Mom Charged in Starvation Murder of 35-Pound Teen Daughter

HIGH POINT, N.C. — A High Point mother already jailed on child abuse charges was formally charged with first-degree murder this week in the death of her 13-year-old daughter, who weighed just 35 pounds and showed signs of prolonged starvation and neglect when her body was discovered nearly a year earlier.

Kymberli Tiesha Bowden, 45, was charged Thursday, Oct. 8, while held at the Guilford County Jail. She remains without bond. Prosecutors said the murder charge followed the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner’s determination that the girl’s death was a homicide caused by acute necrotizing pneumonia and inanition — severe malnutrition and physical wasting — in the setting of caregiver neglect.

The girl, identified in court only as ZT, was found dead on or about Oct. 13, 2025, during a welfare check at a home on East Farris Avenue. Officers and firefighters forced entry after a family friend looked through a window and saw an unresponsive child. ZT had been dead for roughly two days. Her 13-year-old twin brother was found alive in the same residence.

According to prosecutors and the medical examiner’s findings presented in court, ZT was extremely emaciated. Her hair was matted, dulled and dirty; her ears were dirty; her face was gaunt with sunken eyes. An empty, discolored feeding tube bag was near her bed. She weighed 35 pounds at autopsy. Medical records showed she had weighed about 63 pounds in May 2023 and roughly 65 pounds in December 2024 — a loss of approximately 30 pounds in the preceding months.

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ZT was bedridden and wheelchair-bound due to birth defects stemming from pediatric strokes.

She relied on a feeding tube. Investigators noted that prepackaged food intended for the tube had expired as far back as 2023. Arrest warrants allege Bowden failed to provide adequate food and medical care, resulting in bodily injury and death, and that she concealed the death by keeping the body in the home.

The surviving twin brother was discovered living amid trash, rotting food and unsanitary conditions, without proper access to nutrition, clothing or sanitation. Authorities said he sustained serious psychological injury and mental harm. He had been living in the home with his sister’s body.

Police call logs show multiple welfare concerns about the home in the days and weeks leading up to the discovery, including calls from family members who said they had not seen the children in months and neighbors who raised alarms. Bowden had reportedly declined some checks and made excuses when relatives sought to see ZT.

Bowden, a certified nursing assistant who was paid to provide in-home care for children, was initially arrested Oct. 30, 2025, and charged with two counts of felony child abuse and concealment of death. Her bond was set at $1 million. The first-degree murder charge was added after the autopsy ruled the death a homicide. She appeared in court Friday on the upgraded charge and is scheduled to appear again Dec. 18. No one else has been charged.

The case remains under prosecution. All charges are allegations, and Bowden has not been convicted.