A Springfield couple has been charged with multiple counts of child abuse and neglect and first-degree endangering the welfare of a child after a “visibly malnourished and visibly injured” child was brought to the emergency department at Mercy Springfield.
Alyssa Bowman, 28, and Joshua Bowman, 30, were booked into the Greene County Jail on May 2. According to online court records, the Bowmans do not yet have an attorney.
Both are charged with two counts of the class B felony of abuse or neglect of a child causing serious emotional or physical injury, two counts of the class D felony of abuse or neglect of a child, one count of the class B felony of first-degree endangering the welfare of a child causing serious physical injury and one count of the class D felony of first-degree endangering the welfare of a child creating substantial risk.
According to a probable cause statement filed against the Bowmans, an officer with the Springfield Police Department responded to Mercy Hospital on March 23, 2024, and observed the male child had bruises over the entirety of his body, bruises specifically on his forehead, and cuts and abrasions on several body areas. The police officer noted the child was extremely malnourished.
The child, identified as “Victim 1” in the report, had sagging skin and appeared to have virtually no body fat, the officer wrote.
A relative of Victim 1 and another child, identified as Victim 2, brought Victim 1 to the emergency room. Joshua and Alyssa Bowman reportedly left Victim 1 at the relative’s home.
According to the police officer’s statement, the relative had not seen Victim 1 in some time and was concerned due to the child’s appearance.
Investigator examined photos of child
The officer and an investigator with Greene County Children’s Division contacted Joshua Bowman at his home and found the home “unkempt” with a “foul odor.” The Pack ‘n Play in which Victim 1 reportedly slept contained food remnants and what was possibly feces.
Cpl. Jason Marcum, an officer with the Springfield Police Department’s Child Victim Unit, was assigned to investigate the case. Marcum reviewed photographs of the residence and Victim 1.
“I observed Victim 1 to appear very malnourished to the point I drew immediate parallels of photographs that depicted concentration camp victims,” Marcum wrote in his report.
Marcum wrote that the child did not appear to have any body fat, that all the child’s vertebra could be seen in detail when a nurse helped the child stand, that the child’s pelvic bones could be seen from all sides and that the skin on his buttocks sagged in multiple places because it had no body fat.
Marcum noted multiple bruises and abrasions on the child’s body, including a large bruise on the middle of his forehead, which was also swollen.
Child told investigator her parents ate ‘all the good stuff’
According to the statement, Victim 2 was given a forensic interview at the Child Advocacy Center on March 26. During that interview, the child reported that her burps were not “tasting good” for the past few weeks and was told to “ignore it.” Victim 2 said both Joshua and Alyssa Bowman were “mean” to her, which included not giving her food for “one day,” the officer wrote.
Victim 2 told the forensic interviewer that Joshua and Alyssa Bowman ate “all the good stuff” and were “rude” since they would sometimes not give her or Victim 1 food or water.
Details about the children’s health records, age and weight are redacted in court documents available to journalists.
But Marcum attended an examination of Victim 1 at the Child Advocacy Center on April 30, 2024 — a little more than a month after the child was first taken to the emergency room by a relative.
“I observed Victim 1 to appear much healthier and it was determined he weighed 30 pounds,” Marcum wrote in his report. Victim 1 was able to walk on his own and crawl into a stroller on April 30. Victim 1 was still unable to speak and used grunts or screams to communicate, the officer wrote.
Victim 2 was also doing well, the officer wrote, and the child’s “stutter was not consistent and only seemed to occur when she spoke of issues related to Joshua and Alyssa.”
In an interview at police headquarters, Joshua Bowman agreed Victim 1 was in need of medical treatment, but refused to acknowledge the seriousness of his condition, the officer wrote.
The Bowmans have bond hearings later this week in a Greene County courtroom.
