Naman Shrestha
The episode titled ‘Seven Ways to Kill Your Lover’ of Investigation Discovery’s ‘Mother, May I Murder?’ chronicles the horrific murder plot of a loving university professor named Timothy “Tim” Bowman in the bed of his house near Bellingham, Washington, in March 2002. During the investigation, the authorities uncovered how the perpetrator attempted to kill the 43-year-old man multiple times before finally succeeding. The documentary also features insightful interviews with officials involved in the investigation and Tim’s loved ones.
Tim Bowman’s Welfare Check Led to the Discovery of His Remains in His House
On July 8, 1958, a retired Methodist pastor named Ronald P. Bowman and Mary Jane Bowman welcomed a little bundle of joy in the form of Timothy “Tim” George Bowman in Rensselaer, Indiana. Growing up, Tim was also surrounded by the love and support of his five brothers — Andrew, Mark, Peter, Joseph, and Stephen Bowman. Described as a friendly and compassionate individual, he was not only academically bright but also an active athlete, having run two Boston Marathons and participated in wrestling. After graduating from Garrett High School in 1976, he attended Taylor University and pursued a Bachelor’s degree in Science and Arts.
For his master’s degrees, Tim went to Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, and Oregon State University in Corvallis, Oregon. The US Army veteran was also an Eagle Scout and a lay speaker for the United Methodist Church. In addition, Tim was a judge and timer for the U.S. Olympic track and field events in Indianapolis. On the personal front, he met Naomi Kinney in January 1997 in Oregon through the track team he was coaching at the time. When she was looking for a place to live, he welcomed him to his house and shared the roof with her. Soon, they began dating when she was in her 20s, and he was in his 30s. The couple eventually made their relationship official in the eyes of the law and welcomed two sons into the world — Daniel and Benjamin Bowman.
While he was a professor emeritus at Northwest Indian College in Bellingham, Washington, and working hard to earn his doctoral degree, Tim was also expecting a third child with Naomi. On March 1, 2002, he felt unwell during his lectures, after which he was taken to the hospital. As the doctors didn’t find anything harmful upon diagnosis, they sent him home. A few days later, on March 4, when Tim failed to appear at work, the police were asked to conduct a welfare check on him. Around 9 pm, when the police went inside his Lummi Reservation house, located right outside of Bellingham, they found the 43-year-old man dead on his bed with a single gunshot wound to the back of his head. As per the autopsy reports, he died from a single nine-millimeter shell.
Tim Bowman’s Killer Tried to Kill Him Multiple Times
As part of the investigation, the authorities dug deeper into the life of Tim Bowman and his marriage to Naomi Kinney, who was staying at a safehouse for battered women at the time. When questioned about it, she claimed that she had been abused by Tim and had left the house at about 7 am the day before he was found dead. She had also left a letter addressed to him, mentioning her plan to get a restraining order against him after enduring years of alleged abuse. During her interview, she told them that she suspected a shady man was responsible for her husband’s death. Their marriage deteriorated as they allegedly disagreed on how to raise their kids in early 2001. Since her story had no evidential backing, the detectives considered her a suspect in the case.
Thus, she was brought in for questioning again at the police station, where she took a polygraph test. Despite maintaining her innocence, she failed the test. The investigators also learned that she possessed a nine-millimeter gun, the same kind that was used to kill Tim. As per reports, while the couple was on the verge of divorce in 2001, Tim was allegedly the victim of domestic violence as Naomi allegedly injured him severely. During her interrogation, Naomi finally told the detectives that it was her mother, Judith, who encouraged her to kill Tim in order to gain full custody of their children.
Starting in February 2002, Naomi reportedly used several methods to try to kill her husband, including poisoning his food with sleeping pills, suffocating him with a pillow and a plastic bag, beating him with a bar of heavy soap inside a sock, and setting fire to the gas tank of his truck while he slept inside. On February 17, she also allegedly tried to push him down a flight of stairs, but changed her mind. Finally, on the fateful night, she lured him to bed, and after he fell asleep, she put her sons in the car and shot him to death in the bed. After committing the crime, she drove to her mother’s house in Albany, Oregon, where the two got rid of the gun by encasing it in cement. Three days after the murder, Naomi was arrested and charged with murder. A few days later, Judith was also arrested in Oregon and charged with conspiracy to commit murder, conspiracy to tamper with evidence, tampering with evidence, and hindering prosecution.
Naomi is Currently Incarcerated at a Washington Prison Facility, While Judith Stays Away From the Limelight
The defense counsel of Naomi Kinney argued that she was not fit to stand trial for the murder of Tim Bowman. However, the Department of Social and Health Services conducted a mental health evaluation and deemed her competent. Although she had been treated for depression, the reports suggested that she was capable of taking part in legal proceedings and defending herself in the court of law. Initially, on July 9, 2003, she agreed to a plea agreement, which involved her pleading guilty to one count of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder and testifying against her mother.
However, Naomi ended up having a change of heart and instead of testifying against Judith, she protected her and refused to testify against her. On September 5, 2003, Naomi was sentenced to 50 years in prison. Meanwhile, Judith was convicted of conspiracy to commit murder, solicitation to commit murder, and tampering with physical evidence, and sentenced to only 50 months in prison for her involvement in the murder of Tim Bowman. As of today, Naomi Kinney is serving her sentence at Washington Corrections Center for Women in Gig Harbor, Washington. As for Judith, she was seemingly released from prison after the completion of her sentence, but has been leading a private life since then.
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