Tammy Bowers Murder: Where is Herman Frazier Now? – At the intersection of Highways 73 and 74 in the Burnside neighborhood of Ascension Parish, Tammy Bowers was last seen alive. Bowers was last at the intersection in March 1990, and it has undergone alteration since then.
Bowers was a frequent visitor at this crossroads. She would frequently use the payphone at the convenience store to call her mother and boyfriend. Additionally, Ascension Sheriff’s Detectives claim that this is where she was kidnapped. Detectives discovered Bowers’ badly beaten body two days later, on her 19th birthday, and determined that she had been raped.
The 1990 murder of Tammy Laine Bowers, who was abducted from outside a Dutchtown convenience store, will be investigated in Investigation Discovery’s “On the Case with Paula Zahn” Season 17 episode 19 “Terrifying Clues.” If you’re curious about what happened in Tammy Bowers’ murder case and where her killer is now, keep reading below.
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How Did Tammy Bowers Die?
Early in the 1990 spring, Tammy Laine Bowers, (born on March 8, 1971) then 18 years old, was residing in the Ascension Parish region of Louisiana and pursuing her nursing studies.
She regularly used a payphone a short distance from her trailer to stay in touch with friends and family back home, but this routine behavior unknowingly placed her in the hands of not one but two deadly predators.
On March 6, 1990, at about 11 p.m., Tammy Bowers went to the public phone booth outside Lil’ Pal’s grocery store nearby to call her friend Steve Villar. After Tammy had returned from the store with what she needed, the two enthusiastically engaged in conversation, exchanging updates on their recent activities and discussing her forthcoming birthday. However, someone abruptly cut them off from their talk. After hearing a disruption on the line, Steve then heard Tammy screaming, which must have chilled his blood.
Steve immediately got in his car and drove to the crossroads of Highways 73 and 74 since he knew she must have made the call when he panicked and could not get his friend back on the phone. Although Tammy was nowhere to be found, there were alarming signs that something had gone horribly wrong: her glasses were smashed on the ground, and her car was nearby and still locked, but with her pocketbook and keys inside.
Steve went to find Tammy in her trailer, but all he could find was a note she had written to her roommates indicating that she was going to the payphone. Out of fear, Steve returned to the shop and dialed the police.
Who Killed Tammy Bowers?
Investigators realized the grocery store parking lot was probably the location of the abduction after learning the details from Steve when they arrived. A pocketknife and a black baseball cap were both lying on the ground next to Tammy’s car.
Soon after, a search was launched in the hope of discovering the adolescent unhurt, but just two days later, these dreams were destroyed. Detectives discovered Tammy’s body on her 19th birthday, which would have been that day. She had been raped, stabbed, and severely beaten with a piece of wood in the face and head.
The murder weapon and other things, including a blood-stained green garment and a black T-shirt, were removed from the crime scene.
Sheriff Jeff Wiley, one of the first people on the scene, subsequently told WAFB 9News that the incident was terrifying for everyone involved.
“We have vivid recollection of this crime. Vivid recollection of the body and how we found it. Vivid recollection of talking to the mom and talking to the dad and interviewing the friends,” he continued.
An eyewitness who came forward and said he thought he might have seen Tammy that March night raised hopes that he might provide a fruitful lead. David Rathbun stated that while passing Lil’ Pal’s in his truck, he saw a young woman using the payphone.
In addition, he claimed to have seen a black male approaching the woman carrying the phone from a nearby, possibly parked Ford Torino, but he lost sight of the event before the man arrived. Unfortunately, the lead was fruitless, and no suspects were ever found, and the investigation was closed.
When Tammy was killed in 1990, forensic science was still in its infancy. Nevertheless, detectives had painstakingly collected and preserved all the clothing and biological materials they could in the hope that improved forensic techniques would one day be accessible.
When Captain Mike Toney of the Ascension Parish Sheriff’s Office reexamined the case in 2002, he realized that DNA extraction from the evidence that had been preserved might now be feasible. While waiting, he sent the crime lab what was available.
In December 2006, three long years after Tammy’s murder had taken place; Captain Toney received a call informing him that there had been a hit in the national DNA database and that a suspect had at long last been identified.
Following his capture, 39-year-old Herman Frazier was charged with first-degree murder, rape, and kidnapping in California.
“This is going to be the best Christmas for this family in the past 16 years,” Tammy’s mother, Joyce Zuvich, told WAFB 9News.
As a result of his guilty pleas to manslaughter, kidnapping in the second degree, and forceful rape in 2010, Frazier was sentenced to 50 years in jail without parole. Herman Frazier then admitted he had been a partner in Tammy’s killing, which came as yet another surprise in the case.
On March 6, 1990, when they both observed Tammy using a pay phone, Frazier and his companion, Tolbert Morris, were riding in a Plymouth Duster, according to testimony he gave in court. According to him, Morris allegedly pulled into the parking lot, got out, and struck the teenager before putting her in the car.
They arrived in the abandoned alley where Frazier claims Morris forced Tammy into a knife-point rape, and Frazier was told “he might as well take his turn” before turning around. As Tammy was being led away, Morris allegedly grabbed her by the hand and started stroking her with something he had just picked up off the ground.
Tolbert Morris was also tried for killing Tammy in 2012. Despite his claims of innocence, it was discovered that the mitochondrial DNA in a hair sample taken from Tammy’s body matched his DNA.
Blood stain testing on the green shirt revealed that it matched Morris’ DNA at least 15 times out of 17 times, indicating that the two contributors must have the same paternal ancestry.
Morris also resided close to the Lil’ Pal’s where Tammy had been kidnapped, and the 1970s model car he drove resembled the Torino the first eyewitness had identified.
Where is Herman Frazier Today?
The jury rejected the misidentification accusations and found Tolbert Morris guilty as charged based on the physical evidence and the eyewitness testimony.
For the abduction and rape of Tammy Bowers, he received two consecutive life sentences plus 30 years without the benefit of probation or parole. According to official court records, Herman is being detained in a cell at the Elayn Hunt Correctional Center in Louisiana.
Even though it took more than 20 years, the criminals responsible for the horrible crime against a young woman who just wanted a place to call home have now been brought to justice.