Social services investigated adopted mother

Social services investigated adopted mother

October 4, 2008

Associated Press

Washington - A state social services agency investigated a complaint of negligence at the home of a Maryland woman being investigated in the deaths of her two adopted daughters, but officials said yesterday that the caseworker found nothing unusual.

The caseworker visited Renee Bowman's home in Southern Maryland in January, the state Department of Human Resources said in a statement. The agency said it received an anonymous call about one child, who was found to be in good health, but agency spokeswoman Nancy Lineman refused to release any other details about the visit.

Police found the bodies of two children a week ago encased in ice in a basement freezer, and authorities have said the children had likely been dead since at least last fall.

Bowman has told investigators the remains are those of her daughters - ages 9 and 11 - but authorities are awaiting autopsy results to confirm their identities. Bowman is charged with first-degree child abuse in the beating and neglect of a third adopted daughter, who was 7 when she was found.