When Jody Lynn Bowman caught her boyfriend, George Jupin, who had no history of pedophilia, molesting her daughter, 3, she got her 9 mm handgun and shot him in the head. Bowman claimed self-defense, saying that Jupin had lunged at her.

Fla. v. Bowman: Mom kills biker boyfriend

Court TV

September 14, 2004

(Court TV) — Jody Lynn Bowman and her two daughters were living with her boyfriend George Jupin, a drug-dealing, pierced, tattooed biker who had a penchant for porn.

On Jan. 20, 2003, Bowman shot and killed Jupin, 40, as he lay in their bed — but she claimed she had good reason: She caught him molesting her 3-year-old daughter.

But prosecutors charged that Bowman fabricated the story, and that she murdered him in cold blood, motivated by a fear he was going to leave her.

The 34-year-old Florida woman was tried for second-degree murder before a Brevard County jury in March 2004. She faced life in prison if convicted.

The Story

Jody Lynn Bowman was suspicious of her boyfriend after her younger daughter, Maddie, told her that Jupin played a "bear game" with her. When Bowman asked her what the bear game was, Maddie told her that George made her lie on the bed and touched her "girlfriend." Bowman explained that "girlfriend" was the name she and Maddie used to refer to her genital area, because she was in toilet training.

Not sure about what to do, Bowman kept Maddie under close watch.

The following day, she and Jupin were scheduled to go on a motorcycle trip with their friend John Bruyere and Bruyere's girlfriend. Bruyere, an ex-convict and former drug addict and motorcycle gang member, said he earned the nickname "Booster" by stealing tractor trailers. He lived in New Jersey but frequently visited the couple in Florida.

According to Bowman, she tried to talk to Bruyere about her daughter's allegations, but that he kept putting her off, saying they would discuss it later.

Finally, when Bowman said she couldn't contain the information much longer, she told both Jupin and Bruyere. Jupin became very angry and defensive, according to Bowman, but he also reassured her that he loved Maddie and would not do anything to harm her. Bowman said she believed him. She said they returned from the three-day motorcycle trip, and things seemed to return to normal.

The following week, on Jan. 20, 2003, Bowman was not feeling well, and while her 9-year-old daughter, Sarah, went off to school, she kept Maddie home from day care. Jupin was home as well, and, according to Bowman, had not left the bedroom following a drug binge.

She left Maddie watching television in the Florida room and went off to do household chores, but while cleaning she realized the little girl was not where she left her. When she tried to go into her bedroom, she observed that it was locked. The bedroom was normally locked because drugs, guns, and knives were often kept in that room. Bowman sought the key for the door, which was kept on a key chain on top the refrigerator.

She said that when she opened the door, she observed that Jupin was on the bed wearing nothing but her underwear, masturbating within arm's reach of her naked daughter. Horrified, Bowman said she grabbed Maddie, took her outside and zipped her up in a pup tent. She said Jupin hollered after her, "You better not f---in' tell anyone, no one will believe you." She claims Jupin also threatened to pour acid on her genitalia.

Bowman said she returned armed with a 9mm handgun to protect herself. She wanted to question him about why he would do that to her daughter. She said he taunted her and then lunged toward her. Convinced she would not leave the house alive, Bowman said she pulled the trigger and shot Jupin dead.

After the shooting, she returned to Maddie and said she told her Jupin would never hurt her again.

That afternoon, she picked Sarah up from school. Bowman said she was so traumatized after the shooting, it was a wonder she didn't get into an accident that day because she was numb. She slept with the girls that night and avoided going back into the master bedroom, where Jupin lay dead.

The next day she took both girls to school. She called Bruyere and told him what happened and said he advised her to get the firearms and drugs out of the house and told her that he was on his way. Bruyere called their friend William Lane, who finally called police.

Bowman was arrested for first-degree murder, but the charge was later reduced to second-degree murder after the evidence showed there was no heightened premeditation.

Colorful Pasts

Both the victim and the defendant had colorful pasts, details of which emerged during testimony.

George Jupin made a living selling jewelry, motorcycles, and drugs. He served a stint in prison for armed robbery. According to his friends and relatives, he went to prison for beating an accused child molester, proof of how offended he was by such behavior.

Once he was out of prison, ex-girlfriend Tina Mastandrea said he tried to remain on a straight path, and the two opened a jewelry business together. But drugs tempted him back into a life of crime, she said.

Friends describe him as tough, gentle and lovable. One prosecution witness said he liked to refer to himself as a "big ol' bear."

While friends say there was a soft side to him, it was not reflected in his physical appearance.

His muscular body was covered in tattoos depicting demon-like creatures and gothic battle scenes. He also sported a swastika over his chest and the words "Hardcore Choppers," on the side of his neck, a reflection of his passion for motorcycles.

Almost every part of his body bore a bold tattoo, including one on the inside of his lip. His nipples were pierced with silver rings and lead bullets dangled from them.

Jupin was on parole when he met Jody Lynn Bowman at the end of 2001, the same year she divorced her second husband. Bowman had one daughter, Sarah, with first husband John Herndon in 1992. Maddie, born in 1999, was a product of her second marriage.

By April 2002, Jupin and Bowman had moved in together with her daughters.

Investigators describe the Micco, Fla., home as an illegal drug emporium. A search of the residence uncovered heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine, marijuana, and prescription drugs such as OxyContin. Jupin was selling and abusing many of these drugs. His autopsy report revealed metabolites from cocaine use and other controlled substances. Even Jupin's friends admitted Jupin often went on drug binges that lasted for days.

But while his friends agreed he was a drug-dealing, philandering racist, they vehemently denied he was a child molester.

The State's Case

Prosecutors had no trouble proving Jody Lynn Bowman shot her boyfriend to death, because Bowman herself admitted it. But while Bowman claimed she killed to protect herself and her daughter, prosecutor Rob Parker argued that even assuming the molestation occurred, Bowman had already managed to get her daughter out of the house and out of harm's way.

But Parker contended Bowman lied about her daughter being abused, and that she fabricated the story to justify the shooting. He argued Bowman murdered her boyfriend because he was planning to leave her.

The prosecution said Bowman even dressed her boyfriend's corpse in her own panties after she shot and killed him.

Friends of the couple testified for the state that Bowman was not a good parent, and that it was Jupin who cared for the girls. Babysitters observed that Maddie suffered from such severe diaper rash that there were open sores, causing her to resist having her diaper changed.

While the prosecution acknowledges the victim was no angel, they alleged Bowman was also abusing drugs and alcohol and was an active part of Jupin's drug dealing business. The star witness for the prosecution was none other than John Bruyere, who claimed that when Bowman called him following the shooting, she asked him for help getting rid of the body.

Bruyere admitted he wanted Bowman to get the guns and drugs out of the house before calling police, but did so because he was concerned about the children's safety and didn't want her to get into any more trouble.

Bruyere also testified about the motorcycle trip he went on with Bowman and Jupin shortly before the shooting. He said Bowman accused Jupin of molesting her daughter, but that the allegations emerged when she "liquored up." Furthermore, Bruyere testified Bowman had accused other men of molesting Maddie, thus suggesting the defendant had a pattern of making false accusations of molestation when she was drunk.

The medical examiner testified the victim had suffered nine wounds, including several to the abdomen that were survivable and one lethal shot to the head. He testified the head wound was inflicted while the victim was still alive.

Crime scene experts testified about several items, including a bed sheet, bathrobe, pillow and shirt that appeared to be bloodstained. The items were found in the laundry room, supporting the prosecution's notion that someone had started to clean up the crime scene.

The prosecution conceded that there were unanswered questions, but argued that the forensic evidence did not support Bowman's claim of self-defense. Prosecutors pointed to her odd behavior after the shooting: her failure to call police, her call to Bruyere and her own admission that she got Maddie out of the house before the shooting. Parker asked the jury to convict her of second-degree murder.

The Verdict

A jury of three men and three women deliberated for nine hours before acquitting Jody Lynn Bowman.

Prosecutors had offered Bowman a plea deal in which she could avoid a life sentence by pleading guilty in exchange for a 25-year term, but she turned it down.