A Frankford man admitted last week that he stabbed a woman to death in March and buried her body in a shallow grave in the backyard of his apartment building, only for a building manager to tip off police days after the fact.
Common Pleas Court Judge Benjamin Lerner immediately sentenced Jeffrey Bowen to 35 to 70 years in prison as part of a plea agreement in the slaying of Kelly Hepfl, 39. Bowen was 30 at the time of the crime. According to prior court testimony, he and a woman were heard arguing in his apartment on the 4700 block of Frankford Ave. on March 20 before Bowen showed up at a neighbor’s door holding blood-covered gloves and asking for a condom. The woman neighbor gave him the contraceptive, but did not call police.
Later, the same witness saw Bowen in a hallway wearing women’s pajamas and at a neighborhood store, where he was asking other patrons for bolt cutters.
Bowen’s building manager ultimately called police on March 24 after Bowen showed up at his apartment and asked to borrow a shovel. The manager also noticed a suspicious mound of dirt in the yard. When police arrived, Bowen ran briefly but didn’t get far. Officers soon found the victim’s remains.
During last week’s sentencing, Assistant District Attorney Joanne Pescatore said that Hepfl, whose address of record was on the 8300 block of Frankford Ave., had been stabbed more than 40 times with a blade 11 inches long and three inches wide.
Bowen did not explain his connection with the victim or his motive for the slaying. ••
