Woman Indicted in Killing Daughters, Taking D.C. Aid

A woman previously charged with killing two of her adopted daughters in Montgomery County and storing their bodies in a freezer for more than a year was indicted in the slayings yesterday and also on charges of stealing from the District by collecting adoption remittances after their deaths.

Renee D. Bowman, 43, was indicted by a Montgomery grand jury on six counts related to the deaths of her two daughters and the abuse of a surviving child. Bowman is accused of killing the two children in Montgomery and hiding their bodies in a freezer, where they remained as she moved first to Charles County and then to Calvert County.

The case against Bowman began in September 2008, when her 7-year-old daughter was found wandering in their Calvert neighborhood. Calvert authorities searched her house, where they discovered two bodies in a freezer. The bodies were later identified as those of Minnet C. Bowman, who would have been 11 at the time of the discovery, and Jasmine N. Bowman, who would have been 9, according to authorities.

Bowman received $2,400 a month through a program that encourages adoption of children who are wards of the state.

She has been charged in Calvert with attempted murder and other offenses. Her trial is set for September.