Trial date is set for man charged in 1967 slaying

10/8/2010

A 2011 trial date was set in Lucas County Common Pleas Court Friday for the man charged in the 1967 murder of a Sylvania Township girl.

Robert Bowman, 74, is charged with first-degree murder in the slaying of Eileen Adams, 14. He is accused of kidnapping, raping, and killing the teen, last seen Dec. 18, 1967, as she was getting off a bus after school in West Toledo. Judge Gene Zmuda set a Feb. 7 trial date after attorneys sought more time to have newly discovered evidence tested for DNA.

Bowman was arrested Oct. 2, 2008, in Cathedral City, Calif., and extradited to Ohio. A warrant was issued for his arrest in November, 2007, after a reverse paternity test was used to match Bowman's DNA to that found on the victim's body.

An October trial date was reset after a large semen stain was discovered on the victim's skirt. The skirt, as well as three other pieces of evidence, are scheduled to be tested for DNA.