Suspect in 1967 killing denies snatching girl

Associated Press

TOLEDO

A man accused of killing a 14-year-old Ohio schoolgirl in 1967 and dumping her body in Michigan denies keeping her in his basement for days beforehand.

Robert Bowman’s wife testified earlier at his retrial that she found the girl tied up in the basement. In testimony Wednesday, the 75-year-old Bowman said that’s not something he’d do and called his wife a perpetual liar.

Bowman pleaded not guilty to murder in the death of Eileen Adams, who vanished on her way home from school in Toledo.

Bowman said all he knew about the girl is what he heard from detectives and from what came out in court. Closing arguments are expected today.

The case stumped investigators for decades until they say they used DNA to link Bowman to the killing.

Bowman accused detectives of manufacturing evidence against him and called two former investigators snakes.

Jurors in August couldn’t reach a unanimous verdict in the case, forcing a retrial that is now coming to a close. In a surprise move, Robert Bowman took the stand on Tuesday after not testifying at his first trial.