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Affidavit spells out Chesterfield man’s confession to wife’s murder

Posted at 12:09 AM, Sep 17, 2014
and last updated 2014-09-17 00:09:59-04

CHESTERFIELD, Va. -- He drove to Chesterfield Police headquarters and told the duty desk officer that he had shot his wife.

Hours later Delesha Bowden died at VCU Medical Center.

Tuesday night an affidavit spelled out why Corey Bowden says he did it.  It lays out the evidence recovered from his Summerbrooke Drive home last week: a Galaxy Note 2 smartphone, a blanket, ammunition, a handgun and a spiral notebook.

"I got a call from my mom saying Delesha had been shot in the head,” said Brian Smith, who  grew up next door to Delesha Bowden.

His younger sister and Delesha were good friends.  Smith says her murder came out of left field.   "She was a very sweet girl,” he said.  “That normally doesn't happen here, and right around the corner from where you grew up."

The affidavit discloses Bowden's confession. The 42-year-old barber and martial arts instructor turned himself in to police after telling his son he shot her because she disrespected him.

"From a legal perspective, he's put himself in a really bad position,” said CBS 6 legal expert Todd Stone.   “He went directly to the police and told them he shot her.  He claimed she was being disrespectful to him and that's why he did it.  So he can't even think about using a self-defense claim."

Off camera, Delesha's father told CBS-6 his daughter was devoted to her job and family.  He said he had only spoken with Corey Bowden a handful of times and thought he was coming to grips with a looming separation.

Never did he think he'd have to bury his little girl.

Stone says if convicted, Corey Bowden faces 20 years to life for murder and a minimum three-year sentence for the use of a firearm.