The Chilling True Tale Behind Into the Fire

Advertisement

Netflix’s docuseries *Into the Fire* explores the events following Cathy Terkanian’s shocking discovery in 2010 that her daughter, Aundria Bowman—whom she had given up for adoption decades earlier—had been missing for 21 years. Dennis Bowman reported his 14-year-old daughter missing on March 11, 1989. Although Aundria was considered a well-behaved child, Dennis told investigators that her behavior drastically changed around age 12, as cited in the series. She began running away and getting into trouble at school. On the day she vanished, Dennis claimed to have found not only Aundria missing, but also his tax refund money and his younger daughter’s baby bank change. Initial sightings of Aundria were reported in nearby areas like Holland and even as far as Indiana, but these ceased, turning the case cold.

Aundria’s birth mother, Cathy, who had placed the then 9-month-old girl named Alexis for adoption in 1975, was initially unaware of anything amiss until she received a letter from the adoption agency in 2010. Hoping her daughter might be searching for her, Cathy was instead asked for a DNA sample to see if a Jane Doe found in a Wisconsin cornfield in 1999 might be Aundria. Three years later, Cathy learned that her DNA did not match the Jane Doe, sparking her own mission to find out what happened to Aundria. She later connected with Aundria’s old friends who shared disconcerting accounts of her home life.

Dennis and Brenda Bowman (née Engweiler) married in 1971 and adopted Aundria in 1975. Dennis, a U.S. Navy veteran, was sentenced to prison in 1981 for assault with intent to commit criminal sexual conduct. He was released in 1986, when Aundria was 11. Dennis and Brenda’s younger daughter, Vanessa, was born in 1988. Cathy, becoming convinced Dennis had killed Aundria, relentlessly pursued the truth, even calling the Bowmans repeatedly and erecting a billboard offering a reward for information. Despite her suspicions, there was no probable cause to search the Bowman property.

In November 2019, Dennis was arrested for the 1980 murder of Kathleen Doyle in Norfolk, Virginia, rather than Aundria’s disappearance. Kathleen was found dead in her home, and advances in DNA testing eventually implicated Dennis. Investigators linked him to the scene through genetic genealogy and a Y-chromosome DNA profile. Coincidence led Detective Jon Smith to meet Detective Sgt. Bryan Fuller, who was already familiar with Aundria’s case, during a conference, leading to the discovery of Dennis’s Navy records placing him in Norfolk at the time of Kathleen’s murder.

Dennis confessed to breaking into Kathleen’s house and claimed self-defense, but further investigation revealed he had lied about the nature of her injuries. In 2020, Dennis pleaded guilty to first-degree murder, rape, and burglary, receiving two life sentences plus 20 years. Authorities used his arrest to pressure Brenda into helping them get him to confess about Aundria. He initially spun several stories before admitting in a recorded visit with Brenda that Aundria had died after he struck her, leading him to dismember and dispose of her body.

After additional false leads, Dennis finally confessed over a phone call with Brenda that Aundria was buried in their backyard. Investigation into the backyard unearthed skeletal remains identified as Aundria’s through a familial DNA match. Brenda cremated the remains, offering half to Cathy, who expressed anguish over the fragmented remains of her daughter.

Dennis later pleaded no contest to second-degree murder for Aundria’s death and in February 2022 was sentenced to 35 to 50 years in prison. Judge Margaret Zuzich Bakker highlighted his extensive criminal history and the severe harm he caused. Cathy, who attended the sentencing, called the experience surreal, having spent a decade seeking justice. Dennis, 75, is now serving his sentence in Virginia’s River North Correctional Center.

Advertisement
Advertisement