Gene & Connie Boman Suicide Murder Leon, Butler County, Kansas

Butler County, Kansas

Man Shoots Ex-Wife, Self, Police Report

AUGUSTA, Kan. - A Leon, Kan., man apparently shot and killed his former wife here Monday evening and then committed suicide on the sidewalk in front of a hair-dressing shop where the woman worked.

Augusta police identified the two as Gene Bowman, 43, and Connie Bowman, 35. The couple was divorced.

The shooting occurred about 2:15 p.m. in front of Rogers Hair Fashions in the 400 block of State Street.

"According to police, Bowman entered the shop and, during a discussion which followed, the couple walked outside.

A revolver was used in the shooting, officers said, but would give no other details.

The Bowmans were pronounced dead at the scene.

Kansas Bureau of Investigation officials also were working on the case. (The Wichita Eagle ~ Tuesday, 9 Jan 1968)

LEON MAN KILLS WIFE, THEN TAKES OWN LIFE

A Leon man and his estranged wife are dead as the result of a murder - suicide Monday night in front of an Augusta beauty parolor where the woman worked.

Augusta police said Gene Boman, 43, killed COnnie Boman, mother of two children in her mid-3's, then turned the 38-caliber weapon on himself.

The quick staccato of gunshots left both dead on the sidewalk in front of the beauty shop in the 400 block of State Street shortly after 7 p.m. spelling a violent end to marital troubles.

Butler County sheriff's officers said investigation into the double killing will continue.

A divorce action filed by the woman against Boman was not final.

Boman operated an auto body shop at Leon about 10 miles east of Augusta. Mrs. Boman, who formerly operated Connie's Beauty Shop adjacent to her husband's garage, recently had taken the job at Augusta.

Officers said Boman apparently waited outside and accosted Mrs. Boman when she left the Augusta Beauty Parlor.

Funeral arrangements are pending at Dunsford Funeral Home in Augusta. (El Dorado Times, January 9, 1968)

DOUBLE RITES FOR SLAYING VICTIMS

Double funeral services for Robert Gene Boman, 44, and his estranged wife, Constance Marvelle Boman, 35, of Leon, will be held at 3 p.m. Thursday at the Leon Methodist Church.

Boman shot his wife and then turned the weapon on himself on a downtown Augusta street Monday night. Both died at the scene.

The Rev. Tom Schneider, pastor of the church, will officiate at funeral rites. Dunsford Funeral Home, Augusta, is in charge.

Burial will be at Leon.

Mr. Boman, operator of an auto body repair shop at Leon, was born March 27, 1923, at Macksville, Kan. He came to Butler county in 1938. He was an Army veteran of World War II and a member of the Methodist church.

Mrs. Boman was born Sept. 7, 1932, at Augusta.

Mrs. Boman, an Augusta beauty operator was a member of the Methodist Church and Rebekah lodge.

Children and step-children are among survivors of Mr. and Mrs. Boman. (El Dorado Times, January 10, 1968)

DOUBLE SERVICES HELD JANUARY 11, FOR GENE AND CONNIE BOMAN

Funeral services were held at 3:00 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 11, 1968 in the Leon Methodist Church for COnnie and Gene Boman who died Monday evening in Augusta.

Gene, apparently in a deeply despondent frame of mind, ended long and tempestuous years of marital difficulties with his former wife, Connie, by taking first her life and then his own, in front of Roger's Hair Fashions where Connie had spent her first day as an employee.

Rev. Tom Schneider officiated at the service. Mrs. Anita Souders, organist, accompanied Mrs. Dale Walton who sang "The Old Rugged Cross" and "Rock of Ages." Bearers were Paul Morris, Bud Cross, Bill Guthrie, Bert Wimberly, Richard Reed, Gene Reed, Aubrey Martin, Gail Schoen, Al Matlock, Ted Bear, Richard Wall, and Raymond Spitznogle. Burial was in Leon Cemetery with Dunsford Funeral Home, Augusta in charge.

Constance Marvelle Collins Boman was born September 7, 1932 in Augusta, Kansas, and died January 8, 1968. Soon after her birth her family mvoed to Casper, Wyoming where she spent the next seven years. Early in 1940 she returned with her family to Augusta. In 1950 she was married to Robert Gene Boman, and spent the next two years in Lamar, Colorado. In 1952 they moved to Eureka, where she lived until 1957 at which time they moved to Leon.

In 1960, Connie was accredited as a registered beautician and opened Connie's Beauty Salon in Leon. She was a member of the Rebekah Lodge and of the Leon Methodist Church.

She is survived by two sons, Harvey and Jerry Lynn, both of the home; her mother and stepfather, Viola and Leo R. Willey of Augusta, a brother, Leo Ray WIlley Jr. who is stationed with the United States Marines at the El Toro Air Base in Santa Ana, California; a sister, Wyanna Cannon of El Dorado an dher grandmother, Martha Cornelius, of Augusta.

Robert Gene Boman, was born March 27, 1923 in Macksville, Kansas, the son of Grace and Glenn Boman. He died January 8, 1968.

After living in Florence, Kansas for several years, he moved in 1928 to Keighley where he resided until 1937, at which time he moved to Yates Center, and then in 1938 to Leon.

During World War II, he served with the 8th Armored Division at Camp Polk, Louisiana, receiving an honorable discharge from there.

Gene operated a body and fender shop in Leon for approximately fourteen years, and was considered a skilled workman at his trade. He was an outdoor sports enthusaiast. He was a member of the Methodist Church which he joined in Eureka some years ago.

Gene is survived by his son, Jerry Lynn, and a step-son, Harvey of the home, a daughter, Connie Jo Hastings, of Alameda, California; his brother, Wayne of rural Augusta, and a sister, Maxine Marie Shackelford, of Russell. (El Dorado Times, Thursday, January 11, 1968)