Kenneth “Butch” Conrick
David Bowen Gets Busted
Suspect Arrested 28 Years After Boy’s Murder
Cold case arrest in 1979 Gary murder
Man charged in decades-old murder, rape case
Police Arrest Portland Man In 28-Year-Old Murder
Man charged in ’79 slaying of boy
Man Arrested in Boy’s 1979 Rape-Slaying
‘WE WERE FLOORED’
Update: Kenneth Conrick murder *David Bruce Bowen pleads guilty; sentenced to 50 years in prison*
Movies/Documentaries
Unusual Suspects: Death of Innocence
David Bruce Bowen
Filed under: cold cases, crime, murder, murder in the 20th Century | Tagged: 1979, child murder, child sex crime, cold case, crimes against children, David Bowen, DNA, homicide, Indiana, Kenneth Conrick, mutilation, strangulation |
Bonnie's Blog of Crime 
Ok, now if the DNA proves without a doubt that David Bowen raped & killed little Butch & he has been able to enjoy 28 years more than Kenneth Conrick. He needs to have his day in court & should be executed immediately after being found guilty!!
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Tim,
I agree
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Kill him already.
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Tim,
Of course that would be too much like right. First they have to waste the taxpayers money, put the victim’s family thru more grief due to politics, and give the killer unlimited publicity. Then after a long, drawn-out trial, with the defense lawyers making it look like the victim’s fault (the nerve) they’ll probably come up with some lame excuse like “evidence tampering” to get this creep off.
Sorry for being so negative guys, but I have no faith in the system. Too many killers have walked due to loopholes, only to kill again.
I hope and pray this doesn’t turn out the same way.
May God bring peace to little “Butch’s” family.
God bless.
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Why do we kill people who kill other people as a lesson not to kill people?
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Every other crime carries a tit for tat penalty and no one complains, but for some reason liberals have a double standard when it comes to death. It’s absurd. I guess you would say Ariel Castro the Cleveland Kidnapper should have been allowed to roam the streets free because putting him in prison would be “holding someone hostage to teach people not to hold people hostage”.
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Hi Tom…
Do any of these things act like a person while committing murder? You don’t “kill people” when putting down these things, you’re doing a community service (like when a rabid dog is put down). Why should the families of he victims fund these things prison lifestyles of watching TV, eating and having the luxury of breathing (inlike their victim/s) in prison? Let alone be inflicted by the further torture of knowing they might get out one day to kill another “real” person. If you can’t tell, I am indifferent to the deaths of proven murderers.
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Imagine yourself being tied to a tree, beaten, brutally raped, stabbed with a tree branch then strangled…Do you still believe there should be no death penalty. Imagine for a moment that happened to one of your children. I have been following this story closely since I am related. For all those people in Maine that say, “That’s not the David I know.” Wait until tomorrow on the news. The SOB confessed. And you left him alone with your children.
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I was a friend of Kenny’s. His Mother and my mother were friends, we played together as children and our lives were forever changed by what this man did. We love Kenny and miss him still, I always knew that God would deal with him but I am so glad knowing that he will pay here too!
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We kill these people so they aren’t able to get out of our jail systems and do it again! There is never a guarantee these days that they won’t somehow, somehow find a way out of jail. I don’t put it passed any of these child rapist murdering scumbags. THey won’t be cured. THey aren’t sorry for what they have done, and we always risk the lives of other children keeping them alive. Who is not to say during those 28 years he didn’t do this to another child who just hasn’t been found? I see the point of why kill those that kill? WE aren’t teaching them a lesson out of it, we are getting rid of just another poor excuse for a human being! THey aren’t people, they are murderers. IF there are those that wish them to be kept alive then you can’t tell me you have a whole lot of protection for your kids. They are crowding jails up, they don’t need to be kept alive, Why on earth would anyone want that? they are taking up space, and they are just threats to society, why work for the taxes we do to feed their asses? Why spend another dime on them in jail?
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Deanna,
I think you put it just right. I don’t believe the death penalty is about teaching a lesson, but relieving the rest of society of one more threat to them or their family.
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I have known Dave for 15 years, here in Maine, he and my husband were roommates in the past. I know this is a cliche’…..”he is such a good guy, he would never do this”….those were my first thoughts. I always took the stand of “an eye for an eye” so to speak, but when a friend of mine is accused of this horrific crime, my whole outlook has changed.
Dave has been a welcome guest in my home for the past 15 years, I trusted him around my children, I now pray and thank god that nothing happened to my children while Dave was around us.
I am not defending Dave or his actions! But he deserves a fair trial…what happened to “innocent until proven guilty” he has not been proven guilty. Everywhere I read, all readers comments are “hang him”, “tie him to a tree”….
He was a 16 year old boy when this crime took place…..not the 44 year old man that he is today….nobody knows what drove him to do this to that poor little boy (if he did do it). I just think that unfortunately, Dave is NOT going to get a fair trial….which is so sad for our country and court systems.
Again, I want to emphasize that I am NOT trying to defend Dave or his actions. Officials are saying that Dave’s DNA matches DNA found at the crime scene….and if Dave did commit this horrific crime….he deserves to be punished for it.
My heart goes out to that little boy and his family. He did not deserve what was done to him, nobody deserves that.
Just wanted to share my thoughts and feelings from a friend of Dave’s in Maine.
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Lori,
I do appreciate your comments. I cannot imagine being in your position, but I think your comments are fair and reasonable. I do understand that he may have confessed. I am checking into that and will post on it soon.
Thank you for taking the time to post your comments.
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Lori in Maine,
I agree with mylifeofcrime. Your comments are fair and reasonable. I’m glad that nothing happened to anyone in your family while Dave was around. Though he was sixteen when this happened, he still KNEW better. Isn’t it amazing how a person can show one person so much love, and still kill another human being? That’s what people mean when they say, “he would never do that, or I’ve known him all my life”. That is the sign of a sociopath. Norman around loved ones, monsters to their victims. This is the side that we DON’T see, the side they won’t allow us to see. Why? Because they KNOW better, and they understand that it is not acceptable to society what is going thru their heads.
Tom,
Because it’s necessary.
Deanna,
You made a dam good point. Dave got away with murder for so long. How do we know he DIDN’T kill again. So many unsolved cases.
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Tom,
“Why do we kill people who kill other people …?” To get them out of the gene pool. Revenge is the natural response to such a horrific act. Your implied thought process is what allowed Hitler and his gang of thugs to rampage thru Europe for years and murder millions.
Shauncey, your comments on psychopaths hiding their evil side hits the nail on the head.
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I remember the day that kids parents were looking for him, he was my brothers friend in elementry school. Door to door they searched for that poor boy. I can’t imagine what would drive a person to do this to an innocent kid. I can’t imagine what would be suitable punishment for this animal.
I think death is to easy, put him in prison so he is dealt with by the inmates for the rest of his worthless life. I am very pleased that this has been solved and hope this provides some type of closure for the family of Kennith. Some how some way I hope this rapist murderer gets what he deserves.
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I knew this man… He was my dads best friend. My father brought him from Indiana to Maine. My father had no idea that David Bowen had commeted this crime. I hope that David Bowen rots in jail for the rest of his long pethitic life. My prays go out to “butches” family.
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I grew up in Gary and was just 13 when this happened. The disappearance and search for Kenny was always a subliminal to life at the time. I remember the posters with his picture and my inability to wrap my mind around something so alien. My mother had nightmares about him, I’m sure due to the fear of something like that happening to one of her children. The day they found Kenny, my brother was called to go with the coroner’s office staff. He worked for Burn’s Funeral home and I would help out there. I caught a glimpse of the body, just a shock of hair as the door opened and it haunted me for years. I never forgot that child and his name stayed with me all these years. My brother is now a police officer in Gary and I had heard about the contact from David Bowen’s sister. Another shock. A name that I recognized from the neighborhood. And a child as well.
I now work in the mental health field and am aware of the clinical aspects of what may have caused a child to do something so monstrous to another child. But I feel so small still, trying to erase the image of that child’s hair matted with leaves. Whatever happened to David Bowen that made him capable of committing such atrocities is, for now, a mystery. I cannot imagine how he lived with himself for all these years, carrying that inside him. Just the suspicion of the crime caused Kenny’s mother’s boyfriend to end his life. I hold my breath and pray that there was no one else subjected to David’s sickness since then.
I offer no opinions as to how this should end. People seem so passionate about what should be done. All I can do is see those pictures again and remember how much of my innocence was ripped away at the age of 13. Rest in peace, Kenny. God be with you, David.
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Poor Kenny I love you so…
I went to his grave on Christmas eve and left him a pointsetta. What a beautiful grave he has a pic and all.
I love you Kenneth and now you may rest. You are in my heart forever and will always be close by in my thoughts.
I hope to join people who want to pretest the evil monster who did what he did. If that monster even tries to plead not guilty may he rot in hell where he belongs!!
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Rest in peace Kenny. I have an 8-year old son and I cry every time I think of this story.
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i just want to reply to all of this. I was part of Davids life for quite a while. I was so shocked to hear of the news and you have no idea how it broke my heart. Justice should be paid and the family or families involved deserve closure. Now maybe Kenny can rest in peace. God’s speed to David! I’m sorry
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This whole situation is heartbreaking for everyone involved. I am married to one of Kenny’s cousins and I have learned not only the price his family paid when Kenny died but am aware of the ongoing pain they have dealt with and will be forced to endure in the coming weeks and months as this goes to trial. My husband still misses his cousin and we pray daily for Kenny’s mother.
I wish I could see that confession…I’d like to know what a 44 yr old man says about the 16 yr old he was and how he lived with his own actions. I thank Bowen’s sister for her act of courage even though it came years later.
I’m certain we will attend the trail…if it goes that far. I know arraingement is this weekend.
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LJ I pray for your family almost every day……….and I hope that 44 year old monster will give some answers too!
When I read that story my heart broke and I feel pain as if I knew this child.. I am so sorry for this family and pray for them and those lil boys who passed and hope their mother has some peace now!!
xoxo
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I thought I knew Dave but obviously NOT! I pray that he get’s exactly the same treatment he gave to little Kenny. May the precious little guy finally rest in peace.
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It would totally make me sick to know I was ever in that sicko’s presence!!
Elaborate to us how he could ever appear normal!!
I would love to have some time alone w/that monster.
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I have not heard anything on the trial ect.. I have read the Maine newspapers where D. Bowens ex wife said that D. would get drunk and tell her that him and his brother Bob did somethiong in terrible in Indiana and he can’t go back there. But nowhere else has anyone questioned Bob and would’nt DNA be similar as brothers? Also what seem strange is after Donna Bowen give DNA she dies but I have not read how she died. Does anyone have updates or more infformation?
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If anything is new on the case please e-mail me directly, as I plan to follow what happens..
Also I am interested in knowing how the lil brother Kevin drowned. Is the mother doing ok. I feel really bad about this and when I was 6 I was in that same neighborhood on Filmore st. when this went down and later went on to the salvation army church as time passed on. And now I live in Portage and Kenneth and Kevin rest not far from me now again. My heart is broken for them boys and their mother..
P.S. Didn’t D.Bowen sister say her brother not brothers did this crime? And if it is true does he really have another brother? What age? So many unanswered questions.
And by the way Kenneths middle name isn’t butch it is Dwayne.
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Anna,
Here is donna bowens obit:
Donna Marie Oprish – Calumet Township Age 48 passed away Thursday, June 28, 2007. She was employed as a substitute teacher in the Calumet area. Preceded in death by her father, Leon “Bud” Bowen; 3 nephews, Jason Cooke, Jason Mauger, Shane Bowen. Survived by her daughter, Ashley Oprish and son, Danny Oprish of Kentucky; mother, Barbara Bowen of Michigan City; beloved friend, Tom Evans of Hobart; 2 sisters, Terri (Scott) Bartels of Michigan City, Linda (Billy) Chester of Conway, South Carolina; 4 brothers, Steve Bowen of South Carolina, Ed (Tracy) Bowen of Crown Point, Bob (Sharon) Bowen of Houston, Texas, David Bowen of Portland, Maine. Friends may visit from 2 to 6 p.m. on Sunday at Rendina Funeral Home, 5100 Cleveland St., Merrillville. Funeral service Monday, 10 a.m. at the funeral home. Burial Calumet Park Cemetery. Published in the Post-Tribune from 6/30/2007 – 7/1/2007
Here is the article I read in the Boston Globe about brother also involved.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/maine/articles/2007/12/20/murder_suspect_settled_into_life_in_maine/
There also is another article on the web where his ex-wife gives the name of the brother involved as Bob Bowen.
Murder suspect settled into life in Maine
Email|Print| Text size – + December 20, 2007
PORTLAND, Maine—A Portland man accused of raping, mutilating and murdering an 8-year-old boy in 1979 in Indiana had a string of arrests in Maine in the 1980s and early ’90s before settling into a quiet routine as a house painter.
more stories like thisDavid Bowen, who’s awaiting extradition to Indiana, was arrested Tuesday while working on a painting crew in Kingfield after police linked him to the crime using DNA.
The owner of a Portland sandwich shop that Bowen frequented said he was “floored” upon learning that the man known in the neighborhood as “Dave the painter” was charged with murder.
Mal Mango, owner of Terroni’s, told the Portland Press Herald that Bowen came in nearly every day for the past 4 1/2 years, wearing painting clothes and a ball cap to pick up , Marlboro Lights and chicken salad sandwiches. Bowen was one of the few non-family members allowed to run a tab at the store if he didn’t have cash on hand.
“He would ask if he could pay me back in the morning, and then he would be there the next day, waiting at the door for me to open up,” Mango said. “He was always polite, well-spoken. He was on a first-name basis with myself and my family. He was going to do some work on my house.”
Bowen, who’s 44, was a prime suspect after Kenneth “Butch” Conrick’s mutilated body was found tied to a tree two weeks after disappearing while walking home from school in Gary, Ind., in October 1979. But police didn’t have enough physical evidence to charge Bowen, who was 16 at the time.
As the investigation withered in Indiana, Bowen made a life for himself in Maine, getting married and working as a painter. He had a series of run-ins with police on charges ranging from drunken driving to felony robbery.
In 1984, Bowen and another young man were convicted of robbing the owner of a Biddeford pizza parlor of $1,200. Bowen served four months in jail, according to state records.
He was convicted of misdemeanor theft in 1989 and of assault in both 1991 and 1992. He also had three convictions in the 1980s for drunken driving and had his license suspended indefinitely in 1990.
His ex-wife told WCSH-TV that Bowen was a big drinker when they were married, more than 15 years ago. The woman, who spoke under the condition that her name not be used, said Bowen could be “like a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” when he drank.
But Bowen apparently kept his nose clean in recent years, moving between apartments in Portland and traveling with painting crews.
His longtime landlord, Jim Harmon, said Bowen moved a few years ago to a basement apartment in a 14-unit building across the street from the Portland Expo.
“He stayed on his own. He kept to himself and had a few friends,” Harmon said. “Sometimes he was a little late, but he took…care of his bills.”
Bert Michelson of Portland worked on painting crews with Bowen and was friends with him and his family. Bowen had a daughter from his marriage, he said, but struggled with alcohol.
“He said he couldn’t go back to Indiana because of some trouble he and his brother were in,” Michelson said. “I knew nothing else about it. I have no idea why he came to Maine.”
Back in Indiana, the 1979 murder case was reopened a couple of years ago.
Detectives talked to Bowen in recent months and took a DNA sample, said Kevin Joyce, a Farmington attorney who represented Bowen at his extradition hearing on Wednesday. The DNA sample was linked to evidence from the crime scene, police said.
“He told me he was interested in going back to Indiana to contest the charge,” Joyce said. “He knew it was inevitable.”
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Thank you for responding, but really it’s not d.bowen I am really interested in. I know it’ll probely be hard to get info about Kenneth and his family. I pray for them and think alot of him and his lil brother .. God be w/the Conrick Family..
I just want justice served as far as d.bowen goes. The creature is a dirty rotten waste of flesh as far as I am concerned! I hope he gets what he deserves in prison. And I agree w/Jack I’d love to meet d.bowen I have a boot that wouldn’t mind meeting his face.
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Just want to be sure Justice is served, if more than one involved they too need to be held accountable.
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You know you are so right!! I kept thinking about it all night and I am wondering who and what those assaults where about back in 91 and 92. I wonder about that now that it is mentioned. And you know really too they say that the location Kenneth was found was searched prior to the finding. So if d.bowen was questioned at that time wouldn’t it take two people to hide Kenneth? Alot of answers need to be answered. You know there is no date of date on his headstone. Does that mean they believed that he was alive for most of those 13 days he went missing? As painful as this is I really hope d.bowen gets a jury trial because they won’t be so kind to him as a hardend judge who see’s this sorta of thing often. I wondered too as I thought about it, you know what made d.bowen act out like that. Was he abused by this brother he mentioned? What is really going on w/that freak of nature? And if the brother was involved why wasn’t he mentioned by the cops or the sister, DNA is family connected but I do believe they can say if it was one person or two even if they are family.
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I’m sure all your questions will come out during the trial but I can’t find any information on when this is suppose to happen. There was suppose to be a hearing January 09, 2008 but have not seen anything on that either ect…
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Will you email me directly on anything new? I am interested to know your connection. Mine is just the fact that I was in the neighborhood when it went down. And my heart is broken for Kenneth. And I am interested in Justice for the Conrick Family. If you’d rather remain private I understand. But it would be nice to talk to someone as interested in this as myself.
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http://www.lakepros.org/high%20profile.htm
That is the link about the date of freak boy/mans trial, just thought you guys might want to know!!
Justice for Kenneth!!
xoxo
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I believe prior to this traedy he had sexually assaulted another innocent young boy, why didn’t the courts do something then? Or was the incident even taken to court? I agree there are so many unanswered questions. I only hope the family can get through this after all those lost and painful years. My heart goes out to all.
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Yeah I think d.bowen was like 14 when he beat and raped a 9 year old boy and it was reported but he wasn’t prosecuted. Because the mother of the boy wanted d.bowen to get mental help. But I do know d.bowen has 2 other assults in 91 and 92. I don’t know the facts on that though. I really want to know what those were about. Does anyone know how to dig into those facts? And oh yeah I wonder how many assults were never reported due to many facts some parents don’t want to put their children through more pain of having to testify. The website I linked above states d.bowen to only get 60 years. Can that be cut in half due to good behavior? Reguardless he’ll be over 70 when he gets out right? I am still thinking about attending the trial. Is anyone else not related thinking of attending?
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I am thinking of having a fund raiser for the reetching of Kenneth and his lil brother’s stones. The reason for this is the names and dates are fading. If anyone is interested in pitching in w/me please write me back and I will let you know the name and phone number of the person in charge of the reetching.. This is for the memory of these boys and I am hoping to get it done soon..
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I personally dont think that his name is fading. This case actually ended up on tv on the Investigation Discovery Channle, i watch this case this morning and couldnt believe how close this was to my home as well as that these shows are actually real.
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I stumbled upon another site about this horrible crime and my heart goes out to the family.
Can someone tell me if it’s at all possible that Bowen could have been staying in or traveling in the Southern Indiana (Interstate 65 area) area during the time period of 1973-approx 1977? There is a possible simular unsolved murder(s).
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Man to plead guilty in 1979 torture, murder
By Andy Grimm Post-Tribune staff writer
CROWN POINT– A man charged with the brutal 1979 torture and murder of an 8-year-old Glen Park boy has reached a plea deal with prosecutors that could put him in jail for up to 50 years.
David Bruce Bowen is expected to formally plead guilty to murdering Kenneth Conrick at a hearing today before Judge Clarence Murray. Bowen was arrested in December after DNA testing linked him to the crime.
“We are pretty happy with the plea,” said Lake County Prosecutor Bernard Carter, who added that prosecutors and investigators from the Sheriff’s Department had conferred with Conrick’s family about the deal.
The agreement will shave about 10 years off the maximum sentence Bowen, 47, might have gotten if convicted.
Carter said Conrick’s family likely will not attend the hearing, but will be allowed to speak at Bowen’s sentencing.
The gruesome murder haunted investigators from Gary and the Sheriff’s Department who worked on the investigation. After a two-week search by police and neighbors, Conrick’s nude, mutilated body was found tied to a tree in the woods near his home in Glen Park.
Bowen lived near Conrick and occasionally had been his baby sitter.
The investigation was relegated to the cold cases file a few months later, and Bowen’s family moved away.
In 1992 Thomas Decanter Jr, a Gary police officer whose father had worked on the original investigation, received an anonymous phone call while working a desk shift at the Gary Police station.
The tipster, later identified as Bowen’s sister, said Bowen had killed the boy.
Years later, former Gary police detective John Lashenik took the case to the Sheriff’s Department in hopes that modern DNA analysis could link Bowen to the crime, or identify another suspect.
Sheriff’s investigators were able to get a DNA sample from Conrick’s clothing, and matched it to DNA taken from Bowen, who was working as a painting contractor in Maine.
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“have not heard anything on the trial ect.. I have read the Maine newspapers where D. Bowens ex wife said that D. would get drunk and tell her that him and his brother Bob did somethiong in terrible in Indiana and he can’t go back there.”
If anyone has firsthand information about Bob Bowen’s involvement in this case, please e-mail me at deaton@lakecountysheriff.com or call(219)755-3346. I will not post any facts about this case, however I will say that no evidence has indicated the involvement of a second assailant. David Bowen plead guilty to the murder of Kenny Conrick today at approximately 10:00am.
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He got 50 years in prison as part of his plea agreement. For what he did to this child, its not enough. Maine needs to adopt a death penalty.
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His next meal should be a nice, hot bowl of D-Con Rat Poison. May he rot in hell and burn for all time and eternity.
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So he confessed, good for all involved. I have no sympathy for that monster and I hope he gets bubba for his cellmate!!
When is this hearing anyone know? The link I sent at an earlier date doesn’t work for me..
God Bless the Conrick family and may god hold your hands forever in this life time. I love you and pray for you!!
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Just found out the sentencing is Oct. 7th.
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Maine Man Sentenced for Indiana Murder
October 21, 2008
A Maine man was sentenced today to 50 years in prison for the 1979 sexual torture and slaying of an 8-year-old Gary, Indiana, boy.
44-year-old David Bowen of Portland pleaded guilty in September to the murder of Kenneth “Butch” Conrick in exchange for a maximum 50-year prison term.
Conrick was reported missing on Oct. 15, 1979. His body was found 13 days later, in a wooded area near his family’s Gary home.
Authorities said his body showed signs of brutal, prolonged torture.
DNA evidence that was unavailable 29 years ago later helped police link Bowen to Conrick’s death. He was arrested last December in Maine and extradited to Indiana.
Bowen told the court that something was wrong with him when he committed the crime.
http://www.wabi.tv/index.php?cat_id=4006&url_news4006=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wabi.tv%2Fmodules%2FNews%2FdisplayNews.php%3Fid%3D4073&formFocus=news4006
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I wish this sick freak was caught along time ago. How aweful. This makes me sick. That poor little boy. I just wonder how many suffered at the hands of this monster.
He only received 50 years….HE should have been put to death
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This is so sad. Especially when I think of this child’s poor family…may God be with you. Unfortunately, if this man was 16 when this happened, I fear there are a trail of victims who have been molested. He truly should rot in hell—-hope the inmates treat him the way he treated this poor child!!
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I KNEW DAVE, PLAYED GUITAR AT HIS PARENTS HOW WITH HIM IN THE BASEMENT,I HEARD OF THE WOODED AREA WHERE THEY FOUND THE VICTIM,I NEVER WAS AT THE AREA, BUT KNEW DAVE WENT THERE TO SMOKE .
NOW THAT I THINK ABOUT IT, HE DID HAVE A LOOK IN HIS EYE THAT WAS KIND OF WEIRD,,,,,,IF I WOULD HAVE KNOWN WHAT HE DID AT THAT TIME I WOULD HAVE GIVEN HIM A SEVERE BEATING, THEN CALLED THE POLICE.
POOR VICTIM, AT LEAST THE FAMILY OF THE VICTIM NOW KNOW WHO DID IT.
DAVE YOU MESSED UP BAD !!!!!!!!
THEY WILL GET YOU IN PRISON,,,,KARMA WILL GET YOU BACK……..
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Donna is my mother. Such an awful thing to have happen to our family. My deepest apologies to the family.
So many questions I’d like to ask her, however I cannot.
If anyone has any news on the trial, please contact me at ashley.oprish@navy.mil. I’ve been quite busy with my new career and cannot keep up.
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I grew up with David and use to buy pot off of him. I was taking a forensics Science course in Garden Grove,Ca.around 2005 because I was an investigator and asked my instructor to look into this case.Mr.Bob Roberts was with the Los Angeles County Crime Lab and I recounted a confession told to me by a childhood bully named John McCarter. He recounted that him,Steve Jocomas,Reginal Dwight and Bowen had hung up little Kenneth out at “The Point” upside down and poked him with hot burning sticks until he was dead. I had recounted this story to police officers back in those days but because John McCarter’s father was Gary Police Officer,my recount was deaf ears. These same guys instead beat me half to death in front of the 7-11 that winter for snitching them off and I crawled home bleeding in the snow. To be honest,I didn’t know about the rape of Kenneth. I can tell you that those guys were doing a lot of Acid in those days and hanging out behind Melton Elem. School. David Bowen didn’t seem like the type of person who would do this crime. I never knew Kenneth but he was a friend of my younger brother. John McCarter’s account of this crime didn’t surprise me but had a profound effect for my entire life. I think the real question now is whether David Bowen commited this crime all by himself or was it just the fact that only his DNA was found inside Kenneth’s body? In 1979,DNA wasn’t even thought of yet to most of us.The fact that David Bowen was arrested for this crime had also meant that he had been involved in some other crimes where his DNA had to be catologed into criminal data bases. This is one less case that I don’t need to wonder about. I have lost many years of sleep thinking about John McCarter’s confession or bragging of this horrorable crime and the bloody beating I took to solve this crime.
To the parents of Kenneth Conrick, I’m sorry that you lived so long without knowing the who’s and why’s of your son’s death. The wheels of justice maybe slow but they still move. To me,this is one less case for me to worry about. Now that I’m terminally ill, I have only one case left to solve and then I can finally rest…
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May Buddha watch over Kenneth as he watches over me…
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Todd I wonder if these same guys can sleep at night!! As adults we have to wonder what impact of what happened as children still effect us today..
I’d love to chat with you sometime.. Send me an e-mail.. annajham33@yahoo.com
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Dear Anna,
I have been talking to detectives and we think we are on to something here. I don’t want to say anymore than I need to at the moment. I can say that they have been looking at these other bad guys and certainly knew who and what they are. Don’t worry,David Bowen may have forced into doing the rape but someone else has already admitted to committing the murder.
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Todd,
Which detective have you been speaking to?
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No more comments until more arrests have been conducted for now. I can say that I have agreed to fly in to testifty. I was so young when this crime happen and has made a big impact in my life because these were all people that I grew up with in my neighborhood and was beaten badly and left for dead because I tried to report confessions made to me by those responsible. Justice will come and all the pieces will come together. I never knew poor little Kenneth and not sure that I ever met him. I do know that these bullys will not get away with these acts and hopefully justice will come.
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Todd,
I am sorry, but it sounds like you are making things up. If it were real and true, you would give the detectives name. I will be checking into this myself, as it sounds phony to me.
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This is Important to me. Please contact mysticdragonfly333@gmail.com thank you
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Boy,that’s really to bad you feel that way. This is what I can say about myself. In all of my years training Federal agents and local Law Enforcement,I never once lied. What I can say is that I moved away from that sh*thole to get away from low class, ignorant low-life people like you. I am sure that when Det. Eaton is finished with his current training course the department sent him to last week,that he will be working on this case full-time.
Successful people surround themselves other successful people and eliminate the low class jerks like you. Don’t ever email me again. My email wasn’t for your personal use.
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Todd,
I did not email you personally. I have only replied to you here on my blog. “Low class jerks”? At least I never stooped so low as to call you immature names. Why are you so defensive? Maybe because you are not telling the truth?
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the day kenneth was missing, i was walking from school and he aproched me. he asked me for an adress w
ich was near where he stopped me. i only showed him the street and told him that the adress he was looking for, it was in the middle of the block. he thanked me and went on his way.that same night my nextdoor neighbor was yelling in front of her house that her godson ,had gone missng.(her godson was kenneth). at that time i didnt know that it was the same boy i had saw and spoke to , on the way from school.the next day it was all over the news. when it showed his picture on the news, i froze. i ran to my father, and told him what had happened. he turned to me and told me to say nothing . dew to our neighborhood was very dangerous, you tried to stay out of problems like that. but i always kept thinking if i had said somethig to someone maybe it could have made a difference.(try living with that guilt for over 20 years.) and the ironic part of all this is , that the day that they found him i was in the YMCA building , we were having a halloween party. i saw the cop cars gathering near the forest that was behind the building, i remember they had dogs with them. after a few days we heard in the news what happened to the poor kid( god rest his soul).but today i read what happened ,out of couriosity i typed kenneths name on the internet and i read, that they found the f**ker that took a 8 year old boys last breath away.the only thing i want to say to that animal, is YOU WILL GET PAYED FOR WHAT YOU DID!! either in this life or the other. my name is GEORGE and i wish KENNETH may you REST IN PEACE.
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this is so sad,my dad used to help babysit this little boy.
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Hey Todd, who are you? You seem to know a lot about this. Was curious. I went to Andrean back then and remember some of the names you mention.
Thanks, Jackie
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We are the other family. The ones that hang our heads in shame daily. Such a brutal loss that was caused by one of our own. We’ll we and our children pay for the sins of our brother? Have we already?????????????? Perhaps………………..
Hope not, becaue there isn’t enough on this earth to cleanse away that sad., senseless, taking away of a life.
Our thoughts and prayers are with all involved in the healing progess.
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@Diane-well said sis….
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Kenneth was my best friend in grade school and i remember the day he went missing very well as if it were yesterday .
We walked home from school together everyday and that day he told me he wanted to go a different direction. I chose not to go with him because i was affraid of getting in trouble with my parents , so we hugged each other bye and went our seperate ways. I never knew that would be the last time i would see my best friend.
My mother came in my bedroom, later that evening as i was doing my homework, on the phone with Kenneths’ mother and had asked me if Kenneth and i walked home together today and i told her no and she told me he hadnt been home yet.
I also remember the day they found Kenneth in the woods because we were sitting in school when the the police were in the woods. If my memory serves me correct , the woods seperated Melton Elementary and the YMCA.
That evening my mom had told me about Kenneths death and the horrible things that were done to him and i cried myself to sleep . From that point on ,we were not allowed to walk alone but in groups.
My sister called me up yesterday to tell me she had been thinking bout this and decided to research it to see if justice had been served and discovered it had! So here i am.
To Kenneths family, I am relieved that you finally have some peace at knowing what happened so many yrs ago and i know from my own thoughts that your pain will never go away. I can only hope that it will ease up with each passing day and know that ” Butch” was loved by many.
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Does anyone know what happened to Donna Oprish? I understand she passed away back in 2007.
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I’m Donna’s cousin. She died in the middle of the night, couldn’t breathe. No foul play suspected. David is very remorseful, and does not want anyone else involved with the guilt. He feels very deserving of his sentence.
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Didn’t know about those other guys possibly involved, Todd. My mother said he writes only about his own guilt.
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It was on the I D CHANNEL 271 COMCAST
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