Former Mayo doc accused of poisoning wife served up suspicious smoothie: Warrant

ROCHESTER, Minn. (FOX 9) - Friends say the former Mayo Clinic doctor, charged with poisoning his wife last month, had previously served his wife another strange-tasting smoothie less than a week before her death, according to a new search warrant.

Connor Bowman is facing a charge of murder in the second degree for the death of his wife, Betty Bowman. Betty died In August, days after suddenly becoming ill. She was admitted to the hospital on Aug. 16, dying four days later.

In charges filed last month, investigators say a toxicology report found elevated levels of colchicine, a drug used to treat gout, in Betty's system. Police say they also found search records of Connor Bowman researching colchicine before Betty's death and buying the drug online, days before Betty became sick.

New search warrants unsealed late last week detail a previous incident involving the couple, in which friends allegedly joked that Connor was poisoning his wife.

According to the warrants, police heard from friends who had reported that Connor had made Betty a strange-tasting smoothie. One friend even tried the smoothie while visiting Betty on Aug. 10, just days before her fatal illness.

The warrant details: "Betty asked [the friend] to try a smoothie that Connor had given her. [The friend] tasted it and noticed it tasted very bad, she described it as bitter and salty, not like a smoothie would be expected to taste. She said jokingly at the time that Connor must be trying to poison her but didn’t think much of it at the time. Betty even joked that she had considered it at the time, and said she didn’t think that would happen, but decided to not drink the smoothie anyway and threw it out."

Before she died, in messages to a friend, Betty had also blamed her worsening illness on a smoothie she had drank, the original complaint detailed.

The new search warrants also shed light on the Bowmans' deteriorating relationship. According to the warrants, friends told police that Connor had apparently developed feelings for another woman, to the dismay of Betty, who had suggested they divorce.

Connor Bowman remains behind bars in Olmsted County Jail. According to the Minnesota Board of Medical Practice, Bowman's credentials as a "physician and surgeon" at Mayo Clinic are still active.