Trial Begins This Week In Attack On Pregnant Woman
MOUNT CLEMENS (WWJ/AP) - A trial is set for Tuesday for two men charged with attempted murder in what police say was a plot to have a pregnant Detroit woman killed because one of the men didn't want the baby.
Jamal Rogers and Antonio Mathis are due in Macomb County Circuit Court. The Macomb Daily of Mount Clemens reports the trial is expected to last more than a week.
The 23-year-old Warren men are accused in the May 2012 attack on Latonya Bowman, who was 9 months pregnant when she was bound, set on fire and shot.
According to police, Bowman went to a Friday night drive-in movie with Rogers, her ex-boyfriend, and then drove him home to Warren.
That's when, in his garage, Mathis allegedly pointed a gun at Bowman, wrapped her in duct tape, forced her into her back seat and drove her to a vacant Detroit field, where he doused her in lighter fluid and set her on fire.
Police said Bowman was then shot in the shoulder and played dead.
Police said Rogers "made incriminating statements that he did not desire a third child," and thus wanted his former lover dead.
Rogers' lawyer wants to keep his client's statement to police from trial. Mathis' lawyer wants separate trials.
Bowman, 22, suffered burns to her forehead and torso but has recovered. She gave birth to a boy days after the attack.
(TM and © Copyright 2013 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2013 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
