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Accused murderer's ex-wife recalls finding victim in her home
Posted: 08.16.2011 at 12:17 AM
Angi Gonzalez

Angi is the evening anchor for WNWO at 6 and 11.

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TOLEDO - The ex-wife of a man charged with murdering a Toledo teen 44 years ago took the stand on Monday.

While her appearance was off limits to cameras in the courtroom, Margaret Bowman's testimony vividly recounted the time she allegedly discovered her husband's victim in the basement of their Toledo home.

"I was horrified.... I was scared I was shaking..... I didn't know what to think," said Margaret Bowman.

Bowman also told the jury, she initially thought the noises coming from the fruit cellar in her basement were rats.

"What else would be in the basement?" said Robert Bowman's former wife.  

She added, "I saw a young girl, hanging onto the wall...mattresses all around ...hanging like Jesus."

During questioning Margaret Bowman also revealed "the girl" was naked and had her arms bound with some kind rope or wire.

While Bowman says she did not recognize the victim at the time, she would later find school books in her home that had the name Eileen Adams inside.

Prosecutors in the case allege that Bowman's ex-husband, Robert, kidnapped 14-year-old Eileen Adams on her way home from school in 1967. They believe he then held her captive for as long as two weeks.

Margaret Bowman's testimony substantiates the prosecution's theory, as she claimed to have found Adams alive in the basement.

Bowman said, "I looked into her eyes."

During questioning, Margaret Bowman went on to say that when she told her husband about her discovery he'd said he "would have kill the girl" and threatened Margaret's life as well. 

"He threatened me that he would kill me and my baby if I ever went to police, " said Margaret Bowman.

Bowman says fear of her husband kept from refusing anything of his requests.

"He made me go with him while he disposed of the body," said Margaret Bowman. 

Bowman would keep quiet about the crime for nearly 15 years, until she left her husband and returned to Toledo.

Since coming forward in the 1980's, Margaret Bowman has been given immunity in exchange for her testimony. 

For years, authorities tried to connect Robert Bowman to Adams' murder but it wasn't until the last few years that DNA evidence official linked to the case.

Robert Bowman has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him. He faces life in prison if convicted.

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