Reward Offered for Hildebrandt Codd’s Arrest

The family of Densmore Owen Bowman, 32, is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of Hildebrandt Codd, a convicted murderer currently on the run.

Codd was found guilty of the November 29, 2018, murder of Bowman, who was tortured, killed, and buried in a shallow grave near mile 25 on the George Price Highway.

On December 5, Codd and another prisoner escaped custody at the High Court, taking advantage of a security lapse. Codd was in court to receive the guilty verdict now handed down against him.

Presiding Justice Ricardo O’Neil Sandcroft described the evidence as largely circumstantial but “overwhelming,” noting an alleged confession to the Crown’s main witness, DNA evidence linking Bowman to Codd’s vehicle, and testimony from another witness who claimed to have helped clean the car of evidence.

Justice Sandcroft stated, “The authorities must do their jobs now and make sure they find him.”

The main witness provided chilling testimony, revealing that Codd and another unidentified man killed Bowman after a night of bar hopping. They got him intoxicated, tied him up in a vehicle, tortured, and beheaded him, initially leaving his body by the roadside before returning the next day to move it to a makeshift shallow grave. Bowman pleaded for his life, saying, “Nuh do meh like this Paps, mein.”

According to the witness, neither a chop to the face nor a stab through the heart was immediately fatal to Bowman—he attempted to flee, but Codd severed several of his toes to prevent his escape. Codd then mutilated the body further before finally beheading him with a cut through the throat and back of the neck.