Polk County man convicted in 2017 murder of Tammy Wolfe
Polk County Sheriff’s deputies took Roe Bowman out of the courtroom Friday after he was convicted following a week-long trial on murder charges in the death of Tammy Wolfe in 2017.
Bowman will face a hearing in Tallapoosa Circuit Judge Mark Murphy’s courtroom to determine a sentencing date this coming week, District Attorney Jack Browning. The jury found Bowman guilty on charges of malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.
Bowman’s defense attorney Rex Abernathy, in his closing arguments, told the jury the prosecution had not proven his client’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
“What troubles me is the government’s haphazard prosecution of this case,” Abernathy said to the jury.
The attorney questioned various aspects of the investigation conducted by police. He cited blood evidence that wasn’t tested, the lack of a murder weapon and cell phone tracking information presented by experts during the trial as not enough to prove his client’s guilt.
He also questioned the testimony of several witnesses who told of past abuse and stalking behavior.
Assistant District Attorney Jordan Amendola brought back out the windshield that Wolfe had drawn an “R” and “O” on the inside glass before she died for the jury to see. He said that was how she used what was left of her life to leave a clue for police as to who might have been responsible for her death.
“The last thing she did on this earth was to write who killed her,” she said. “Roe (Bowman) brutally attacked her in the cemetery... This was personal. This was Roe.”
Wolfe was stabbed 20 times — 8 times around the heart — and shot twice, the prosecutor said. Police were able to track the last locations of her cell phone connecting with towers leaving from the cemetery after she was attacked and left to die on the way to Bowman’s home.
She also detailed how Wolfe’s son testified that his mother was being constantly stalked and threatened by Bowman up to the morning of her death. She also called into question his alibi, based on his cell phone for regular use being off. However, investigators later found through Wolfe’s contact list saved on her Google account a second phone listed as “Roe’s F.S.” or “Food Stamp” phone.
“It is not reasonable to think anyone else did this,” Amendola ended her closing statement to the jury on the final day of the case as she pointed to the windshield in the courtroom. “Tammy told you who her killer was, she left you this.”
The jury took three hours to return a verdict late in the day on March 6.