ROCKVILLE, Md., Feb. 23 (UPI) -- A Maryland woman faces life without parole for killing two adopted daughters and keeping them on ice while she still collected payments for them, officials say.
A jury in Montgomery County deliberated for less than 90 minutes Monday before finding Renee Bowman guilty of first-degree murder and child abuse, The Washington Post reported.
"What she did was absolutely horrendous," said Laurence Foley, the jury foreman. "There was an overwhelming amount of evidence."
Bowman, 44, was arrested after her youngest adopted daughter, 7 at the time, jumped from a second-floor window in 2008 and was found on a street in Lusby, Md., 55 miles southeast of Washington, the Post said. Police found the bodies of the two older girls, Jasmine and Minnet, in a freezer.
Investigators said Bowman moved twice with the freezer containing the bodies and escaped detection for at least two years. She received at least $152,000 in payments for raising the girls, with some of the money coming after the killings.
"This woman was in it for the money. And by killing the children, keeping them literally on ice, the money continued to flow," John McCarthy, the prosecutor, told the jury in his summation.
