Judge Rules Police Violated Rights of Mayo Clinic Doctor Accused of Poisoning Wife During Evidence Collection

A Minnesota judge has ruled that police violated the constitutional rights of Dr. Connor Bowman, a former Mayo Clinic resident accused of fatally poisoning his wife, Betty Jo Bowman. As a result, crucial evidence — including messages, media, and internet searches pulled from more than a dozen of the couple’s devices — has been thrown out of the case.

Dr. Bowman, once seen as a rising figure in medicine, now faces a first-degree murder charge in the shocking 2023 death of his wife. Prosecutors allege he used a powerful gout medication, colchicine, to secretly poison Betty by mixing it into a smoothie — a drink she reportedly thought tasted strange.

Search Warrants Deemed Too Broad

Judge Kathy M. Wallace found that two search warrants used by the Rochester Police Department failed to meet the legal standard of “particularity” — meaning they allowed too broad a sweep of Bowman’s personal data. As a result, media files, messages, and search histories from 13 devices and an iPad have been ruled inadmissible.

The judge wrote that police had enough information at the time to be more specific in their requests — including knowledge of the Bowmans’ rocky marriage, financial struggles, and the suspicious medical details surrounding Betty’s sudden decline.

“This knowledge demonstrates that law enforcement could have provided more specificity,” Wallace stated.

From Loving Wife to Murder Victim

Betty Jo Bowman was just 32 years old when she died on August 20, 2023, after four days in the hospital. Initially believed to be suffering from food poisoning, her condition quickly deteriorated. Doctors were puzzled when a previously healthy woman developed organ failure, fluid in her lungs, and severe cardiac complications.

Suspicion grew when friends came forward, revealing Betty had talked about divorcing Connor. They said the couple’s relationship had soured — strained by money problems and infidelity. Connor, who had a background in pharmacy and poison control, allegedly had the means and the know-how to carry out a calculated killing.

The medical examiner eventually determined Betty died from toxic levels of colchicine, ruling her death a homicide. A planned cremation was halted after someone close to the Bowmans called the examiner, warning them about marital issues and possible foul play.

Disturbing Digital Footprint

Police allege that Connor used his Mayo Clinic email to purchase colchicine. He later tried to claim his wife had bought the drug herself under his name — a claim investigators found dubious.

In an unsettling twist, just nine days after Betty’s death, Connor was allegedly using the dating app Bumble, identifying himself as a widower. He reportedly told one woman he had received a $500,000 life insurance payout, and even told conflicting stories about his wife’s cause of death — ranging from listeria to a morphine overdose.

One search from his phone reportedly read: “is widow gender neutral?” — a haunting detail investigators uncovered as Betty lay dying in a hospital bed.

A Smoothie and a Terrible Joke

In perhaps the most chilling part of the case, a friend recalled visiting Betty just 10 days before her death. She had been handed a smoothie — in a Lilo & Stitch cup — made by Connor. Betty and her friend joked that he might be trying to poison her. Though she threw the drink out, she would later accept another smoothie from him, just before falling gravely ill.

Friends also noticed Connor’s strange behavior after her passing. Instead of mourning, he appeared “stoic and calm,” even socializing and drinking shortly afterward — behavior that raised red flags for those who knew the couple.

What’s Next in the Case?

It’s unclear how the judge’s ruling will affect the prosecution’s case moving forward. With some of the digital evidence now excluded, prosecutors may need to rely more heavily on witness testimony and physical evidence.

What remains undeniable, however, is the human tragedy at the center of this case — a young woman dead, a promising doctor accused of murder, and a relationship that unraveled in the most horrific way imaginable.

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