Springfield, Mo. ~ On April 17, 2025, the Springfield Police Department made a major breakthrough in a decades-old cold case. Paul E. Bowles, 62, from Fulton, was arrested in connection to the 1989 rape and murder of Jennifer Williams, 18, from Springfield.

The case dates back to September 8, 1989 when Williams left work and was dropped off at her home on N. Kansas Expressway. She had told a friend that she was going to walk to her husband's business but never arrived. Her husband reported her missing three days later.

Ten days after her disappearance, Williams' body was discovered by three juveniles walking in the 700 block of W. Chestnut Street. Evidence found at the scene indicated that she had been sexually assaulted at the time of her murder.

Despite efforts to solve the case over the years, it wasn't until 2019 that a breakthrough came through the Sexual Assault Kit Initiative. Williams' sexual assault kit was tested and revealed DNA evidence from an unknown man. However, it was not enough for database searches at the time.

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Thanks to new advances in DNA testing in 2024 and funding provided by Season of Justice, Williams' sexual assault kit was tested again and this time it identified Bowles as the suspect.

At the time of his arrest, Bowles was already being held at Fulton State Hospital on unrelated charges in Callaway County, Missouri. Springfield Police detectives contacted him there and on April 17th he was booked into Calloway County Jail for second degree murder, forcible rape and forcible sodomy in relation to this case.

The investigation is still ongoing and detectives are urging anyone with information about this incident to come forward by contacting the Springfield Police Department or making an anonymous call to Crime Stoppers. This long-awaited arrest brings some closure for Jennifer Williams' family and friends after more than three decades of uncertainty surrounding her tragic death.

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