Former doctor accused of poisoning wife had complaint filed against him previously, new court docs claim
Nov. 7—ROCHESTER — The former Mayo Clinic doctor accused of poisoning his wife was previously investigated for harming a patient, according to new court documents.
Dr. Connor Fitzgerald Bowman allegedly over-prescribed a patient with a barbiturate while he was working at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, two witnesses told law enforcement.
Bowman faces a
second-degree murder charge in Olmsted County in connection with the death of his wife, Betty Bowman
. He is accused of poisoning her with colchicine, a drug used to treat gout.
The complaint filed with the Minnesota Board of Medical Practice against Bowman for harming a patient allegedly identified Bowman as a danger to others, a search warrant said.
One witness told law enforcement that "Connor had admitted to him at one point in the past someone had filed a complaint to the Board of Medicine labeling him as a threat to society." The witness said because he was not involved in the complaint he did not get any further details from Connor and he was not aware of the disposition.
Connor Bowman is still licensed as a physician, but his residency permit with the Mayo Clinic School of Graduate Medical Education is canceled, according to the Minnesota Board of Medical Practice website.
Complaints and reports are not public information and cannot be discussed with anyone except the subject of the investigation and the complainant or reporter, according to the board's website.
"We are aware of the recent arrest of a former Mayo Clinic resident on charges unrelated to his Mayo Clinic responsibilities. The resident's training at Mayo Clinic ended earlier this month," Mayo Clinic spokesperson Amanda Dyslin told the Post Bulletin shortly after Bowman was charged.
Dyslin directed questions about the investigation into Bowman while he was employed by Mayo Clinic to the board.
Several friends of the Bowmans talked to law enforcement about their concerns regarding Connor Bowman's suspicious activities while his wife was alive and after she died on Aug. 20. She went to an emergency room days earlier complaining of diarrhea and dehydration after her husband gave her an alcoholic smoothie the night before, according to prosecutors.
Bowman hid debt from his wife, friends claim, and he started dating shortly after his wife died.
He had removed pictures of his wife from his residence about two days after her death and also told several people that his wife died due to hematophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis, a rare autoimmune disease in which white blood cells attack organs. Medical reports dispute that assertion, according to police.
The couple was allegedly in an open relationship, according to friends, who said that Connor Bowman had apparently crossed a line, and his wife threatened divorce.
One witness, allegedly Betty's romantic partner, told law enforcement that Betty had been given a smoothie on Aug. 10, 2023, by Connor that tasted bad. Betty and the woman joked that Connor might be trying to poison her, but ultimately didn't think much of it until Betty got sick.
Police began investigating Connor Bowman in the death of his wife after law enforcement was notified by the medical examiner's office that he had attempted to stop an autopsy of his wife and wanted to quickly cremate her body.
In addition to his previous behavior, an employee of the University of Kansas notified law enforcement of suspicious internet queries on a work laptop related to hiding evidence from police and searches regarding colchicine. Connor Bowman was working in poison control for the university at the time of his wife's death.
The school declined to provide any information about internal complaints made against Bowman while he was a student or an employee of the school.
The couple lived in Rochester, where Betty worked as a hospital pharmacist while Connor went through an internal medicine residency. Both worked at Mayo Clinic.
Bowman is currently being held on
$2 million bail in the Olmsted County Adult Detention Center.
His next court appearance is scheduled for Jan. 16, 2024.
