Santa Cruz, January 22, 2015
Edward Bowman, convicted in the 1985 murder of the Greek Orthodox Priest John Karastamatis in Santa Cruz, listens to testimony in court in January 1988. (Dan Coyro -- Santa Cruz Sentinel file)
A Santa Cruz man convicted of killing a Greek Orthodox priest at a Santa Cruz church in 1985 will face a parole hearing in early February, and the victim’s family is gathering signatures to oppose his release.
Edward Lee Bowman, now 67, pleaded no contest to first-degree murder in 1988 and was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison. The Feb. 5 hearing at the California Health Care Facility in Stockton will be the fourth time Bowman has been eligible for parole. Previous parole boards essentially said he lacked insight into his crime and continued to pose a public threat.
Santa Cruz County District Attorney Jeff Rosell said Wednesday that Bowman remains a threat because he hasn’t taken responsibility for his crime.
“He has absolutely no insight and we believe he remains dangerous,” said Rosell, who plans to argue against Edwards’ release. “He’s still being untruthful about what happened.”
The stakes may be higher this time because Gov. Jerry Brown’s administration has allowed the parole of 1,963 inmates with life sentences — which is more inmates allowed than the four previous governors combined, according to a recent Los Angeles Times report. Court orders related to crowded state prisons have eased stringent parole requirements, governors’ representatives have said.
Father John Karastamatis, 47, was born in Greece and came to Santa Cruz as a visiting priest. Sentinel archives described him as the heart of the Greek community in Santa Cruz and a vibrant man who helped establish Prophet Elias Greek Orthodox Church on Church Street in Santa Cruz.
On May 19, 1985 he unexpectedly encountered Anna Bowman, his volunteer secretary, and her husband, Edward Bowman burglarizing the church.
The Bowmans were armed with a knife and fish wacker, a club used by fishermen. They struggled with Karastamatis. Karastamatis was stabbed several times and beaten with the fish wacker. The Bowmans left him bleeding near the church’s office.
Foti Karastamatis, John Karastamatis’ son, found him dead hours later.
“He put up a fight for his life, and unfortunately he was overwhelmed,” Foti Karastamatis said this week.
He described his father as a “very loved man,” and a man of God.
“It’s just unbelievable what happened to him.”
Karastamatis’ homicide initially baffled investigators, but a probe eventually led to the Bowmans. When detectives arrived at their door on River Street in Santa Cruz in December 1985, Anna Bowman fired shots at police through the door. She fatally shot herself that night.
In 1988, a few weeks before Edward Bowman’s murder trial was set to begin, Bowman pleaded no contest in exchange for the prosecutor not seeking the death penalty or life in prison without the possibility of parole. Yet at his parole hearings, Bowman has not taken responsibility for the crime. He has said that Karastamatis fell on the knife that killed him.
Karastamatis’ family has asked people who oppose his release to send emails to the parole board at cdcrovsrsliferanalyst@cdcr.ca.gov. More information on the petition is on a Facebook page called Justice for Father John Karastamatis.
“When you walk into the hearing room and there’s stacks and stacks of petitions against his release, it’s a good feeling,” Foti Karastamatis said.
The parole hearings have brought up terrible memories for everyone, he said.
“I don’t know if it’s worse for us or for him,” he said, referring to Bowman. “He still won’t own up to what he did and why he did it.”
