Naman Shrestha
Julie Bowling was a reputed and experienced radiation therapist and a part-time funeral home worker in Nash County, North Carolina. Thus, when she was found dead in the garage of her home in late 2006, the entire community was rocked to its core, while grief took over her loved ones. The swift investigation was led by the detectives, who identified the suspect/s within a day or two. The episode titled ‘Murder in the Mortuary’ of Investigation Discovery’s ‘Betrayed’ chronicles all the intricacies involved in the case and the investigation that ensued with the help of exclusive and insightful interviews with individuals linked to the case.
Julie Bowling Was Killed in Her Garage While Leaving For Work
Born on November 21, 1961, in Nash County, North Carolina, to Harold D. Rowland and Dorothy Williams Rowland, Julie Mae Rowland grew up in a loving and supportive household alongside her brother, Hal Rowland, and sister, Deborah “Debbie” Bunn. While attending Northern Nash High School in Rocky Mount, she dated a fellow student named David, whom she later married. After graduating from high school in 1980, she attended Edgecombe Community College, where she earned a degree in radiological technology. To further her Radiation Therapy certifications, she also relocated to Roanoke, Virginia. With her impressive educational background, Julie landed a job at Nash Day Hospital as a manager and Radiation Therapist.
On the personal front, Julie and David parted ways in 1997 after a few years together. A couple of years later, in February 1999, her stepfather passed away. During the funeral, she reportedly bonded with Mark Anthony Bowling, the licensed funeral director in charge of the arrangements. He was also an embalmer at his family’s funeral business called Bowling Funeral Home. As sparks flew between them, Julie and Mark began dating. Six months later, on August 1, 1999, the couple made their relationship official in the eyes of the law by tying the knot in the chapel of Bowling Funeral Home. In 2002, Julie also earned her degree in Funeral Service Direction from Fayetteville Technical Community College. Eventually, she became a partners with her husband and kept the books in the funeral business.
In the following years, the pair opened several branches of Bowling Funeral Homes, including in Rocky Mount, Scotland Neck, Enfield, and Tarboro. Meanwhile, Julie also continued working as a Radiation Therapist at the hospital. So, when she failed to show up at work on the morning of December 8, 2006, her friend and coworker, Lynda Gardner, called her up to ask if everything was alright. When 45-year-old Julie didn’t pick up her calls, Lynda drove to her friend’s home and found a gruesome crime scene in the garage. The authorities arrived at the scene and found Julie dead in the garage, with the cause of death being multiple gunshot wounds. At the time, her husband, Mark, was on a scuba-diving vacation with his friends in Crystal River, Florida. Since her jewelry and purse were not stolen, the authorities ruled out the possibility of it being a botched robbery. Thus, a homicide investigation was immediately launched.
Julie Bowling’s Murder Involved Someone Close to Her
After informing Julie Bowling’s husband, Mark, about the tragedy, the detectives dug deep into the couple’s life in the weeks and months prior to the killing. They questioned Mark that same evening and asked him about the marriage and if he was involved in extramarital affairs. While Mark denied it, according to the detective’s account on the show, some employees told detectives that he used the loft to allegedly meet with other women. Moreover, about three months earlier, he had reconnected with Rose Vincent, his former girlfriend. By that time, she was married to Rodney Vincent and had three children. The following day, on December 9, 2006, the authorities brought Rose in for questioning. Initially, she tried to dodge the questions related to Julie’s murder. Eventually, she admitted to being involved in the killing.
Rose told the investigators that she and Mark had been having an affair. According to her account, Mark asked her to get rid of Julie so they could be together again. Rose also claimed that he had offered her $50,000 to carry out the killing. She told the detectives that Mark gave her a map and detailed instructions on how to commit the crime, further alleging that he threatened to kill himself if she didn’t comply. Prosecutors alleged he disabled the house’s security cameras. Thus, on the fateful morning, she drove to the Bowling residence and shot her to death in the garage. Rose admitted that after shooting Julie, she buried the gun in a graveyard next to her mother’s grave in Nash County. The detectives recovered the gun from the graveyard and determined that it was the murder weapon. As a result, both Mark Bowling and Rose Vincent were arrested and charged with the murder of Julie Bowling.
While Mark Died Behind Bars, Rose Remains Incarcerated at a North Carolina Prison
More than a year later, on February 28, 2008, Rose Vincent pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder in connection with Julie Bowling’s killing. In exchange for avoiding the death penalty, she agreed to testify against Mark Bowling at his trial. So, she was sentenced to a minimum sentence of 29 years — 189 to 236 months in prison for the murder charge and 159 to 191 months for the conspiracy charge. During her hearing, she addressed Julie’s family and stated, “I’d like to tell the family I am sorry. I really am.” Several months later, sometime around September 2008, Mark Bowling’s trial got underway.
The prosecution brought out Rose as its star witness, who testified against the defendant. Although she admitted to shooting Julie, she told the jury that Mark was the mastermind behind the crime. The defense argued that Rose was solely responsible for the crime as she had a “fatal attraction” for her ex-boyfriend and hoped to get back with him after killing Julie. However, on September 29, 2008, he pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder. Ultimately, he received a minimum of 15-year imprisonment sentence. However, in 2017, he passed away in prison at the age of 47 before he could complete his sentence. As of today, 46-year-old Rose Vincent is serving her sentence at North Carolina Correctional Institution for Women in Raleigh, North Carolina, with her release date scheduled for March 2035.
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