Photos for Headline Surfer / ABOVE: Steven Bowman, 39, of Deltona, at right, was charged Wednesday with first-degree murder in the shotgun slaying of Rabbitt Burns, 51, of Orange City (also shown here at left in a second pic).
By HENRY FREDERICK / Headline Surfer
ORANGE CITY, Fla. -- Rabbitt Burns was shot dead in her kitchen while fixing breakfast. Despite living alone, the table was clearly set for two.
Following the discovery of Burns' body on Jan. 12, Volusia County Sheriff's investigators' first task was to figure out who else was at the victim's house on West Fern Drive near Orange City.
And it didn't take long, thanks to a photograph of 39-year-old Steven Bowman sitting atop a wooden hutch.
"Officials didn't immediately know the identity of the man in the picture," Sheriff's spokesman Gary Davidson said. "But that quickly changed after investigators showed the photo at one of Burns' favorite hangouts, Daly's Liquors in Orange City."
Davidson said customers immediately recognized Bowman, and surveillance video captured images of him and Burns together at the pub two days before her body was found.
Bowman, meanwhile, has been jailed in Orange County ever since he was arrested on Jan. 13 in a hotel room with a .38-caliber handgun and cocaine.
On Wednesday, investigators with the Volusia County Sheriff's Office's Major Case Unit officially charged Bowman with first-degree murder after ballistics tests confirmed that the victim was shot with the gun found in Bowman's hotel room, Davidson said.
On Wednesday, investigators with the Volusia County Sheriff's Office's Major Case Unit officially charged Bowman with first-degree murder after ballistics tests confirmed that the victim was shot with the gun found in Bowman's hotel room, Davidson said.
A mutual friend told investigators that Bowman and Burns had known each other for approximately 14 years. While Bowman refused to talk to investigators about the murder, robbery appears to have been the motive, Davidson said.
After the killing, investigators believe Bowman rifled through Burns' jewelry and file cabinets, stealing a laptop computer, cameras, firearms, and ammunition. The stolen property was found inside the victim's car, which was abandoned in Orlando the day after Burns' body was discovered by co-workers who came to check on her.
And investigators know that Bowman was using the car because he was captured on surveillance video leaving a convenience store in Orlando with the vehicle, Davidson said.
Adding to the evidence, Sheriff's crime scene technicians lifted Bowman's fingerprints from the victim's house and car. And late last week, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement confirmed through ballistics tests that the bullet that killed Burns was fired from the handgun recovered from Bowman's room at the Security Inn in Orlando.
The gun was found inside room 164, wrapped in a shirt, Davidson said.
After reviewing the findings of the investigation with the State Attorney's Office, Sheriff's investigators presented the case on Wednesday to Circuit Court Judge Kim Hammond. The judge subsequently issued a warrant charging Bowman with first-degree murder, robbery with a firearm, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
Sheriff's investigators drove the warrant to the jail late Wednesday and served it on Bowman in his cell in Orange County, where he is being held without bond.
Update on criminal charges:
Steven Bowman (DOB: 12/09/1970)changed his previous not-guilty pleas and subsequently pleaded guilty to the charges of premeditated capital murder and of robbery of a firearm on Oct. 20, 2010.
Bowman was subsequently adjudicated guilty of both counts by Circuit Judge Patrick G. Kennedy and sentenced on that date to life in prison in the Florida state prison system.
Editor's Note: Headline Surfer was originally called NSB News (NSBNews.net) when it was launched in 2008, but the name of the online site was changed to Headline Surfer in 2012 (HeadlineSurfer.com).
About the Byline Writer: Henry Frederick is a member of the working press and publisher of Headline Surfer, the award-winning 24/7 internet news outlet launched in 2008, that serves greater Daytona Beach, Sanford & Orlando from Lake Mary, Florida via HeadlineSurfer.com. Frederick has amassed close to 150 award-winning bylines in print & online. He earned his Master of Arts in New Media Journalism from Full Sail University in 2019. He was a breaking news reporter (metro cops & courts beat) for the Daytona Beach News-Journal for nearly a decade. And Before that worked the same beat for The Journal-News/Gannett Suburban Newspapers in Rockland/Westchester counties, NY, dating back to 1989. Having witnessed the execution of serial killer Aileen Wuornos in Florida's death chamber and covering other high profile cases, Frederick has appeared on national crime documentary shows on Discovery ID, Reelz, and the Oxygen Network series "Snapped" for his analysis. • Award-Winning Journalism: Florida Press Club recognizes Headline Surfer for nine stories in 2020 statewide competition. • Award-Winning Journalism of Henry Frederick.