to recover from everything she’s gone through in her short life, but that she will be okay.
Also the “Calvert’s Child” thing got to me — that a) I hope it’s true there’s been an outpouring from the community there; and b) that obviously for her anonymity and safety we can’t know her name, which is sad. I wish I did know. Maybe we will when they officially announce the deaths of the sisters and ID and bury them.
40
Wonder
Oct 15, 2008 at 3:23 pm -Today Show Video the girls identity and names
The address of the house they believe their deaths occurred.
2005 - 06 and asking anyone that can help to create a timeline
They are hoping for a handful of people to come forward. Due to the girls hadn’t attended school so there may not of been much contact with people
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/.....0#27119343
41
sugarglider
Oct 16, 2008 at 4:58 pm -Poor baby! I sure hope her tomorrows are brighter.
42
CrazyKid
Oct 17, 2008 at 10:44 am -ok now i def. want to know what happens with this because this lady should undergo lethal injection. it shoots chills down my whole body to know this lady is even in our prisons being fed with a roof over her head and being taken care of after she commited such a crime. its disgusting. just looking at her mugshot makes me literally sick to my stomache [[gag]]
43
moonlilly1981
Oct 23, 2008 at 8:17 am -Update on this for everyone. The Balitmore sun Reports that she has been indictied on attempted murder charges for the little girl not beaten to death and locked in the freezer. Here is the article.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/ne.....7020.story
44
Castille
Oct 23, 2008 at 9:06 am -It seems like a tough charge to prove when your best argument is “look, she killed those other two,” when you haven’t proven that yet. I guess Calvert County wants to make sure to hold her on a high bond while Montgomery County puts together a murder case.
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