Conviction is in connection to the September 2016 murder of Joshua Buchanan
Travis Wayne Bowman was sentenced Friday, Feb. 14, to serve a life sentence without the possibility of parole in connection to the September 2016 murder of Joshua Emmanuel Buchanan. Among the jury’s findings were that Bowman’s role in the murder was premeditated and deliberate, and the murder involved Bowman torturing the victim. (Submitted)
BAKERSVILLE – Travis Wayne Bowman was sentenced Friday, Feb. 14, to serve a life sentence without the possibility of parole by the Hon. Gary Gavenus, Senior Resident Superior Court Judge. The sentence was imposed after a Mitchell County jury made a binding recommendation to the court that Bowman receives a life sentence. After a 43-minute deliberation, the jury returned guilty verdicts Wednesday, Feb. 12, for first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, first-degree kidnapping and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon after a four-and-a-half-week trial.
The convictions came in connection to the September 2016 murder of Joshua Emmanuel Buchanan. Among the jury’s findings were that Bowman’s role in the murder was premeditated and deliberate, and the murder involved Bowman torturing the victim.
“By holding Travis Wayne Bowman accountable for his heinous and cruel actions, the verdict in this case has brought a measure of closure for Joshua Buchanan’s family,” said Seth Banks, District Attorney. “I would like to thank the individual members of the jury for their efforts over the last several weeks. The hard work and careful deliberations of the jurors in this case are admirable expressions of their individual commitment to their civic duty. I would also like to thank Chief Deputy Josh Sparks, the Mitchell County Sheriff’s Office, the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigations, the Bartow County, Georgia Sheriff’s Office, and Assistant District Attorney Milton Fletcher for their work in assuring that this case was successfully brought to trial.”
See more in the Wednesday, Feb. 19, edition of the Mitchell News-Journal.