Ohio judge sets new trial in 1967 killing of 14-year-old girl

A judge yesterday set the second trial for Oct. 11.

Robert Bowman’s first trial ended last week with jurors saying they had been unable to reach a unanimous decision following several weeks of testimony and 12 hours of deliberations. Prosecutors charged Bowman, 75, with murder in the killing after saying that new DNA evidence tied him to the crime. He has pleaded not guilty and faces up to life in prison if convicted. He has remained in jail since his arrest three years ago.

Prosecutors say Bowman snatched 14-year-old Eileen Adams after she got off a bus and sexually assaulted her before killing her. Her body was found in southern Michigan six weeks after she disappeared. Adams was either strangled or died from a blow to the head that cracked her skull, prosecutors said.

During the trial, Bowman’s former wife told jurors she had found the girl alive, naked, and tied up in the basement after the girl disappeared in 1967.

Margaret Bowman said she ran upstairs and her husband confronted her, saying he had to kill the girl. He also threatened to kill his wife and their newborn daughter if she told anyone, she said. That same night, she testified, Bowman made her go with him as he dumped the body.

Defense attorney Peter Rost tried to cast doubt on Margaret Bowman’s account. He said she waited 14 years to tell her story to police and that she stayed with Bowman for 11 years and moved with him to three states before leaving when his business failed.