HAMILTON, Mich. — 72-year-old Dennis Bowman will spend the rest of his life in prison. He plead "no contest" Wednesday in Allegan County Court to second-degree murder charges.
Bowman was already in prison for one murder, but until yesterday, had not taken legal responsibility for the death of his adopted daughter Aundria Bowman.
For Aundria Bowman's mother, Cathy Terkanian, this moment has taken more than ten years.
Since finding out about her daughter's disappearance, Terkanian started investigating. It wasn't long until she found out about Dennis Bowman's past: a felon previously charged with abuse, whom her daughter accused of sexually assaulting her shortly before she disappeared.
“I knew he did this. If I had to look one other direction, I might have gone crazy,” Terkanian said.
Terkanian has said for years Dennis killed her daughter. She just had to wait for law enforcement to act.
Slowly but surely, her theories and intuition turned into facts and evidence.
Bowman was arrested a few years ago for killing a different woman. After that, a search of his property turned up what Cathy had been saying all along: her body was right there, on the Bowman's property underneath a concrete slab.
“I just became convinced he buried her in his yard, so he could control what happened. As long as he didn’t open his mouth,” Terkanian said.
The remains were confirmed to be Aundria's in 2020, after a DNA test.
Cathy doesn't call her late daughter Aundria. She prefers to go by the name she gave her, Alexis, rather than the one given to her by the people that ultimately ended her life.
“I never heard my daughter's voice, I don’t know if she’s right-handed or left-handed, but I know her through and through,” Terkanian said.
Cathy says the no-contest plea isn't as good as Bowman admitting he's guilty, but he had initially planned to take the case to trial. She's happy for closure.
“The karmic wheel rolled back around, and crushed him,” Terkanian said.
Cathy plans to make a victim impact statement at Bowman's sentencing. She hopes to one day receive Alexis' remains, so her daughter can be buried with her.
It's Cathy's goal that others can learn from her story frustrated with the system. Her message: be fearless. She says her diligence, research, and posts to social media finally paid off. She hopes for others, it doesn't have to take this long.
“I think it’s a road map. If you know you’re right, don’t go on a detour,” Terkanian said.
