NASHVILLE – A grand jury Monday indicted accused killers Mark Bowling and Rose Delores Vincent on charges of first-degree murder.
Bowling and Vincent stand accused of the Dec. 8 shooting death of Bowling's wife, Julie Bowling, in the garage of the Bowling's River Glenn home.
The 18-member grand jury handed down the indictment on the same day that six new members were chosen to replace members whose term had expired.
Bowling and Vincent will next appear in N.C. Superior Court in Nash County on Jan. 22, said Assistant District Attorney Keith Werner.
Both Vincent and Bowling may face the death penalty if convicted.
Werner said District Attorney Howard Boney, who signed both indictments as the prosecutor, will likely become more involved in the cases.
"I'm in charge of it right now," Werner said. "I think Mr. Boney's probably indicated he was going to assist in the trial."
Werner said that defense attorneys in the trials will start receiving discovery documents from the prosecutor's office "shortly."
Bowling and Vincent met eight years ago when Bowling was the funeral director after Vincent's stepmother's death. The two had a brief romantic relationship at the time and, authorities have said, began seeing each other romantically again about a year before the murder.
Vincent, 27, is being held without bail in the Nash County Detention Center and is married with three young children. She confessed to shooting Julie Bowling, according to search warrants.
The Bowlings owned Bowling Funeral Homes, which were located in Rocky Mount, Enfield and Scotland Neck. Another branch of the Funeral home in Tarboro closed in October.
Bowling, 36, was on vacation in Florida when the murder occurred and was arrested after flying back to Rocky Mount the next day.
Authorities state in search warrants that a fax and computer files may link Mark Bowling to a plan to kill his wife.
Bowling was transferred to the mental health ward of Central Prison in Raleigh less than two hours after his arrest because he was "extremely suicidal," according to an order signed by Nash County Sheriff Dick Jenkins. He is also being held without bail.
