'Person of interest' named in slaying of Orange City woman

Courtesy photos. Steven Bowman, 39, of Deltona, at right, is a "person of interest" in the slaying of Rabbitt Burns, 51, of Orange City, according to the Volusia County Sheriff's Office.

ORANGE CITY -- A 51-year-old woman found dead in her home Tuesday morning has been ruled a homicide victim and Volusia County Sheriff's investigators have named a former co-worker of her's a "person of interest" in the slaying.

Investigators aren't yet releasing any details as to how Rabbitt Burns was killed, but they have named 39-year-old Deltona resident Steven Bowman as thei persof interest, stopping short of calling him a suspect.

"Bowman was seen with the victim in the days leading up to the murder, and investigators believe he may have been one of the last persons to see Burns alive," Sheriff's spokesman Gary Davidson said.

Bowman, whose last known permanent address was in Deltona, was arrested Wednesday by the Orange County Sheriff's Office on drug charges unrelated to Volusia County's murder investigators.

Following his arrest, Volusia investigators attempted to interview Bowman but he declined to talk to them, Davidson said. After obtaining a search warrant, Volusia investigators recovered a handgun while searching the room where Bowman had been staying at the Security Inn on West Colonial Drive in Orlando.

Bowman is being held in Orange County on charges of cocaine possession, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and contempt of court.

According to the Florida Department of Corrections web site, Bowman spent approximately 11 months in prison about a decade ago on an aggravated assault charge out of Lake County. He also faced various other criminal charges in Orange and Lake counties.

Davidson said the Volusia County Sheriff's Office continues to process evidence and follow up on leads developed in the homicide investigation, including an inspection of the victim's car, a2003 PT Cruiser, which was recovered in Orlando on Wednesday and towed to the Sheriff's Office in DeLand. Crime scene technicians were processing the vehicle Thursday.

The victim's body was found in her West Fern Drive home by two co-workers from the DeBary Public Library after she didn't show up for work.

Burns and Bowman worked together during the 1990s at the DeLand Beacon, a weekly newspaper.

Burns is Volusia County's first homicide victim of the new year.