MI AUNDRIA BOWMAN: Missing from Holland, MI - 11 March 1989 - Age 14 *Found Deceased**NO CONTEST PLEA*

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If you're not familiar with Aundria Bowman's case, you can see her Facebook page Find Aundria M Bowman that her bio mother Cathy runs. I'll add more when I have more time.

Aundria's (birth name Alexis M Badger) adoptive father Dennis Bowman was arrested in November for the 1980 rape and brutal murder of a lady named Kathleen Doyle, 25, in Norfolk, Virginia.

Allegan Co. man admitted killing girl in 1989, mom says- by: WOODTV.com staff - Posted: Feb 5, 2020 / 12:48 PM EST / Updated: Feb 5, 2020 / 01:50 PM EST

ALLEGAN, Mich. (WOOD) — An Allegan County man has confessed to killing his adopted daughter 30 years ago, the girl’s mother told News 8.

Aundria Bowman, 14, vanished from her Hamilton Township home March 11, 1989. Aundria’s biological mother Cathy Terkanian had always suspected Aundria’s adoptive father Dennis Bowman was behind hit.

Authorities are conducting a search at Dennis Bowman’s home on 136th Avenue near Hamilton.

The Allegan County Sheriff’s Office will be hosting a press conference at 5:30 p.m. today in reference to the case
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edited by staff to add media link
 
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Alexis was in Soul Asylums Runaway Train video that was played on the East side of the US, including Michigan. Her mom Cathy remembers watching it while she was living in New Orleans, thanking God her child wasn't missing because she was promised her daughter would have the best adoptive parents.

Alexis is featured right after the rape scene which was taken out of other versions. Her version is very hard to find but I was fortunate to find someone that had a copy of it for Alexis's 40th birthday; she had also been missing 25 years that year.

Link to the video on my google drive. We can't upload it.to you tube; it gets removed due to copyright

Soul Asylums Runaway Train
 

DNA test of Michigan remains may bring mother's search to sad end

Larsen said the results of the DNA taken from the remains dug up from Bowman's backyard could be available "soon."

Terkanian said she's convinced the remains belong to her daughter, and said if Bowman is ever charged with Aundria's murder, it will give her some closure, although she said she's still struggling to cope with everything that's happened.

"I'm angry," she said. "This was my only daughter, and she was killed and buried like that. This nearly killed me, but it didn't. I'm back at the gym. I'm still fighting for my daughter."



FWIW, Cathy has posted on her Facebook page that the remains have been ID'ed as Aundria/Alexis as of 3/11...
 
I still cannot believe a man who had kidnapped a child was ALLOWED to adopt a BABY. And he went on to commit more severe crimes. Genealogy DNA does it again. At least she has been found. Sad story. Prayers for her mother.
 

DNA test of Michigan remains may bring mother's search to sad end

Larsen said the results of the DNA taken from the remains dug up from Bowman's backyard could be available "soon."

Terkanian said she's convinced the remains belong to her daughter, and said if Bowman is ever charged with Aundria's murder, it will give her some closure, although she said she's still struggling to cope with everything that's happened.

"I'm angry," she said. "This was my only daughter, and she was killed and buried like that. This nearly killed me, but it didn't. I'm back at the gym. I'm still fighting for my daughter."



FWIW, Cathy has posted on her Facebook page that the remains have been ID'ed as Aundria/Alexis as of 3/11...

The article contains many errors. I'm posting the corrections that are done by Cathy

First correction, The detective who notified me about my beloved daughter, 14 y.o. Alexis Badger (name I gave her and use) aka Aundria M Bowman's disappearance was NOT from VA. The detective was from Allegan, MI. The Allegan Sheriff's detective told me, Dennis Lee Bowman had a criminal background prior to the abduction via adoption of Alexis.

Second correction, The road to finding Alexis started for me in the mid to late nineties by calling the agencies involved in the adoption of my daughter. Then in 2000 with the internet I was able to go onto site and register myself as searching for her. Then in 2010 I was notified that Alexis had gone missing from her adoptive family. The story was 14 y.o. Alexis/Aundria had been reported by her adoptive male person, Dennis Lee Bowman had "stolen money and run away." I investigated Dennis Lee Bowman and his criminal background from 2011 to 2020. I was told several times..."don't get ur hopes up!" I didn't listen to that message bc I determined to NEVER GIVE UP until I learned the truth and found my daughter!

Out of the blue, on Nov. 22, 2019, Norfolk,Va.police, Allegan Sheriff's, Ottawa Police and NCIS arrest Dennis Lee Bowman for the brutal rape and murder of 25 y.o. Kathleen Doyle in Norfolk, Va. on Sept 9, 1980. NCIS and Norfolk police used biological evidence left at the murder/rape scene with the new tactic of genealogy research to locate Dennis Lee Bowman as the murderer/rapist of Kathleen Doyle.

After the arrest Allegan police tried to get Bowman to tell the truth about what really happened to 14 y.o. Alexis/Aundria, but all cowardly Dennis Lee Bowman would admit was " I fought with Aundria, she fell down the stairs and broke her neck!"
Then Bowman told police, "I put Aundria's body in a garbage can and the truck picked it up and took it to the landfill."

Third correction, Dennis Lee Bowman murdered 14 y.o. Alexis/Aundria at his rented home in Lincoln Ave and M40, on the outskirts of Hamilton, MI. then took her dead body to 3210 136th Ave in Hamilton, MI. in Monterey, Township where he buried her in the backyard!! Bowman bought that property six months later and moved into the trailer that stood over the shallow grave where he buried my only child in!

In 2016 I told police my theory that Bowman had my child's body buried in his backyard, but it wasn't acted on until police weren't able to get Bowman to tell the truth about what he did with Alexis' remains. As almost a last resort, police obtained a search warrant for Dennis and Brenda Engweiler Bowman's 136th Ave property, and on Feb. 5th 2020, police exhumed skeletal remains from exactly where I told them to look!!

On March 11, 2020, exactly 31 years after Dennis Lee Bowman reported 14 y.o. Alexis/Aundria DNA confirmed the remains exhumed from Dennis Lee Bowman's backyard where my much beloved, much missed, never forgotten, missing girl, 14 y.o. Alexis Badger aka Aundria M Bowman.

Forth correction, Dennis Lee Bowman had a criminal record in MI. prior to being allowed to adopt in Va. Brenda Engweiler Bowman knew Bowman's criminal background but stayed silent.

The professionals tasked to find STABLE LOVING FAMILIES FAILED MY CHILD AND GOT HER MURDERED! The family courts sanctioned it! When I asked the professionals why they allowed a man with a violent criminal history against young women they spat back at me.."HOW WERE WE SUPPOSE TO KNOW??!!" Next I will petition the court and have this nightmare abduction via adoption annulled, so I can bring Alexis home and bury her properly!
 
The article contains many errors. I'm posting the corrections that are done by Cathy

First correction, The detective who notified me about my beloved daughter, 14 y.o. Alexis Badger (name I gave her and use) aka Aundria M Bowman's disappearance was NOT from VA. The detective was from Allegan, MI. The Allegan Sheriff's detective told me, Dennis Lee Bowman had a criminal background prior to the abduction via adoption of Alexis.

Second correction, The road to finding Alexis started for me in the mid to late nineties by calling the agencies involved in the adoption of my daughter. Then in 2000 with the internet I was able to go onto site and register myself as searching for her. Then in 2010 I was notified that Alexis had gone missing from her adoptive family. The story was 14 y.o. Alexis/Aundria had been reported by her adoptive male person, Dennis Lee Bowman had "stolen money and run away." I investigated Dennis Lee Bowman and his criminal background from 2011 to 2020. I was told several times..."don't get ur hopes up!" I didn't listen to that message bc I determined to NEVER GIVE UP until I learned the truth and found my daughter!

Out of the blue, on Nov. 22, 2019, Norfolk,Va.police, Allegan Sheriff's, Ottawa Police and NCIS arrest Dennis Lee Bowman for the brutal rape and murder of 25 y.o. Kathleen Doyle in Norfolk, Va. on Sept 9, 1980. NCIS and Norfolk police used biological evidence left at the murder/rape scene with the new tactic of genealogy research to locate Dennis Lee Bowman as the murderer/rapist of Kathleen Doyle.

After the arrest Allegan police tried to get Bowman to tell the truth about what really happened to 14 y.o. Alexis/Aundria, but all cowardly Dennis Lee Bowman would admit was " I fought with Aundria, she fell down the stairs and broke her neck!"
Then Bowman told police, "I put Aundria's body in a garbage can and the truck picked it up and took it to the landfill."

Third correction, Dennis Lee Bowman murdered 14 y.o. Alexis/Aundria at his rented home in Lincoln Ave and M40, on the outskirts of Hamilton, MI. then took her dead body to 3210 136th Ave in Hamilton, MI. in Monterey, Township where he buried her in the backyard!! Bowman bought that property six months later and moved into the trailer that stood over the shallow grave where he buried my only child in!

In 2016 I told police my theory that Bowman had my child's body buried in his backyard, but it wasn't acted on until police weren't able to get Bowman to tell the truth about what he did with Alexis' remains. As almost a last resort, police obtained a search warrant for Dennis and Brenda Engweiler Bowman's 136th Ave property, and on Feb. 5th 2020, police exhumed skeletal remains from exactly where I told them to look!!

On March 11, 2020, exactly 31 years after Dennis Lee Bowman reported 14 y.o. Alexis/Aundria DNA confirmed the remains exhumed from Dennis Lee Bowman's backyard where my much beloved, much missed, never forgotten, missing girl, 14 y.o. Alexis Badger aka Aundria M Bowman.

Forth correction, Dennis Lee Bowman had a criminal record in MI. prior to being allowed to adopt in Va. Brenda Engweiler Bowman knew Bowman's criminal background but stayed silent.

The professionals tasked to find STABLE LOVING FAMILIES FAILED MY CHILD AND GOT HER MURDERED! The family courts sanctioned it! When I asked the professionals why they allowed a man with a violent criminal history against young women they spat back at me.."HOW WERE WE SUPPOSE TO KNOW??!!" Next I will petition the court and have this nightmare abduction via adoption annulled, so I can bring Alexis home and bury her properly!
Alexis's true mother is a real mom. And I find Brenda as guilty of this murder as her husband. She stood there and even went to some of the missing in Michigan gatherings as though she were distraught over Aundria. It was just a crock.
 
The article contains many errors. I'm posting the corrections that are done by Cathy

First correction, The detective who notified me about my beloved daughter, 14 y.o. Alexis Badger (name I gave her and use) aka Aundria M Bowman's disappearance was NOT from VA. The detective was from Allegan, MI. The Allegan Sheriff's detective told me, Dennis Lee Bowman had a criminal background prior to the abduction via adoption of Alexis.

Second correction, The road to finding Alexis started for me in the mid to late nineties by calling the agencies involved in the adoption of my daughter. Then in 2000 with the internet I was able to go onto site and register myself as searching for her. Then in 2010 I was notified that Alexis had gone missing from her adoptive family. The story was 14 y.o. Alexis/Aundria had been reported by her adoptive male person, Dennis Lee Bowman had "stolen money and run away." I investigated Dennis Lee Bowman and his criminal background from 2011 to 2020. I was told several times..."don't get ur hopes up!" I didn't listen to that message bc I determined to NEVER GIVE UP until I learned the truth and found my daughter!

Out of the blue, on Nov. 22, 2019, Norfolk,Va.police, Allegan Sheriff's, Ottawa Police and NCIS arrest Dennis Lee Bowman for the brutal rape and murder of 25 y.o. Kathleen Doyle in Norfolk, Va. on Sept 9, 1980. NCIS and Norfolk police used biological evidence left at the murder/rape scene with the new tactic of genealogy research to locate Dennis Lee Bowman as the murderer/rapist of Kathleen Doyle.

After the arrest Allegan police tried to get Bowman to tell the truth about what really happened to 14 y.o. Alexis/Aundria, but all cowardly Dennis Lee Bowman would admit was " I fought with Aundria, she fell down the stairs and broke her neck!"
Then Bowman told police, "I put Aundria's body in a garbage can and the truck picked it up and took it to the landfill."

Third correction, Dennis Lee Bowman murdered 14 y.o. Alexis/Aundria at his rented home in Lincoln Ave and M40, on the outskirts of Hamilton, MI. then took her dead body to 3210 136th Ave in Hamilton, MI. in Monterey, Township where he buried her in the backyard!! Bowman bought that property six months later and moved into the trailer that stood over the shallow grave where he buried my only child in!

In 2016 I told police my theory that Bowman had my child's body buried in his backyard, but it wasn't acted on until police weren't able to get Bowman to tell the truth about what he did with Alexis' remains. As almost a last resort, police obtained a search warrant for Dennis and Brenda Engweiler Bowman's 136th Ave property, and on Feb. 5th 2020, police exhumed skeletal remains from exactly where I told them to look!!

On March 11, 2020, exactly 31 years after Dennis Lee Bowman reported 14 y.o. Alexis/Aundria DNA confirmed the remains exhumed from Dennis Lee Bowman's backyard where my much beloved, much missed, never forgotten, missing girl, 14 y.o. Alexis Badger aka Aundria M Bowman.

Forth correction, Dennis Lee Bowman had a criminal record in MI. prior to being allowed to adopt in Va. Brenda Engweiler Bowman knew Bowman's criminal background but stayed silent.

The professionals tasked to find STABLE LOVING FAMILIES FAILED MY CHILD AND GOT HER MURDERED! The family courts sanctioned it! When I asked the professionals why they allowed a man with a violent criminal history against young women they spat back at me.."HOW WERE WE SUPPOSE TO KNOW??!!" Next I will petition the court and have this nightmare abduction via adoption annulled, so I can bring Alexis home and bury her properly!

I hope she wins and gets her daughter back so she can bury her. I don't see why they wouldn't approve it. It is only right and just.

I can't believe this agency "spat" at her. How would they know??? It is THEIR JOB to know!

I too believe his wife belongs in prison along with him.
 
30 years ago, I knew a nice couple who wanted to adopt a neighbor's great niece and they weren't unable to do so. I'm not quite sure why? I never did understand why they didn't get approved. Yet, a different jurisdiction approves a pervert murderer.

I have no words.
 
Michigan man sentenced to 2 life terms, 20 years for 1980 local murder

A 70-year-old Michigan man accused of the 1980 homicide of a Norfolk woman was sentenced to life Wednesday afternoon.

Dennis Lee Bowman pleaded guilty in the Norfolk Circuit Court to one count of first degree murder, one count of rape, and one count of Burglary.

Bowman was sentenced to two life terms in prison on both first degree murder and rape charges Wednesday. He was also sentenced to 20 years in prison for burglary.

Bowman was arrested in Allegan County, Michigan, for Kathleen O’Brien Doyle’s murder. Doyle was 25 when she was found murdered in her Norfolk residence on September 11, 1980.



Bowman will be returned to Allegan County where he was charged in May for the murder of his adopted daughter, Aundria Bowman. Bowman adopted Aundria when he lived in Norfolk.

Allegan County Prosecuting Attorney Mylene Koch charged Dennis Lee Bowman with Open Murder, Felony Murder and Child Abuse - 1st Degree and Mutilation of a Body.
 

Man Previously Arrested for Killing of Another Woman Is Now Charged for Murder and Mutilation of Daughter

Dennis Lee Bowman, 71, was charged with open murder, felony murder, first degree child abuse and mutilation of a body on Friday, 31 years after the disappearance of his 14-year-old daughter Aundria Michelle Bowman, according to a statement from the Allegan County Prosecutor's Office.

Prosecuting attorney Myrene Koch said that new information gathered by authorities in February led to the discovery of a shallow grave Allegan County, where investigators found and identified skeletal remains belonging to Aundria.

Koch said Dennis, who could face life in prison, will be brought back to Michigan to face his new charges.

In addition, Dennis has a criminal record that includes charges for assault, burglary and sexual assault from past cases, News 8 reported.

He was convicted of sexual assault in 1980 after he was accused of attacking a 19-year-old woman on her bike, according to the outlet. He was also convicted of felony breaking and entering in 1999 when authorities accused him of breaking into a female coworker's home and stealing her lingerie.
 
This article confirms it was Parabon that did the DNA but they did not get that close. LE was given 30 different people. The VA detective happened to be at an event with one of the detectives on Alexis's case; they started talking, the VA detective showed them the list of 30 names, Dennis Bowman was on it. They told him they had his DNA and when compared with a sample from Kathleens case, it was a match.

Decades-old Norfolk cold case closed as man, now 71 and tied to another killing, pleads guilty


In 2018, Norfolk detective Victor Powell and NCIS contacted Parabon Nano Labs Inc. to conduct a “snapshot genetic genealogy analysis” of DNA from the bedspread recovered from the crime scene.

Parabon made a report that included a list of more than 30 “potential kinship relations” to the DNA sample, prosecutors wrote in their summary of evidence.

While at a training seminar shortly after that, Norfolk detective Jon Smith was talking with members of the Michigan State Police about Parabon testing when the Michigan detectives said they were aware of a Dennis Bowman — one of the “potential kinship relations” reported by Parabon — and had a DNA sample from him, according to prosecutors.

DNA from the Michigan Bowman matched DNA on Doyle’s bedspread, and police arrested him Nov. 22 in Allegan County, Mich.

Bowman’s DNA also matched additional evidence in the case.

In February, Bowman confessed. He said he was “drunk and entered the house to steal,” breaking in through a back window into a spare bedroom using wood laid against the house, prosecutors wrote in their summary. He admitted to physically assaulting a woman in a bedroom, “during which the woman was stabbed,” the court document says.

Then 31, Bowman was in the Navy Reserve, assigned to the USS Piedmont, and was serving his two-week annual active drill in Norfolk, according to prosecutors.

At Wednesday’s hearing, Bowman spoke briefly, saying there was nothing he could say or do that would change anything. He said he thought Doyle was alive when he left.
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Yesterday was Alexis's 1st birthday after being found. She would have been 46 had Dennis not killed her. Too bad he's not going to fry but then again, we'll see how long he has to suffer behind bars! Next will be the trial in Michigan! Hopefully Michigan will open back up so Cathy can be there. She intended to go to the Virginia trial but did not get there for some reason.

30 years ago, I knew a nice couple who wanted to adopt a neighbor's great niece and they weren't unable to do so. I'm not quite sure why? I never did understand why they didn't get approved. Yet, a different jurisdiction approves a pervert murderer.

I have no words.

The Bowmans adopted Alexis when he was stationed in Virginia with the Navy. He had done something with his record to get into the Navy, when they adopted, he lied. It wasn't easy to check back then; 1976.

As for Brenda, I personally don't think she knew. When she went to Missing in Michigan September 2013 so had a binder or photo album for Alexis. Back when she originally disappeared, Brenda was putting up fliers. They lived in a different house, Dennis had recently bought the property where their house is now. I think he brought her there back then, then probably moved her after their prefab house was brought in. Dennis had a lot of time, Brenda was the one working and supporting them most times.

Dennis told where Alexis was because he was trying to get moved back to Michigan to serve his time; that's where his family is. His daughter will be getting married this year. Dennis will be brought back to Michigan to stand trial then will go back to Virginia at least until another case is found in Michigan that's earlier then Kathleen's murder. I won't be surprised if he confesses to taking the girl in 1989. I was helping Cathy with Alexis's page when she originally contacted the page to say she thought Dennis had abducted her. Carl being Carl did a lot of work on her case, including mapping the route which went from his job passed her school then towards his house. I don't recall who originally got his mug shot, think it was Cathy's PI, the mug shot matched her sketch. They also found that Dennis drove the same truck as she was abducted in.
 
Hamilton man arraigned in connection to daughter’s 1989 murder

Hamilton man Dennis Bowman, 70, was arraigned Wednesday, Aug. 5, in 57th District Court for the alleged murder of his adopted daughter.


Bowman has been charged with homicide, first degree child abuse and the disinterment and mutilation of a dead body. A public defender has been appointed to represent him. He is facing up to life in prison without the possibility of parole if convicted.

A probable cause conference is set for 1 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 13, and Bowman will appear at a preliminary examination in court at 9 a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 18.

His bond has been carried over from previous court proceedings at $200,000 cash surety. But he isn’t getting out of police custody any time soon.

He will remain in the Allegan County Jail during the proceedings for the charges related to his daughter’s death.
 
You know, two things strike me about this. First, imagine being young and giving up a child for adoption when you are likely being told it is the best thing for a child, they will have wonderful parents who want a child, have the resources to care for it and more.

Second, her bio mom gets to bury her. I don't know what that involved for legalities if any, but with adoption I would not think she would be next of kin or it would be typical so either someone granted her the right or it was done legally and I am just so happy her mom has or will have her remains.

I have said it before but adoption and foster care really bother me because you see it in many cases... I am in no way anti to either but when there are incentives and other motives, it is going to result in some that are not prime parents to that child who is not their "own". There are so very many good parents and people in those systems who have helped many children, do not get me wrong, but there are also more than a few that are not and it shows up in more than a few cases...

Anyhow, here is Aundria's mom in an article dated today:

 
You know, two things strike me about this. First, imagine being young and giving up a child for adoption when you are likely being told it is the best thing for a child, they will have wonderful parents who want a child, have the resources to care for it and more.

Second, her bio mom gets to bury her. I don't know what that involved for legalities if any, but with adoption I would not think she would be next of kin or it would be typical so either someone granted her the right or it was done legally and I am just so happy her mom has or will have her remains.

I have said it before but adoption and foster care really bother me because you see it in many cases... I am in no way anti to either but when there are incentives and other motives, it is going to result in some that are not prime parents to that child who is not their "own". There are so very many good parents and people in those systems who have helped many children, do not get me wrong, but there are also more than a few that are not and it shows up in more than a few cases...

Anyhow, here is Aundria's mom in an article dated today:


Thanks for the article link. Its supposed to be in the new mag too but it wasn't out today when I went out.

Alexis's remains have not been released yet. It remains to be seen if she will get Alexis without a fight, she's prepared to fight
 
Thanks for the article link. Its supposed to be in the new mag too but it wasn't out today when I went out.

Alexis's remains have not been released yet. It remains to be seen if she will get Alexis without a fight, she's prepared to fight
Thank you for that info. I did not know that. I just assumed from the article that she was receiving the remains. That bothers me, I was hoping it was the way it was going to be. If she has to fight, I do not care what the legalities are, overall justice demands she receive the remains in my opinion. And I will help yell to see that if needed.

Not sure if you follow it but in the Morphew case, the brother says he is going to find his sister or hopes to and bring her home to bury. In that case too, he would not actually have the right I do not think, her husband and daughters would be primary in that decision so unless agreed to, it likely would not be that easy...
 
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Thank you for that info. I did not know that. I just assumed from the article that she was receiving the remains. That bothers me, I was hoping it was the way it was going to be. If she has to fight, I do not care what the legalities are, overall justice demands she receive the remains in my opinion. And I will help yell to see that if needed.

Not sure if you follow it but in the Morphew case, the brother says he is going to find his sister or hopes to and bring her home to bury. In that case too, he would not actually have the right I do not think, her husband and daughters would as primary in that decision so unless agreed to, it likely would not be that easy...

On Aundrias FB page, Cathy has a post saying Brenda is going to fight her for Alexis. She doesn't have a pot to piss in so I don't see how.
 
On Aundrias FB page, Cathy has a post saying Brenda is going to fight her for Alexis. She doesn't have a pot to piss in so I don't see how.
If she had any common sense she would back off!

I have actually been through a thing over remains in a crime or our family has I should say. The perp tried to take the remains from the victim/other parent/family and just to add insult to injury and hurt further and no one will ever convince me otherwise.

If any yelling or complaining is needed and this is tried, a fight over the remains, let me know. I will gladly sign a petition or "yell" (meaning shoot an email or phone call to the appropriate agency lol)...

This Brenda needs to give it up. Her husband did this and it is NOT even his only crime. This girl ended up in a home, HERS, where this happened. She should sit her arse down and be happy she is not in worse trouble herself and do the right thing with regard to the remains.
 

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