Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, September 22, 1995 TAG: 9509220106
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOE JACKSON LANDMARK NEWS SERVICE
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Virginia authorities are apparently investigating claims by the son of Randy Bowman, key prosecution witness in the capital murder case of Dennis Stockton, that Bowman bragged of killing and hurting people.
The allegation is echoed by two other witnesses who claimed Bowman said he, not Stockton, was the real killer of Kenneth Arnder.
At the same time, Stockton's lawyer charged Thursday that North Carolina and Virginia officials' refusal to search Bowman's apartment may have cut off any chance of retrieving a journal in which Bowman allegedly chronicled those crimes.
The journal, described in the affidavit of Bowman's son, Timothy Crabtree, ``has almost certainly been destroyed by Randy Bowman,'' said Steve Rosenfield, the lawyer. ``It could have been a key piece of exculpatory evidence. We pleaded with authorities to issue a search warrant, but they just weren't interested. Now it may be too late.''
The allegations against Bowman - detailed in sworn statements by Crabtree,16; Bowman's ex-wife, Patricia Ann McHone; and former friend Kathy Carreon - were filed in the state Supreme Court on Tuesday, along with a plea for a new hearing.
The statements raise the possibility that Stockton may have spent the past 12 years on death row because of the false testimony of the real killer.
Stockton is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection Wednesday. He was sentenced to death in 1983 for the murder-for-hire of Arnder, 18, in Patrick County.
Thursday, a North Carolina state investigator visited Crabtree's adoptive father, James Crabtree, to arrange a meeting between Timothy and Virginia investigators, James Crabtree said.
It could not be determined Thursday if investigators are also seeking interviews with McHone and Carreon. ``We do not comment on investigations,'' said Donald Harrison, spokesman for the Virginia attorney general's office.
From December 1994 to April 1995, Timothy visited with Bowman, his biological father. During that time, Bowman ``told me many stories about people he beat up or about people he killed,'' the boy's affidavit said. ``I also read about people he hurt from a journal he kept in a composition book. He never mentioned names.
``He told me of one incident where he killed a boy and disposed of the body with the help of some friends,'' the affidavit said. ``He showed me where they left the body, and I remember it was near a stream in or near Mt. Airy, N.C. He said this happened before I was born.'' Arnder was killed shortly before Timothy was born, and his body was found near Mt. Airy.
Timothy's affidavit was corroborated by Carreon's, who said, ``Randy Bowman told me that he killed Kenny Arnder with the help of two friends.'' McHone's affidavit said, ``Randy came home one evening and told me that he had just killed Kenny Arnder.''
Thursday, James Crabtree gave more details about the journal. ``Tim said his dad was gone one day ... so he went into his bedroom,'' Crabtree said. ``He was just plundering around - I don't think he knew it was there.''
Timothy found the ``wire-bound school composition book'' containing ``a list of the things he [Bowman] had done to people,'' Crabtree said. ``It went into all sorts of detail - pages and pages. One thing was a time he supposedly raped a girl and killed her boyfriend.'
Timothy's affidavit was notarized Sept. 15, records show. The next day, Rosenfield contacted North Carolina state investigator Ron Perry. ``I told Perry about the affidavits and asked for a search warrant, but he said he wasn't interested - the case was closed,'' Rosenfield said.
Advocates for Stockton also sought search warrants for Bowman's diary last week and this week from the director of the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigations, Surry County (N.C.) Sheriff's Department, and Alan Black, Patrick County commonwealth's attorney. All refused.
Stockton's lawyers filed the affidavits on Tuesday afternoon. The next day, the story was published in newspapers across the state.
by CNB