Police charged a High Point mother with first-degree murder Oct. 8, a year after her 13-year-old daughter was found dead. The medical examiner ruled it a homicide.
A High Point mother is charged with first-degree murder in the death of her 13-year-old daughter. The girl was found dead at a home in High Point a year ago.
The High Point Police Department announced the new charge Thursday in a media release dated Oct. 8. Detectives charged 45-year-old Kymberli Bowden that afternoon at the Guilford County Jail in High Point. She was already being held there on charges filed in 2025. The department said she remains in jail with no bond.
An arrest or charge is an accusation. Every person is presumed innocent unless and until convicted in court.
What the medical examiner found
The North Carolina Office of the Chief Medical Examiner investigated the death and ruled the manner of death a homicide, the department said.
According to the autopsy report quoted in the release, the cause of death was “acute necrotizing pneumonia and inanition in the setting of caregiver neglect.”
How the case began
The department’s earlier release, dated Oct. 30, 2025, is attached to the same document. It sets out the case so far:
- Oct. 13, 2025: Patrol officers went to a home on East Farris Avenue for a welfare check. They found a 13-year-old girl dead. A 13-year-old boy was also inside the home.
- Detectives from the department’s Special Victims Unit took over the investigation and spent the following weeks on interviews and follow-up.
- Oct. 30, 2025: Detectives arrested the mother of the two teenagers. She was charged with two counts of felony child abuse and concealment of death. Her bond was set at $1 million.
- Oct. 8, 2026: She was charged with first-degree murder.
The department said in 2025 that no one else had been charged. It has not released the children’s names because of their ages, and said Thursday that no additional information is available.
What it means for you
The case number is 2025-25652. Anyone with information about violent crime can contact Crime Stoppers of High Point at 336-889-4000 or use the P3 mobile app, the department said.
If you are worried that a child is being abused or neglected, Guilford County’s Child Protective Services takes reports at 336-641-3795 during the day and 1-800-378-5315 after hours, according to the county’s children’s services page. If a child is in immediate danger, call 911.
We report charges as the department words them and do not cover court proceedings unless the department or the district attorney’s office issues a release. More items from the department are on our Police and Fire log. To ask about a correction or the removal of a name, see our removal policy.
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