TOLEDO, Ohio

Man convicted in 1967 killing of girl, 14, ‘feels no remorse’

A man accused of snatching a teenager on her way home from school in 1967 and holding her captive for days in his basement before killing her was convicted Friday of murder and sentenced to life in prison.

Robert Bowman, once a successful businessman, was found guilty of the death of Eileen Adams, 14, in his second trial in a case that had stumped investigators for more than 40 years even after his ex-wife told police she saw the girl alive and “hanging like Jesus” in their basement.

Bowman, 75, addressed Lucas County Common Pleas Judge Gene Zmuda after hearing the victim’s sister describe how the girl’s death emotionally tore the family apart.

“I recognize the pain and suffering I’ve just heard,” Bowman said. But “I’m not responsible for that. I feel no remorse.”

Adams’ sister Maggie Kirschman said the family knew Bowman was responsible in the early 1980s after his ex-wife came forward. “It was as if there was nothing we could do. It made us all sick,” she added.

Bowman disappeared in the 1980s into a life on the streets in Florida and California.

Detectives first tried to link him to the slaying in the early ’80s, but they didn’t have enough evidence to bring charges until a cold case squad reopened the probe in 2006. New DNA evidence connected Bowman to the killing, and police arrested him near Palm Springs, Calif., in 2008.

Another jury in August failed to reach a verdict in the case, which forced the retrial.

WASHINGTON

White House orders review of ‘green’ loan program

The White House has authorized an independent review of all loan guarantees made by the Energy Department to foster green technology following the bankruptcy this year of Solyndra, the California company that received a $535 million loan through the program.

White House officials said Friday that chief of staff William Daley ordered the review that will evaluate the entire $35.9 billion loan portfolio made to support the private-sector development of new technologies that could help improve the economy and create jobs.

The review is a tacit acknowledgment that the loan program, defended by President Obama and his senior advisers for months, has raised enough internal concern that an outside assessment is necessary to clear the air and determine its future.

The announcement came as congressional Republicans threatened to subpoena White House records relating to the Solyndra case if the administration does not produce a batch of requested documents.

— From news service reports