Funeral Home Owner, Girlfriend Denied Bond

Nashville, N.C. — A Nash County judge denied bond Tuesday for a Rocky Mount funeral home owner and his girlfriend who are both charged with first-degree murder.

Mark Bowling, 36, and Rose Vincent, 27, were arrested Saturday in connection with the shooting death of Bowling's wife, Julie Bowling, 45. She was found dead inside the couple's garage Friday morning after she failed to show up at work.

According to search warrants released Monday, Vincent told authorities that she drove to the Bowlings' home while Mark Bowling was in Florida and shot Julie Bowling multiple times.

Authorities said that although Mark Bowling was out of town, he and Vincent had planned together to kill his wife.

In warrants obtained Tuesday by WRAL, deputies searched Bowling's funeral home in Rocky Mount and seized a fax machine and computer equipment. They think Bowling might have used those items to plan the killing, according to the warrant.

During his first court appearance, Bowling said he planned to hire an attorney. Vincent, who authorities said had been involved in a romantic relationship with Bowling for about a year, asked for a court-appointed attorney.

Vincent was taken back to the Nash County Jail. Bowling was transferred to Central Prison in Raleigh and being held in a unit that serves as a mental health facility.

Friends and family members of Julie Bowling were also in court for the proceedings. A visitation is scheduled for her in Rocky Mount at Bowling's Funeral Home -- one in a successful chain of mortuaries that she and her husband built together.