Inset: Tara Bowen and Markus Bowen. Background: Wedding photo for Tara Bowen and Markus Bowen (Facebook).
An Oregon mother who was planning a trip to Disneyland with her two little girls and high school sweetheart was shot dead by her husband just weeks before they were set to leave, according to her family and police.
"She was very excited," said Lori DeVeny, mom of Tara Bowen, who was shot and killed by her husband Markus Bowen at their home in Clackamas County. "She had gotten lots of gift cards to be able to use at Disneyland," DeVeny told local Fox affiliate KPTV.
Shortly before midnight on Friday, June 26, deputies with the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office responded to the 22000 block of South Kamrath Road in unincorporated Clackamas County after Markus Bowen, 35, "called 911 and reported that he had shot his wife," according to a CCSO press release.
The 36-year-old mother was living with Bowen and their two kids, ages 6 and 2, who were reportedly home when the shooting occurred. The family was planning to go to Disneyland together in a couple of weeks, according to DeVeny.
"They [police] came to their house and asked to come up and get the kids," DeVeny told local CBS affiliate KOIN. "I think there's nothing she loved more than her kids."
When police arrived at the couple's home, they found Tara Bowen dead inside. It's unclear what exactly led to the shooting. Markus Bowen was arrested and booked into the Clackamas County Jail on one count of first-degree manslaughter.
"They fight like everybody else does but nothing that would indicate this would happen," DeVeny told KOIN. "We're so blown out of the water."
Tara Bowen's Facebook page says she and Markus Bowen lived in Portland and got married in 2022. They celebrated 10 years together in March 2019.
A GoFundMe launched by Tara Bowen's sister says she "worked tirelessly to provide a good life for her kids," who will now be under the "full-time care of their grandmother," according to the online fundraiser.
"[Markus Bowen] has to live with it," DeVeny told KPTV. "It's so unfair."
Jail records show that Markus Bowen was being held on $500,000 bail. He was booked on Saturday, June 27, and was still in custody Thursday, July 2.
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