The Murder of Heather Maples
Warning, this case does discuss sexual assault.
For this case, I watched an episode of A Time to Kill. It’s season 5 episode 7, titled ‘One Bloody Fingerprint.’
A young college student is found dead in her apartment.
Background
Heather Nicole Maples was originally from Texas, but moved to Murfreesboro, Tennessee, to attend Middle Tennessee State University. Heather had always dreamed of being a counselor, so she planned on studying psychology.
Heather was described as kind, caring, and always had a smile on her face.
Heather Maples
The Discovery
On August 7, 2015, Heather didn’t show up for work at the front office of her apartment complex. Her friend and co-worker called 911 around 9:15am.
The police arrived soon after, and found Heather lying on her bed. She had been struck in the head several times, and strangled. One of her hands was in a fist, and her fingernail was broken.
The police believed Heather had been sexually assaulted, due to how her body was positioned. Near Heather’s shoulder, the police found a bloody fingerprint. The blood hadn’t dried, so the police were able to collect a really good print.
The police were able to determine that Heather had only been killed a few hours before the 911 call was placed. There was no sign of forced entry, and nothing was in disarray.
Heather’s cell phone was at the scene, and was collected for evidence. Her cellphone was able to tell them that she had sent her final text message at 2:23am.
The Suspects
The police spoke to Heather’s friend, Kelsey, who had found her body. They asked her if she knew of anyone who’d want to hurt Heather. While they were speaking, a male friend of Heather’s showed up.
He had come to back to return Heather’s keys. He told the police that Heather was very drunk the night before, and he had given her a ride home, got her something to eat, and helped her into her bed. He said that Heather asked him about her keys, but he didn’t know where they were until the next day. The police now knew that Heather’s door had been unlocked.
Heather’s friend had an alibi, and he consented to giving his DNA. He was eventually ruled out as a suspect.
The next suspect was the person who Heather had sent her last text message to. They had kissed a few times, but never had a relationship. Heather had asked him to come to her house at 2:23am, but he said he never got her text message.
The friend said they went to a bar called Gentleman Jim’s around 10pm, on August 6. He said he stayed until midnight, and went home to his girlfriend. He was also ruled out as a suspect.
Gentleman Jim’s, located at 2115 E. Main St. in Murfreesboro
During the investigation, the police learned that Heather had an abusive ex-boyfriend, who she had a restraining order against. There was also a new boyfriend, who was a registered sex offender. The new boyfriend was on probation at the time, and had been in Knoxville, about 3 hours away. The abusive ex also had an alibi.
Throughout all their dead ends, the police didn’t give up until they learned what really happened to Heather.
The Fingerprint
Heather’s autopsy report revealed that she had a broken hyoid bone, confirming that her cause of death was strangulation. The medical examiner also confirmed that Heather was sexually assaulted, but there was DNA collected.
The DNA was compared to the male suspects that they had been interviewed. They were all officially ruled out. Luckily, the police did have the bloody fingerprint. It was put into IAFIS, a nationwide fingerprint database. They police learned they had a match.
The fingerprint came back to a 22-year-old MTSU student named Brandon Bowling. Brandon had submitted his fingerprints for a job application. He was originally from Memphis, and had an arrest from 2012 for public intoxication and disorderly conduct. However, there was nothing in his past about him being violent.
The police learned that Brandon and Heather were Facebook friends, and had hung out a few times, especially at Gentleman Jim’s.
Brandon’s Lies
The police tracked Brandon down, and brought him in for questioning.
The police asked Brandon about how he knew Heather. Brandon said he had been to Heather’s apartment a few times, and she had been to his place.
The police asked Brandon when he last saw Heather, and he said around 6 weeks ago. The police knowing that was a lie, confronted Brandon about his fingerprint being on her bed.
Brandon said he had been with his friend on August 6. He said they went to Gentleman Jim’s until about 2:30am. He said they then went to a restaurant called Handlebars until about 5:30am. Brandon said he dropped his friend off, and then went home, and woke up for class the next morning.
The police learned from Brandon’s friend that they had left Handlebars around 3:45am, and went to Kroger’s until about 4am. During the interview, he seemed upset, and said he didn’t know that Brandon was capable of doing something like this.
The police were able to confirm the friend’s story. He consented to giving his DNA, and was ruled out. Brandon’s DNA was a match to the rape kit. He was the only one involved in killing Heather.
The Conviction
The police believe that Brandon and Heather had run into each other at Gentleman Jim's, on August 6.
Heather went home around 2:15am, sent one last message at 2:23, and fell asleep. Brandon then entered Heather’s unlocked apartment, took advantage of her, and killed her.
When the police obtained Brandon’s cell phone, they found a recorded a video of Heather in her final moments.
Brandon was arrested and charged with first degree murder and aggravated rape.
In February 2018, Brandon pled guilty to second degree murder and aggravated rape. He was sentenced to 40 years for murder and 15 years for rape.
Another photo of Heather, and Brandon Bowling’s mugshot
FINAL THOUGHTS
The police believe Brandon would’ve had done this again and again, if he hadn’t been caught. They think he probably has a history of this in his past somewhere. Heather was nice to everyone, and probably believed she and Brandon were friends. Brandon took Heather’s kindness as something else. He deserves to spend the rest of his life in prison, where he won’t be able to do this to anyone else.
Sources
https://thecinemaholic.com/heather-maples-murder-how-did-she-die-who-killed-her/
