Months after a Wisconsin teenager with autism drowned when he was allegedly thrown off a pier, prosecutors announced that another teen will be charged as an adult in the case.
Jakob Bowerman, 13, died on Aug. 23, days after he was allegedly thrown into the water from Government Pier in Marinette, Wisconsin. Prosecutors said a 16-year-old boy and a 21-year-old man grabbed Bowerman by his hands and feet and swung him into the water. Tylor Birch, 21, was arrested shortly after Bowerman’s death and charged with reckless homicide. Authorities now say 16-year-old Peyton Carnot will also face adult charges.
According to a criminal complaint obtained by WLUK, Birch and Carnot initially told police that they had all jumped into the water together on Aug. 20. They claimed that once they realized Bowerman could not swim, they tried to help him and that Carnot got out to call 911. The complaint said Bowerman allegedly told them he couldn’t swim while they were in the air jumping from the break wall.
As the investigation continued, police determined that their story wasn’t true. Carnot later told officers that he and Birch had actually thrown Bowerman into the water after he said he didn’t want to go in.
The complaint stated that after throwing Bowerman into the water and hearing him say he couldn’t swim, both suspects jumped in after him in an attempt to help but were unable to. Prosecutors noted that the weather that day made the water choppy and unsafe for swimming.
Bowerman was rescued and taken to a hospital, where he died days later. An autopsy confirmed drowning as the cause of death.
Bowerman’s mother, Taylor Singer, told WBAY that her son had just met Carnot and did not know Birch at all.
Birch and Carnot were arrested shortly after the incident. Birch is charged with second-degree reckless homicide and remains in the Marinette County Jail. He is scheduled for a competency hearing on Dec. 18.
Carnot is also charged with second-degree reckless homicide and is being held at Washington County Juvenile Detention. His bond is set at $100,000. He is scheduled for arraignment on Dec. 17.
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