BALTIMORE (Sept. 30, 2008)—Earlier today, the Maryland Department of Human Resources successfully petitioned the court for custody of the surviving adopted child of Renee Bowman. The 7-year-old child is currently in a hospital.
The physically abused girl escaped her home in Lusby, Calvert County, last Friday.
She was discovered by a neighbor, Phillip Garrett, 21, as she walked bare footed down a gravel roadway
with obvious signs of physical abuse.
Police on Saturday discovered the frozen remains of what are believed to be Bowman's other two adopted children in a freezer in the basement. Police were in the home executing a search warrant seeking evidence of the child abuse.
"Once this little girl is discharged from the hospital, she will be placed with an especially nurturing and loving foster family," said Brenda Donald, Secretary, Maryland Department of Human Resources in a prepared statement today.
Donald said DHR has completed a comprehensive review of all data systems and they found no records to indicate that they received any child abuse or neglect complaints about the Bowman family.
Donald is asking the media to not seek out the child.
"Understandably, there has been an outpouring of concern for this little girl from the public, but we certainly hope that the media will respect her privacy as she has been through more than most of
[us] could ever imagine," said Donald.
Bowman is in custody in Calvert County on a no bond order. She has been charged with child abuse and assault so far. Charges in the suspected deaths of her other two adopted children are pending the police investigation and the results of the medical examiner in Baltimore. Police are currently not sure if the children died in Calvert County. Police say Bowman told them the children were transported in the freezer when she relocated from Montgomery County in February 2008.
RELATED INFORMATION:
Escape of Abused Child In Lusby Leads to Discovery of Human Remains in Freezer , Sept. 29, 2008
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