Jurors Hear Harrowing 911 Calls In Trial For Accused Killer Of 4
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DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - The victim's voices again spoke to jurors today in the trial of a former Mavs ManiAAC dancer accused of going on a two city shooting spree that left four dead and four children injured.
Erbie Bowser is facing four counts of capital murder for an August 2013 rampage targeting a girlfriend and her family in Dallas before moving to the DeSoto home of his estranged wife, Zina Williams Bowser.
Zina's adult daughter, Neima Williams, was on the phone the night of the attack calling 911. Her terror was palpable as she whispered into the phone, repeatedly saying "Oh, my God! Oh, my God!" and then later, "hurry up, please…we're in the closet."
Williams' younger brothers, Christopher & Myles White, told jurors on Monday that the family turned off the lights and hid on the night of the attack — thinking a stranger was breaking in. But, they soon recognized the intruder as their mother's estranged husband.
On the 911 call, jurors heard the bang of a hand grenade police say Bowser detonated on the home's lower floor. Then Williams is heard on the call begging for her life. "Erbie no, please, no… please no… oh my god!" Jurors also heard testimony that the suspect's voice can also be heard on that 911 call, demanding the location of Williams' then 10- and 13-year-old brothers. "Where's Myles & Chris?" Then, from Williams, "please no, oh my God, oh my goodness, Erbie, please stop."
DeSoto police had been warned that Bowser was likely heading that way after his girlfriend, Toya Smith, and her teenage daughter, Tasmia Allen, had been found murdered in Dallas about a half hour earlier. Police arrived at the home, and kicked in the back door with body cameras rolling. But, Zina Williams Bowser and her daughter, Neima Williams, were already dead.
According to the medical examiner's testimony, both women had been shot in the head at close range. Williams' body fell near the closet where her toddler son had been hidden under some coats and where her younger brothers had been wounded.
The officer body cameras captured Christopher's anguished moans. Still, the boys managed to call 911 and give the call taker critical details. Chris can be heard on the call telling a supervisor, "I'm losing breath, I can't breathe, I can't feel my legs." When the supervisor asks "Who shot you?" The then 13-year-old responds, "Erbie Bowser… Erbie Bowser."
That supervisor took the stand Tuesday and wiped away tears as she heard those young voices once again. She is heard asking the boys to stay calm as Christopher hands the phone to Myles. When she asked "where is your mother?", a young voice responds "She's dead… downstairs. They're all dead."
Some jurors looked away and appeared shaken by the graphic and gut-wrenching testimony. One of the young survivors of the Dallas shooting at one point ran from the courtroom in tears.
DeSoto police arrested Bowser at the family's home where he was stretched out and immobile in the playroom.
Testimony resumes Wednesday morning at 9:00 a.m. Bowser has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. If convicted, he faces the death penalty.
