Gary Ray Bowles American serial killer Date of Birth: 25.01.1962 Country: USA

Biography of Gary Ray Bowles

Gary Ray Bowles was an American serial killer who was convicted and sentenced to death for the murders of six people. He was born on January 25, 1962, in Clifton Forge, Virginia. Bowles' father, William Franklin Bowles, passed away six months before his birth, and his mother, Frances, remarried multiple times. Bowles suffered abuse from his second stepfather, an alcoholic who also abused his older brother and mother. The cruel treatment ended when 13-year-old Bowles severely injured his stepfather during a fight. Angered by his mother's decision not to divorce the abuser, Bowles left home shortly after.

For several years, Bowles did not have a stable home. He earned money by selling his body. In 1982, he was arrested for beating and sexually assaulting his girlfriend, and he was sentenced to six years in prison. After his release in 1991, Gary was soon convicted of unarmed robbery. He stole a wallet from an elderly woman and received a four-year prison sentence. However, he served only two years of the sentence.

On April 14, 1994, while in Daytona, Florida, Bowles killed his first victim, John Hardy Roberts, who had offered him temporary shelter. During a conflict, Bowles beat Roberts and then strangled him. He stole Roberts' credit card. Soon, police suspected Bowles when his fingerprints were found at the crime scene, and it was discovered that he was under probation supervision. Over the next six months, Bowles killed five more people in Nassau County, Florida, Savannah, Georgia, and Montgomery County, Maryland. He always followed a similar pattern - targeting his victims, beating and strangling them, and then stealing their credit cards.

As a fugitive, Bowles became one of the FBI's ten most wanted criminals. Finally, on October 22, 1994, he was arrested for the murder of Walter Jamelle 'Jay' Hinton, and Bowles confessed to the six murders.

During his trial, Bowles was found guilty of three murders and sentenced to death. However, the punishment was overturned by the Florida Supreme Court. In a new hearing, Bowles was again sentenced to death.