(NewsNation) — A poison specialist and former medical resident at Mayo Clinic in Minnesota has been charged with the fatal poisoning of his wife, a pharmacist also at Mayo Clinic.
Connor Bowman, 30, was arrested Friday, and is still in custody as of Tuesday, on second-degree murder charges in connection to the death of Betty Bowman, 32. Betty Bowman died four days after she went to a hospital in August with stomach distress, KTTC reports.
The Rochester Police Department says it received a tip that Betty Bowman’s husband could be a suspect, which led to the investigation into his actions, KTTC said.
Connor Bowman tried to stop Betty’s autopsy, saying she should be cremated immediately.
Citing suspicious circumstances, the medical examiner’s office halted the order for cremation, according to a criminal complaint.
An autopsy showed Betty Bowman died from the toxic effects of colchicine, a medicine used to treat gout — even though medical records do not show she was diagnosed with the disease and had not been prescribed the drug.
The complaint states Connor Bowman had been researching colchicine before his wife’s death and that six days before her hospitalization, he had converted Betty’s weight to kilograms and multiplied that by eight.
The lethal dosage rate for colchicine is 0.8 mg/kg, per the complaint.
While she was in the hospital, Connor Bowman suggested Betty was suffering from hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis, but hospital tests came back inconclusive. However, the complaint says Connor Bowman still told multiple people that Betty died from HLH.
One woman told investigators the couple had been talking about divorce. Another woman, the complaint says, told authorities Connor Bowman said he was going to get $500,000 in life insurance from his wife’s death. Authorities, the Associated Press reports, found a $450,000 bank deposit receipt in Connor Bowman’s home.
Mayo Clinic officials wrote in a statement that they are aware of Connor Bowman’s arrest and that his residency at Mayo ended earlier this month, MPR reported.
Friends of Betty Bowman’s who spoke to KTTC said they were “in shock” when the energetic woman who “loved life” died.
“Literally a week before she left, she was describing this double rainbow she saw before work when she was walking Crumpet,” Michaelyn Everhart, who met Betty Bowman in medical school, said to the media outlet. “She wished us all happiness and hoped that we found beauty in our day. That was just her.”
“Betty’s love was boundless, and it extended far beyond the confines of family and friends,” Betty Bowman’s family said in a statement to KTTC. “Her warm smile, kind words, and caring actions left an indelible mark on our hearts.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.