'Calculating' Woman Staged Home Invasion, Shot Husband To Death To Claim Insurance Money

A Kansas City woman will spend the rest of her life behind bars without parole following the shooting death of her husband in November 2012, a Missouri judge announced on Wednesday.

Viola Bowman, 60, has also been slapped with 10 more years behind bars for armed criminal action. Her sentences were handed down by Seventh Circuit Court Judge Shane T. Alexander and will run consecutively, Clay County Prosecuting Attorney Daniel White confirmed.

According to the Kansas City Police Department, responding officers arrived at the Bowman residence following an ambulance call from the defendant.

The woman had reported that the home had been broken into by an unidentified man, who had allegedly killed her husband, Albert “Rusty” Bowman in what prosecutors contend was “a cold and calculating murder.”

However, a further probe would reveal that no break-in occurred at the home. Police working on the case would also note the murder scene was staged by the Bowman suspect to mask her crimes and get away with the law, according to Fox4KC.

Detectives then determined that Bowman had shot her husband twice, once hitting him in the head and another, in the chest, at their Kansas City home before dialing 911.

During her criminal trial, prosecutors also contended that the responding paramedics at Bowman’s home noted her demeanor in the aftermath of her husband’s death was “odd.”

There were also multiple inconsistencies with her statements about the alleged robbery, according to investigators, who also noted no items were missing from the family home, Law&Crime noted.

Prosecutors also contended Bowman benefited from a life insurance policy in the wake of Rusty's passing.

Last year, she reportedly shut down a deal from prosecutors that would have effectively resulted in her release for time served provided that she pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter.

However, she has maintained she has nothing to do with Rusty's murder since her arrest, according to the Kansas City Star.

“I did not murder my husband,” she told the judge on Wednesday before she addressed two of her daughters, who were present in the courtroom. “I’m sorry you lost your father. I suffer every day without your father here.”

On Sept. 20 this year, the Bowman wife was convicted at a Clay County jury trial. The jurors assessed punishment for her crimes as life without parole, recommending additional 10 years on the charge of armed criminal action.

Clay County Prosecuting Attorney White has since given out a sigh of relief, saying he is grateful the family members and friends of the victim were able to obtain justice despite the unprecedented delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Bowman's case was charged by grand jury indictment on January 6, 2015, and saw a trial scheduled for 11 occasions before its resolution this week.