After just three hours of deliberation Thursday, a Johnson County jury sentenced Tommy Bowden to life in prison for the murder of his mother, according to the sheriff’s office.
The jury found him guilty on a first degree murder charge the day before.
Bowden was charged with the death of his mother, Julie Richardson, 71, of Hagarville.
Neighbors found Richardson dead in her home in late January. Deputies were able to track her son Bowden down and arrest him in Yell County on unrelated charges.
Bowden’s trial was originally set to begin in July, but was delayed. Authorities have not commented on the nature of Richardson’s death, but the woman who found her body told 5NEWS a shovel without a handle was found next to her body.
