Still Missing Australia - Roxlyn Bowie, 31, Walgett, NSW, 5 June 1982 *husband guilty 2022*

[DRT]

Accused murderer 'an adulterer and violent' but not a killer, says lawyer

A man accused of killing his wife and "feeding her to pigs" 40 years ago has been defended in his murder trial.

www.abc.net.au

A few quotes from the defence's opening statement a really bad husband but not a murderer.

"A court has heard that while a man accused of killing his wife admits he was "playing around with other women and at times violent", that did not make him guilty of murder."

Roxlyn "was 31 years old and left their two young children behind, then aged six and almost two. Her body has never been found."

"We're not saying he's a perfect fellow in relation to his adultery and behaviour to his wife," he said.

"Sadly, you may know from your own experience … that people behave appallingly in domestic relationships, but that's a long way from murder."

 

[TootsieFootsie]

Shades of Dawson.

It's like deja vu

 

[TootsieFootsie]

Daughter of man accused of murder describes witnessing him 'choke' her mother just days before she disappeared

John and Roxlyn Bowie's only living child has told a court she witnessed her father being violent towards her mother.

www.abc.net.au

The daughter of a man accused of murdering his wife 40 years ago has told a court she witnessed her father choke her mother and shove food down her shirt in the days before she disappeared.

John and Roxlyn Bowie's only living child has also said she was introduced to two of her father's love interests within three months of her mother's last known sighting.

 

[DRT]

Daughter of man accused of murder describes witnessing him 'choke' her mother just days before she disappeared

John and Roxlyn Bowie's only living child has told a court she witnessed her father being violent towards her mother.

www.abc.net.au

The daughter of a man accused of murdering his wife 40 years ago has told a court she witnessed her father choke her mother and shove food down her shirt in the days before she disappeared.

John and Roxlyn Bowie's only living child has also said she was introduced to two of her father's love interests within three months of her mother's last known sighting.

A second wife treated the same as the first. Another lot of children believing their mother just left them. No way to check up their details. Destroying young lives.

Ms Boyd said she remembers crying and asking Mr Bowie where her mother had gone. He replied that he "didn't know. He wished he knew, and that she won't be back ".

 

[DRT]

Alleged wife-killer drunk the night she vanished, court told

www.9news.com.au

"A drunk ambulance officer banged on a neighbour's door and searched the premises for his wife late on the night she disappeared 40 years ago, his murder trial has been told.
John Douglas Bowie returned a second time when he shared a few beers with Eddie Ovens, his partner Ruth Ovens told police.
"He didn't seem to be very worried about it or distraught," she said in her record of interview read out to the NSW Supreme Court jury today."

The neighbour came over to the place after he knocked on the door of her caravan drunk at about 11pm.

"She noticed her clothes, make-up, jewellery and other possessions were in the house.
"I said she can't be far away, she wouldn't leave the kids alone.""

 

[Cliff Hardy]

Shades of Dawson.

It's like deja vu

It sure is. Have to wonder how many more women went missing around 40 years ago in somewhat similar circumstances?

 

[DRT]

Alleged wife murderer was seen burying bra and pantyhose, court told

The trial of John Bowie, who is accused of murdering his wife Roxlyn in 1982, has heard allegations he was seen covering a hole at Walgett golf course that year.

www.smh.com.au

"Alleged wife murderer was seen burying bra and pantyhose, court told"

"A man accused of murdering his wife of 40 years ago was seen covering up a hole on a golf course in which two boys found a bra and pantyhose, a court has heard"

“He’s pulling dirt out of the hole with one hand, he reaches in, he had this massive big jacket on, I believe that it was a Driza-Bone ... I see him pull something out of his pocket, it was something white ... actually seen him put it in the hole and cover it up. Then he hopped up and walked away.”

The witness said he and his friend ran down “to see what this person put in the ground”. The soil was “turned upside down” and they dug it up.

“I realised it was pantyhose ... pantyhose and bra,” he said, adding that they were white cotton.

“We put it back in the hole which this person dug, and we covered it up, and then we took off. We never went back over there ever again.”

The boy at the time recognised John Bowie from the Ambulance Station when he was visiting another officer. He was a red head, the only one he knew in town. Defence questioned whether he was just after the reward and he denied it. Knew he was 1982 because he was 12 and was born in 1970. The above does sound like 12 year old behaviour.

 

[DRT]

Alleged wife murderer regularly fed pigs at hobby farm, trial told

The NSW Supreme Court trial of John Bowie, who is alleged to have killed his wife in 1982, has heard evidence from a man who said he shared pigs with the accused.

www.smh.com.au

A former business associate and friend at the piggery who spent time with John and Roxlyn at BBQs stopped being friends. A few snippets from the article

He said Bowie would tend to the pigs when he was away on business, sometimes for several weeks, and “his duties mainly centred on the feeding of the pigs”.

“However, towards the end of our contact with John, my wife gave me the impression that John wanted to have a relationship with her. My wife stopped this and this was really the last contact that we had with the Bowies.

Chapman said in late May 1982, his mother “took ill” and was hospitalised in Brisbane. He said he and his wife travelled to Queensland, but his mother died on June 6, 1982.

When they returned to Walgett “a couple of days later”, he was told that Roxlyn had “disappeared from her home”.

 

[DRT]

Man accused of killing his wife complained about their sex life and admitted to affairs

A jury has heard John Bowie, who is accused of killing his wife Roxlyn 40 years ago, admitted to having affairs with other women.

www.abc.net.au

Focus on Dear John letter at murder trial

A "Dear John" letter was probably written by the wife of an ambulance officer now accused of murdering...

www.canberratimes.com.au

‘I’ll see you when I get back’: Accused killer’s surprise at missing wife

Roxlyn Bowie’s husband and accused murderer John Bowie told police in 1982 he was drinking beers and playing pokies the night she vanished, a court has heard.

www.smh.com.au

3 articles today. Letter from Roxlyn the day she allegedly was murdered being likely to have been penned by Roxlyn according to expert witness because the accused went to the pub although he got asked not to.

He drove to the pub and Roxlyn walked out. They lived in an inland country town in upper NSW. I can't imagine much being open at that time other than a pub in 1982. She probably would have needed to walk to a motel for the night. He needed to drive to the pub so it must have been a long walk. It probably would have been dark at that time in June.

Prosecution says the letter was written under duress.

From the ABC article.
The NSW Supreme Court today heard evidence Mr Bowie gave to police in 1982 and 1991 and to the 2014 coronial inquest into Ms Bowie's disappearance.

In a police statement made in September 1991, he told police although he had affairs, he "never intended to leave Roxlyn".

Mr Bowie said his wife became aware of one of the six affairs he had while living in Walgett when she found a letter.

He said all of the women he had affairs with except one visited the family home while his wife was there "for drinks, tea".

When asked by police if any women came to the family home in Walgett for sex Mr Bowie said "yeah, while Roxlyn was in Sydney".

 

[JustMyself]

Man accused of killing his wife complained about their sex life and admitted to affairs

A jury has heard John Bowie, who is accused of killing his wife Roxlyn 40 years ago, admitted to having affairs with other women.

www.abc.net.au

Focus on Dear John letter at murder trial

A "Dear John" letter was probably written by the wife of an ambulance officer now accused of murdering...

www.canberratimes.com.au

‘I’ll see you when I get back’: Accused killer’s surprise at missing wife

Roxlyn Bowie’s husband and accused murderer John Bowie told police in 1982 he was drinking beers and playing pokies the night she vanished, a court has heard.

www.smh.com.au

3 articles today. Letter from Roxlyn the day she allegedly was murdered being likely to have been penned by Roxlyn according to expert witness because the accused went to the pub although he got asked not to.

He drove to the pub and Roxlyn walked out. They lived in an inland country town in upper NSW. I can't imagine much being open at that time other than a pub in 1982. She probably would have needed to walk to a motel for the night. He needed to drive to the pub so it must have been a long walk. It probably would have been dark at that time in June.

Prosecution says the letter was written under duress.

From the ABC article.
The NSW Supreme Court today heard evidence Mr Bowie gave to police in 1982 and 1991 and to the 2014 coronial inquest into Ms Bowie's disappearance.

In a police statement made in September 1991, he told police although he had affairs, he "never intended to leave Roxlyn".

Mr Bowie said his wife became aware of one of the six affairs he had while living in Walgett when she found a letter.

He said all of the women he had affairs with except one visited the family home while his wife was there "for drinks, tea".

When asked by police if any women came to the family home in Walgett for sex Mr Bowie said "yeah, while Roxlyn was in Sydney".

He's a real piece of work isn't he? Poor Roxlyn, in an unhappy marriage, losing her baby daughter and no way to escape from this abusive womaniser.
Even if she had left him that night, where would she go at night time with no car? I hate to think of how he coerced her to write those letters.

 

[DRT]

OMG!!! Smippets from the article. Bone fragments found. Witness found a few items including bones as a kid in 1994 with her brother buried them so not to get in trouble. Contacted police in 2019 I assume after publicity of this case lead to excavation of property and arrest in 2019.

Court hears how a woman's childhood discovery led to a cold-case breakthrough

In 1994, a then eight-year-old was digging in her backyard when she uncovered some items that she immediately reburied. It was only 25 years later that she told the police about what she had found, a Supreme Court jury has heard.

www.abc.net.au

"A woman has told a Supreme Court jury she was eight years old when she uncovered clothing, jewellery and bones while digging in the backyard of her father's home in 1994.

Ashley Timmins said she and her brother quickly reburied the items out of fear of getting in trouble.

But 25 years later, she was prompted to come forward to police after a public appeal for information about Roxlyn Bowie's disappearance from Walgett in outback NSW."

Ms Timmins' statement led to the excavation of a section of the property at Euroka Street — located only a short distance from where Mrs Bowie was last seen alive at a house on the same street.

Thirty-seven years after Ms Bowie disappeared, a number of items were found in the backyard, and less than six months later, her husband, John Bowie, was charged with her murder.

"I didn't tell my parents about what we found. My mum was a butcher … we grew up in a butcher's shop, and these bones weren't like the bones we saw every day," she said.

"We didn't want to get in trouble, so we buried them straight away."

 

[DRT]

Husband accused of murder told colleagues 'pigs don't leave any evidence, even bones', court hears

Former colleagues of a man accused of murdering his wife have told a court about separate occasions when he said "pigs don't leave any evidence".

www.abc.net.au

‘Pigs don’t leave any evidence’: Accused wife killer’s alleged remarks

John Bowie, who is accused of murdering his wife Roxlyn in 1982, allegedly told his supervisor “they will never find her”, the NSW Supreme Court has heard.

www.smh.com.au

2nd one is under paywall or maybe I might need to clear cookies.

Mr Bowie was an ambulance officer in Walgett when his wife disappeared on June 5, 1982.

The court heard that six days later, he requested a transfer to Bankstown Ambulance Station in Sydney's west and left Walgett on June 25 that year.

The prosecution has alleged Mr Bowie was involved with a piggery near Walgett, but Mr Bowie's barrister told the court that association ended before Ms Bowie disappeared.

"It's uncontradicted he had nothing to do with the piggery at that time and no one sees him anywhere near the piggery (when Mrs Bowie disappeared)," defence barrister Winston Terracini SC told the court.

Separately a witness said at work in a tea room.
She told the court Mr Bowie said "if you ever want to get rid of anybody, feed them to wild pigs. They don’t leave anything, not even bones".

 

[DRT]

John Bowie's former partners tell murder trial about 'lots of violence' in their relationships

A man charged with murdering his wife has been accused of being violent to two former partners in court.

www.abc.net.au

Two former partners of John Bowie mention repeated violence. The following sounds familiar.

The court heard parts of a statement Ms Archer made to police in 1988 in which she said she found "some ladies jewellery", including an engagement ring, in a glass jar at the home she shared with Mr Bowie.

Ms Archer said they considered using the diamonds in Roxlyn's engagement ring to make a new ring for her engagement to Mr Bowie, but ultimately "he pawned it".

The defence pointed out that although Ms Archer was now claiming she had found a wedding ring in the glass jar, in her police statement there was no mention of that ring.

Don't ask John about Roxlym.

Ms Kuhnell told the court she was aware Ms Bowie had gone missing but only asked Mr Bowie about it once.

"I asked him if he knew what happened to Roxlyn," she said.

"He just got angry and yelled at me for asking and doubting him."

Ms Kuhnell said when driving on one occasion, Mr Bowie became angry about the situation.

"He was venting, saying the police had looked in 'roo pits and down a mine shaft and didn't find anything there," she said.

Ms Kuhnell told the court the accused said: "If I was going to do anything to Roxlyn I'd have fed her to the pigs because there'd be nothing left".

Ms Kuhnell didn't agree with the defence's suggestion that Mr Bowie was protesting his innocence during that conversation.

"He never said 'I had nothing to do with it,'" she said.

 

[dotr]

Oct 26 2022

Cold case murder trial told accused 'forced' wife to write to parents before disappearance

Prosecutors tell the Supreme Court that John Bowie, who is accused of murdering his wife 40 years ago, invited a neighbour into his house on the night Roxlyn disappeared as part of a "staged performance".

www.abc.net.au

''Key points:​

• John Bowie was charged with his wife's murder in 2019 and has maintained his innocence
• Ms Bowie's body was never found and the prosecution alleges Mr Bowie disposed of her remains at a piggery or an abattoir
• Mr Bowie's defence barrister told the court that the police had failed to establish key facts and were relying on memories from decades ago''

 

[DRT]

Murder trial defence criticises 'inadequate' police probe into Roxlyn Bowie's death

The jury has been told that in the 40 years since Ms Bowie's disappearance, police have never contacted experts to establish important facts for the case.

www.abc.net.au

Defence claims inadequate police investigation. Can you imagine NSW police not investigating a young missing mother who abandons her children. Defence complaining that while there were 60 witnesses some have passed away and now have dementia. It doesn't surprise me after 40 years. The defence has closed their case.

Mr Terracini told the jury the prosecution was relying on witnesses' memories of events in 1982, not experts.

He said authorities were not asked to verify what public transport was available in Walgett at the time; no Bureau of Meteorology flood records were accessed, and no experts confirmed if pigs eat bones.

The prosecution claims Mr Bowie possibly disposed of his wife's body at a local piggery he had been involved with; with several witnesses claiming the accused told them "pigs don't leave evidence, not even bones".

 

[TootsieFootsie]

Can you imagine NSW police not investigating a young missing mother who abandons her children.

Yes I can. That's the way it used to be.

A lot different from now, thankfully.

 

[DRT]

Yes I can. That's the way it used to be.

A lot different from now, thankfully.

I was being facetious. I don't think it was limited to wives or NSW at the time.

 

[TootsieFootsie]

I was being facetious. I don't think it was limited to wives or NSW at the time.

Yes I was agreeing with you. Sorry if it didn't come across that way.

Thankfully things seem to be changing.

 

[Morrisa]

Nice one. Guilty!

Former ambulance officer John Bowie found guilty of cold case murder of wife Roxlyn

www.9news.com.au

 

[TootsieFootsie]

Yessss!!!