13-year-old boy drowned to death after his 16- and 21-year-old acquaintances grabbed him by the hands and feet and threw him into deep water; acquaintances charged
Wisconsin – In a devastating act of cruelty that ended a young life in Wisconsin, a 13-year-old boy, identified as J. Bowerman, drowned after being forcibly thrown into deep water by two older acquaintances. Bowerman, who could not swim and had a deep fear of water, died on August 23 after spending three days on life support.
The two individuals responsible—a 16-year-old boy and 21-year-old man, identified as T. Birch—have been taken into custody. Birch now faces a formal charge of second-degree reckless homicide. The juvenile suspect, whose name is being withheld, remains detained as investigations continue. The charge against Birch stems from what authorities have described as a reckless and fatal act—one that directly led to Bowerman’s death. According to a criminal complaint, both suspects initially deflected blame, each accusing the other. But the 16-year-old eventually admitted to police that he and Birch had grabbed Bowerman by his hands and feet and thrown him into the river.
On August 20, Bowerman joined the two suspects near the river. Within minutes, the situation took a tragic turn. Surveillance footage later reviewed by police reportedly captured the moment Bowerman was pushed into the water. Bowerman’s mother, who had been in the area earlier, was just pulling up to her home when police officers arrived. They informed her that Bowerman had been involved in a “drowning accident.” At that moment, the pieces began to fall into place—she had been close to the river, unaware that her own son was the victim.
First responders pulled Bowerman from the water and began immediate life-saving efforts. He was rushed to a medical center and then flown to a hospital. For three days, doctors tried to keep him alive as he remained on life support. But on August 23, his body gave out. An autopsy confirmed that drowning was the cause of death. The pain Bowerman endured was matched only by the suffering of his family. The victim’s mother described watching her son in the hospital, witnessing seizures, involuntary body movements, and the helplessness of being unable to calm his distress. “It’s something that no mother should ever have to go through,” she said. “To see your son hooked up to all these machines, a tube in their throat… I would lie on him and try and get the jerking to stop, and they just wouldn’t stop.”
Bowerman’s death did not happen in isolation. According to his mother, the boy had been bullied for years—often because of his autism. She believes what happened at the crime scene was no accident but rather an extension of the cruelty he had faced for much of his life. She said Bowerman was not close to the two suspects—he had only recently met the younger one, and Birch was a complete stranger. Her plea to the community is simple and powerful: teach kindness. “Kids, they just need to be nice,” she said. “There’s no reason to pick on people.” Both suspects remain in custody as the legal process continues. Birch has already appeared before a judge. Proceedings for the 16-year-old are still pending. As Bowerman’s family mourns, the community is left grappling with how an act so senseless could end in such irreversible loss.
