Poison expert allegedly poisoned wife—with a shockingly toxic gout drug

Enlarge / Ball-and-stick model of the colchicine molecule. (credit: Wikimedia | Ben Mills)

A Minnesota doctor who had worked for a poison control center was charged this week in the poisoning death of his wife, who died from a lethal dose of the highly toxic gout medication, colchicine.

Connor Bowman, 30, was arrested last Friday and charged Monday with second-degree murder in the death of Betty Bowman, 32, who worked as a pharmacist at the Mayo Clinic.

In an investigation that followed her suspicious death on August 20, police learned that the two were having marital problems, including a deteriorating relationship and infidelity, and were talking about a divorce. They also learned that Connor Bowman was in debt and stood to gain $500,000 in life insurance upon his wife’s demise.