Push to dismiss evidence in case of former Mayo Clinic doctor Connor Bowman accused of poisoning wife
ROCHESTER, Minn. (KTTC) – The defense attorneys for the former Mayo Clinic doctor accused of poisoning his wife are making a big push to dismissed evidence from an impending trial.
Connor Bowman is charged with first-degree murder for his wife Betty Bowman’s death in August of 2023. Bowman wasn’t arrested until October of 2023.
Three briefs were filed Monday making two main arguments. First, that some warrants failed to sufficiently identify items to be seized which is a constitutional requirement. Second, investigators seized large amounts of private health information violating medical privilege.
The first document challenges some of the warrants fail to meet scrupulous exactitude standards, meaning the warrants were overbroad and lacked specificity. The defense attorneys argued investigators were “rummaging” through electronic devices. The document alleges some seized items might include first amendment material. The defense team gave an example that authorities seized documents referencing death, and/or research involving substances that can result in death inside the home of a practicing physician.
The second court filing alleges some searches violated medical privilege, noting the Bowmans were both medical professionals and Connor also worked remotely for poison control. The defense argues the warrants failed to be specific and the limitations resulted in the seizure of vast digital data spanning years, if not decades.
The final court document continues the argument that medical privilege was violated. According to the brief, large amounts of private health information was collected, which Connor’s defense team argues that data is protected by doctor patient privilege. The defense team goes on to add innocent third parties are protected from unreasonable searches and this type of information requires the highest level of reasonableness to access. The attorneys say those searches were “unreasonable”.
The arguments mostly pertaining to evidence collected from electronic devices that belonged to Mayo Clinic, where both Betty and Connor were employed. The defense attorneys are asking a lot of that evidence collected should dismissed.
The state will get the chance to respond to these arguments on why the evidence should be included in the prosecution.
As of now, not trial or future court date have been set.
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