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FBI Offers Reward for Unsolved 1984 Murder of Virginia State Trooper

The FBI is now offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the individual responsible for the 1984 fatal stabbing of an off-duty Virginia state trooper.

October 1, 2018
2 min to read


The FBI is now offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the individual responsible for the 1984 fatal stabbing of an off-duty Virginia state trooper.

The FBI Washington Field Office, along with the Virginia State Police, Manassas City Police Department, and the Office of the Commonwealth's Attorney Prince William County, seek assistance from the public to identify an unknown individual or individuals responsible for the brutal murder of Virginia State Trooper Johnny Rush Bowman in Manassas, the FBI said in a statement.

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On August 19, 1984, at approximately 0415 hours, Virginia State Trooper Johnny Bowman was brutally attacked and stabbed 45 times by an unknown assailant(s). Trooper Bowman, who was unarmed at the time, engaged in a struggle with the individual(s) that awakened his two-year-old daughter in the home. Trooper Bowman later succumbed to his injuries.

"For 34 years, Trooper Johnny Bowman's daughter, parents, brother, friends, and colleagues have had to endure his loss and not knowing who was responsible for taking his life," said Captain Greg Kincaid, Virginia State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation's Fairfax Field Office. "That's why still today, the Virginia State Police and our partnering agencies remain determined to solve this homicide and bring Johnny's killer to justice."

"No one has forgotten Trooper Bowman—not his family, his friends, and certainly not law enforcement," said Matthew J. DeSarno, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office's Criminal Division. "The public is our best weapon in solving this cold case and we are hoping that with the passage of time, and through a significant reward of $50,000, someone with information no matter how small or large will come forward and help us bring closure to the family and justice to Trooper Bowman."

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