Was Into the Fire: The Lost Daughter’s Brenda Bowman ever arrested?

The latest Netflix true crime Into the Fire: The Lost Daughter centers on one woman’s quest to find out what happened to her daughter, Aundria Bowman, but there’s another major figure involved – Brenda Bowman. 

She is one of many individuals we learn more about over the course of the new docu-series, starting with Cathy Terkanian, Aundria’s birth mother. She was made to give her daughter – then named Alexis Badger – up for adoption when she was a teenager.

Although Cathy was told her child would be sent to a loving home, as is revealed in Into the Fire, her entire world was turned upside down in 2010, when she received a letter saying her daughter had vanished without a trace in 1989. 

Cathy, amateur sleuth Carl Koppelman, and detectives from various counties worked hard to see justice take place, learning more about Aundria’s adoptive mother, Brenda, along the way. But was she ever arrested? If you’re not familiar with the case, be warned there are spoilers ahead, and some may find this content distressing. 

What happened to Brenda Bowman?

Brenda wasn’t ever arrested or treated as a conspirator in any of her husband Dennis Bowman’s crimes. In fact, detectives leveraged her close relationship with him to get a confession, further building a case that led to his guilty conviction. 

From Into the Fire: The Lost Daughter, we learn that Brenda always believed her adoptive daughter, Aundria, had run away from home like Dennis claimed. 

After Dennis was arrested for the previously unsolved and unrelated 1980 murder of Kathleen Doyle in Norfolk, Virginia, detectives in Michigan – where Brenda and Dennis resided – knew he was suspect number one in Aundria’s disappearance. 

To get a confession, they offered Dennis a deal: they’d transfer him from Virginia to a Michigan prison so he could be closer to Brenda if he revealed what had happened to his adoptive daughter. 

But initially, Brenda’s unwavering support of her husband made things difficult. Allegan County Sheriff’s Office detective Chris Haverdink explains, “He was difficult. He was stubborn, because he had a support group in his corner. 

“Brenda Bowman was supporting of him. His (biological) daughter was supporting of him.”

The scene cuts to a prison call between the three, where Brenda tells Dennis, “Well, it’d be nice to keep you in state, but you’re not gonna admit to something you didn’t do.” 

However, this deal would be the catalyst for finding out the truth. Eventually, Dennis confessed to Brenda that he knew what happened to Aundria. 

According to his version of events, they had gotten into an argument and he hit his daughter, causing her to fall down the stairs and die accidentally. The detectives later had Brenda convince Dennis to admit where he buried her remains.

In 2020, he was sentenced to two life sentences for the murder of Kathleen, followed by an additional 35-50 years in prison for the second-degree murder of Aundria. 

As for Brenda, she’s still living alone in Michigan, as detectives ultimately decided to keep Dennis in Virginia to ensure justice was served for the loved ones of Aundria and Kathleen. 

At the end of the Netflix docu-series, a statement is shared that reads, “Brenda Bowman declined to be interviewed and did not respond to requests for comment.”

Brenda’s knowledge of Dennis’s crimes come into question

Despite Brenda Bowman’s lack of direct involvement in her husband Dennis’s crimes and her absence from legal repercussions, public sentiment – especially from those directly affected by his actions – often harbors frustration and anger.

To understand why, it’s important to look at what Brenda knew. According to Aundria’s high school friends, Dennis was physically abusive towards their daughter. In the true crime series, Kim Payne describes an incident where she saw Dennis hit Aundria at the dinner table.

“You can’t tell me that woman didn’t know what the hell was going on,” says Kim. “After seeing him come across that table at her like that? That’s not the first time that happened. And for her to sit there and not do a damn thing about it? No, she needs to go too.”

At age 13, Aundria confessed to her friends that Dennis had been sexually abusing her. Friend Jennifer urged her to tell someone, and so they went together to the principal’s office to talk about it. 

However, the way in which it was dealt with, Allegan County officers would call the parents to come to the school, and would ask the child to describe what had happened in front of the parents. Due to the pressure, Aundria retracted her statement and was sent right back home with Dennis and Brenda. 

In a recorded phone conversation, Brenda addresses the allegations, saying, “One day there was an argument, and she turned around and said, ‘Daddy had molested me.’ And I told her, I said, ‘That’s a lie.’”

Aundria’s friends said her adoptive parents would also restrict what she ate, so much so that some of them snuck her food. 

“Just what does that say right there about how Brenda’s reacting to anything that might take place with her daughter in regards to Denny and how he would treat her?” says Craig Engweiler, Brenda’s cousin. 

Brenda’s disbelief of her daughter becomes even more alarming when it’s revealed that she knew of his previous crimes, and had been married to him when they were committed. 

In 1998, he was arrested for breaking and entering the home of a co-worker and stalking her. When he was caught, they searched his home and found a duffel bag containing the woman’s lingerie, a mask to conceal his identity, and an illegal sawn-off shotgun. 

He ended up serving around a year in jail for the crime. But prior to this, in 1980, he’d committed a more violent crime involving a teenage girl. Dennis made her pull over, holding her up at gunpoint and shooting it in her direction twice. 

He ordered her to turn around and walk towards the woods, but a truck approached them on the road and the girl managed to jump in and escape. When Dennis was caught, he told the police they had to let him go as he needed to pick up his daughter from school. 

Eventually, he pled guilty to assault with intent to commit criminal sexual conduct, with the judge concluding Dennis is “a danger to women if he is not confined” and sentencing him to five to ten years in prison.

Another phone conversation is played in which Brenda says of Aundria, who was six years old at the time, “I moved to Kinross when he was transferred there. She always had this chip on her shoulder. ‘Well, all the kids know I’m a prisoner’s daughter.’ And I said, ‘You’re not the only one.’”

Dennis was eventually let out from prison in 1986, when Brenda was around 11. “We were just all shocked that Brenda stayed with him, with this young girl,” says Sue, Craig’s wife who went to school with Brenda. 

Cathy adds, “So Alexis tells other people that Dennis is molesting her, and Brenda knows but doesn’t care,” later stating, “Thinking about Brenda just lights me on fire more than Dennis. 

“You know, I blame her just as much. I really do. She had plenty of time to think it through, and she didn’t care about anybody but herself and Dennis.”

The final nail in the coffin arrives just at the end, when Brenda gives Cathy just half of her daughter’s ashes. Cathy wasn’t happy that Aundria was split up in the same way Dennis had cut up her body.

In a prison phone call to Dennis after all of his crimes had come to light, Brenda can be heard complaining about Cathy’s response to the ashes. “How’s she gonna fight it,” Brenda says. 

“Any judge in the world would turn around and say, ‘You’re lucky you’re getting what you’re getting.’” To which Dennis replies, “Yeah, well, remember she threw her away.”

Before Dennis confessed to Aundria but after he was arrested for the murder of Kathleen, Todd Workman, Michigan State Police detective, explains that he was their number one suspect in the case.

“Also in our mind then, the woman who’s lived with him for those 30 years that Aundria’s been missing, the question is, if there is anything to know, does she know it?” he says. 

However, as much as viewers at home might feel angry at Brenda’s actions in the same way Cathy does, it became clear to law enforcement that she wasn’t culpable for any crime. 

As such, she never faced prosecution or interrogation. Dexerto spoke with a number of legal experts to learn more about why this was the case. 

Why Brenda was never arrested, according to the experts

The general consensus is that while Brenda Bowman’s proximity to her husband’s crimes and her unwavering support of Dennis naturally stirs anger, guilt by association is not how the law functions.

Paul Koenigsberg, lawyer at Koenigsberg & Associates, told us, “I understand why many people would see Brenda’s attitude towards her husband’s case as hinting some form of guilt culpability. As humans, we are primed to judge things by association, and this is a classic example of that.”

However, he stated, the law doesn’t work like that. “Brenda’s culpability needs to be evaluated separately from that of her husband’s, and as with anyone accused of anything, the assumption is always that of innocence unless proven otherwise.”

In criminal law, proving culpability requires concrete evidence beyond a reasonable doubt, as highlighted by Jonathan Feniak, general counsel at LLC Attorney. 

“In this instance, Brenda Bowman’s disbelief or denial of her husband’s actions may appear negligent or compliant to an observer, but this doesn’t necessarily constitute a crime,” he continued. 

“Prosecutors need clear evidence that she was a willing and knowledgeable participant in the crimes committed.”

There’s also the fact of “marital privilege,” which Feniak explained can potentially protect confidential communications between spouses from being revealed in court.

Attorney Scott Distasio, founder of Distasio Law Firm, also highlighted this element, telling Dexerto, “There may be instances where spouses are protected under what’s known as ‘spousal immunity.’ 

“This varies across jurisdictions and cases, but it can sometimes shield spouses from testifying against each other.”

In cases such as this, legal writer Steven Sacona noted how detectives must also take into account the psychological aspect of being in a relationship with a manipulative offender. 

“The spouse may be in denial or under emotional manipulation, making it harder for prosecutors to prove that their inaction equates to criminal neglect or compliance,” he said.  

“Emotional ties and potential victimization within the marriage could also play a role in why Brenda wasn’t seen as a co-conspirator. 

“The legal threshold for proving complicity is high, and without solid evidence, it’s unlikely that a spouse would face charges merely for failing to believe or act on accusations, even in the face of the partner’s criminal history.”

When it comes to Brenda not believing Aundria’s allegations about Dennis, despite his criminal history, “This can arguably be seen as a form of denial or self-deception rather than evidence of legal neglect or compliance,” said Mark Pierce, founder and CEO of Wyoming Trust & LLC Attorney.

Elaborating on this, Kalim Khan, senior partner at Affinitylawyers.ca, said, “While Brenda’s unwavering support of Dennis over the years, including writing letters of support during his trials, may appear suspicious, legally it does not necessarily amount to a conspiracy or neglect. 

“For instance, even though Dennis was convicted of sexual offenses and other criminal acts, Brenda continued to back him, but this alone wouldn’t be enough to charge her without proof that she knew or was directly involved in his crimes.

“In many cases like this, the spouse may genuinely not know the extent of their partner’s actions, or they may be in a psychological state where denial plays a significant role in their refusal to accept the truth. 

“This complicates efforts to hold them legally accountable unless there is clear evidence of complicity or willful ignorance. 

“In the Bowman case, no evidence has been presented that suggests Brenda had any knowledge of, or was directly involved in, the crimes Dennis committed, which explains why she was not charged as a conspirator.”

A final factor to consider is resources. As Distasio explained, “Prosecutors must be strategic in resource allocation: their focus must remain on building the strongest possible case against the primary perpetrator(s). 

“This doesn’t excuse overlooking potential co-conspirators, but it might explain why Brenda’s situation was not explored further.”

Even if Brenda was aware of similar crimes being committed by her husband, proving culpability is ultimately impossible without concrete evidence. And, as Koenigsberg pointed out, “She can argue that she has no awareness of such offenses being committed against her adopted daughter.

“While this may not sit right with many viewers, who may become too emotionally invested in the victim’s story, this feature of the law has probably saved countless individuals from being wrongfully accused simply by being associated with another accused individual.”

Into the Fire: The Lost Daughter is streaming on Netflix now. For more true crime, find out if Born Evil’s Kristin Bluefin is a real person, what you need to know about the Menendez brothers ahead of Monster Season 2, and what happened to Worst Ex Ever’s Mei and Rosa.