Brutality against anyone is disgusting, but when people harm children or the elderly, I find it particularly abhorrent. I truly don’t understand how people can see either of those populations and not see their own loved ones in them. I also don’t know how anyone could harm someone in a vulnerable population in cold blood, especially for something so unimportant as an SUV. Sadly, Antonio Brown, 26, did not feel the same when he fatally stabbed 77-year-old Eleanor “Ellen” Bowles in 2022.
At a media conference at the time, Homicide Commander Lt. Germain Dearlove shared Brown’s motive. “The motive appears to be a crime interrupted, a robbery. Ms. Bowles was in possession of a 2021 Lexus and we believe the individual attempted to steal the vehicle. Ms. Bowles may have encountered him [while he was trying to take the car], and she was killed,” he said, per People.
Bowles reportedly found Brown in her Georgia home’s garage around 11:30 a.m. trying to steal her Lexus SUV, and he murdered her before driving off in the car, according to Law & Crime. Her son reportedly found her when he went to visit her for the holidays.
On December 10, 2025, Brown officially pleaded guilty to the crime through a non-negotiated plea.
Prosecutors were reportedly prepared to show several pieces of evidence that incriminated Brown, including DNA left on the murder weapon as well as security footage of him driving away in the car, per Law & Crime. Police were already hunting Brown at the time for supposedly robbing a liquor store just before he committed the unthinkable crime.
Bowles was stabbed more than 12 times, according to police, and bled out from her injuries. In a GoFundMe account set up in her honor to raise money for the Atlanta Humane Society, the family described her as “a kind, precious, funny, loving mother, grandmother, and friend — and so much more.”
In the courtroom, Michael Bowles, the son who found her, read a heartbreaking statement.
“She was in her favorite pajamas. That image will be with me forever,” he said. “I’ve never seen so much blood in my entire life.” He continued, “That moment completely turned my life upside down.”
Brown was indicted on 12 charges and was sentenced to two life sentences with the possibility of parole in 60 years. He also apologized to Bowles’ family after entering his guilty plea.
