Ex-boyfriend sought in woman's slaying

When Carol Bowne felt the threat of domestic violence, the petite hairdresser took steps to protect herself.

The Berlin Township woman got a restraining order against a former boyfriend, installed security cameras and an alarm system to her home and began the months-long process of obtaining a handgun, friends said.

But it wasn't enough.

Bowne, 39, was stabbed to death in the driveway of her Patton Avenue home on Wednesday night.

Her former boyfriend, 45-year-old Michael Eitel, was charged with her murder. Eitel, a convicted felon, was a fugitive Thursday, being sought by a U.S. Marshals Service task force.

Bowne's death shocked her friends and neighbors, who described her as a bubbly, well-liked person. But her slaying also embittered some, who felt the system had failed to protect a woman in danger.

"She did absolutely everything she was supposed to," said Denise Lovallo, a fellow hairdresser at O'Hara and Co. in Somerdale.

"Do they have enough now to get him?" she asked of Bowne's attacker.

The White Horse Pike salon closed Thursday, as workers sobbed, embraced and held hands in a small reception area.

"We're family," said Linda O'Hara, the salon's owner and Bowne's employer for 20 years.

Co-workers had planned to hold a party in the salon Thursday to mark Bowne's pending 40th birthday. They said Bowne, who had no children, also planned to celebrate by traveling with friends to Punta Cana, a resort in the Dominican Republican.

"She was a great employee, a great person," said O'Hara, as the phone rang steadily with calls from distraught customers.

"She cared about everybody who walked through that door, and every client was her friend," said O'Hara. "She was invited to every wedding, every baby shower, everything."

JOIN THE CONVERSATION: Bowne's death spurs discussion on domestic violence, guns

Salon employees said Bowne was meticulous about her appearance, but had struggled recently with problems in her personal life.

"She got a restraining order about a month ago, and right after that her car windows were broken," said O'Hara.

Court records show Eitel pleaded guilty to a weapons offense in 2008 after being indicted in 2006 on a charge of aggravated assault with bodily injury. He received a five-year sentence for that offense, which neighbors said was related to an assault on a former girlfriend.

Berlin Township Police Chief Leonard Check said Bowne applied for a gun license on April 21, and that she had inquired Monday about her request.

The application process typically takes two months or more as police collect information on the applicant, including fingerprints and reference checks. "We did not get the fingerprint information yet," said Check.

On Thursday morning, Bowne's silver SUV – with the license plate LITTLE 1 – sat outside her home on the 100 block of Patton Avenue. A memorial decal carried the name of her late husband Roy, who died in a motorcycle accident three years ago this Sunday.

Lights still burned in her two-story beige Colonial home, which has a carefully tended garden against the front porch.

Police went to the home around 10:15 p.m. Wednesday, when they found Bowne lying in the driveway with multiple stab wounds. Bowne was taken to Virtua Hospital in Berlin, where she was pronounced dead at 11:22 p.m.

"Everybody is in shock," said a neighbor who spoke anonymously due to fear of Bowne's attacker. "I saw her lying in the driveway."

"I'm terrified," said another, also speaking anonymously. "I can't believe she's dead."

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Camden County Prosecutor's Office at (856) 365-3114 or Berlin Township Police at (856) 767-5878. Information can also be emailed to ccpotips@ccprosecutor.org.

Reach Jim Walsh at jwalsh@courierpostonline.com or (856) 486-2646. Tweet him @jimwalsh_cp