Man convicted of 2023 Daisy Farms murder and sentenced to life in prison

A Kaufman County the man was sentenced to life in prison on Thursday after a Lamar County Jury found him guilty of murder.

On March 1, 2023, employees of Daisy Farms found the victim deceased inside his vehicle and law enforcement discovered he had suffered two gunshot wounds to the head.

David Brandon Bowlby, 58 years old, who has a lengthy criminal record, having served 20 years of a 99-year sentence for murdering his mother and dumping her body in Louisiana in 1984, was elected by the court to assess the sentence.

During the trial, the jury heard from several witnesses, including two detectives from Lamar County Sheriff's Office. Detectives learned from the victim's friends and family that he was trying to buy gold as part of a deal Bowlby arranged. Detectives interviewed Bowlby in Kaufman County and he denied knowing where Paris was and denied being in contact with the victim on the day of the shooting.

Using cameras and cell phone records, detectives were able to locate the defendant in Lamar County on the afternoon of March 1. The cameras also showed the victim's truck closely following the defendant's truck heading north on Highway 24 toward the possible crime scene. shortly before the murder. Records show Bowlby and the victim communicated several times on March 1, including shortly before the victim's body was found. Detectives then learned that Bowlby's truck had stickers advertising his business, located in Terrell, Texas, and a phone number just days before March 1. However, these stickers were no longer on the truck on March 1, but were then replaced a few days later, this time with a different phone number. It was discovered that Bowlby had changed his phone number on March 2.

Bowlby opted for the court to assess the sentence. Judge Tidwell heard about Bowlby's criminal history during the punishment phase of the trial. In a 1984 case in Rockwall County, Bowlby was sentenced to 99 years in prison after killing his mother and dumping her body in Louisiana before being apprehended and confessing to the murder. Bowlby was also convicted of an escape charge in Kaufman County in 1990.

Judge Wes Tidwell of the 6th District Court then sentenced Bowlby to life in prison.

“I congratulate the jury for their hard work this week. I also want to tell them how much the victim's family appreciated the jury's service. This case involved many pieces of a puzzle and the civilian witnesses, DNA analysts, medical examiner and most importantly law enforcement were able to put these pieces together and show the jury that David Bowlby was responsible for orchestrating this murder,” Assistant DA Nick said. Dropouts.

Lamar County Prosecutor Gary Young said, “Bowlby lured the victim to Lamar County and what he believed to be a secluded area in order to commit this heinous act. I thank the jury for their hard work and for helping to ensure that Lamar County and other Texas communities are safer by taking the defendant off the streets. I also want to thank Josh Crawford and Glen Briggle of the Lamar County Sheriff's Office and Texas Ranger Stacy McNeal for their excellent work in bringing this monster to justice.

The case was tried in 6th District Court before Judge Wes Tidwell. Bowlby was pursued by Gary Young and Nick Stallings; he was represented by Heath Hyde of Sulfur Springs.