Background: Antonio Brown in court on Dec. 8 (WAGA). Inset: Eleanor “Ellen” Bowles (Facebook).
A Georgia man pleaded guilty to murdering a woman in her garage three years ago minutes before his trial was about to begin.
Antonio Brown, 26, entered a non-negotiated plea on Monday, the same day his murder trial was scheduled to start. Brown accepted responsibility for the stabbing death of 77-year-old Eleanor “Ellen” Bowles, who discovered Brown in her garage trying to steal her SUV on Dec. 10, 2022. Police said at the time that Bowles encountered Brown inside her Buckhead, Georgia, home at 11:30 a.m. and he stabbed her several times before driving away in her Lexus SUV.
Bowles was found on the floor of the garage by her adult son, who had come to his mother”s gated community for a holiday visit.
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According to courtroom reporting by local Fox affiliate WAGA, prosecutors were prepared to show a jury several pieces of evidence that incriminated Brown, including footage of him driving Bowles’ SUV away from the property and DNA evidence on the murder weapon. Police had been on the lookout for Brown, who prosecutors said had robbed a liquor store before he went to Bowles’ home.
Prosecutors said that Brown stabbed Bowles more than 12 times before leaving her to bleed to death on the floor of her garage. Chief Deputy District Attorney Christopher Sperry said the medical examiner would have testified that Bowles “fought the person that tried to keep her from being able to have that Christmas, that she was doing the shopping for.”
Local ABC affiliate WSB was also in the courtroom for heartbreaking statements made by Bowles’ family. Michael Bowles, the son who found her body, told the court, “She was in her favorite pajamas. That image will be with me forever. I’ve never seen so much blood in my entire life.” He added, “That moment completely turned my life upside down.”
After entering his plea, Brown apologized to the victim’s family. He said, “I don’t think anyone should have to go through what happened to her.”
Brown had been indicted on 12 charges including felony murder, armed robbery, and burglary. A judge handed Brown two life sentences with the possibility of parole in 60 years.
