Woman, 61, admits she put body down well

LOUISA — A Louisa County woman linked to three mysterious deaths beginning with that of her second husband 15 years ago pleaded guilty Wednesday to dumping her boyfriend’s body in an abandoned well.

Ulisa Mary Chavers, speaking in barely audible tones, pleaded guilty to charges of concealing the body of Reginal Cody Bowles, credit card fraud, identity theft, and possession of a sawed-off rifle. She faces up to 25 years in prison when she is sentenced Jan. 25.

Bowles’ two sons, Lee and David, left the courtroom weary and in need of a diversion from the case, which has proven more bizarre and frustrating for them at every turn, said their mother, Kathleen Sharpe, an ex-wife of Cody Bowles.

Lee Bowles, 31, of Florida, said that he and his 34-year-old brother, of the Richmond area, both hope that Chavers will be imprisoned until she dies.

Chavers, 61, wearing handcuffs and leg shackles, stumbled slightly and appeared disoriented as she was led into Louisa County Circuit Court.

During the hearing, she sat attentively and gave brief, subdued answers to questions from Circuit Judge Timothy K. Sanner. She did not comment extensively in court.

After the hearing, defense attorney Mike Caudill described his client as remorseful.

She admits not only to putting Bowles’ body in the well, Caudill said, but she also told authorities she buried her second husband, Clent Chavers, in their backyard in Amelia County in 1994. She says she later beheaded the corpse and threw it out at a landfill.

Bowles’ remains were found in the well in March. Authorities exhumed Clent Chavers’ remains in April.

Chavers says both men died of natural causes, and authorities have not charged her with killing either man. Authorities so far have been unable to determine the two men’s cause of death. Chavers faces no charges in Amelia.

Caudill and prosecutors reached no agreement on sentencing in the Bowles case.

After Wednesday’s hearing, Louisa Common-wealth’s Attorney Tom Garrett said authorities in “multiple jurisdictions” continue to investigate Chavers.

“The investigation into other charges, potentially, is ongoing,” Garrett said. He added: “We think that today was a step toward justice.”

Sharpe said she was 19 when she married Cody Bowles. After they divorced around 1979, Bowles married and divorced another woman, Sharpe said.

Bowles met Chavers while he was living on Monument Avenue in Henrico County and she was working at an area convenience store, Sharpe said. They later moved to Louisa.

Cody Bowles’ sons had not heard from their father since Christmas 2006, Garrett said. Lee Bowles reported him missing to Louisa authorities late last year.

Chavers had given various explanations for Bowles’ disappearance to his family, her own neighbors and to Louisa investigators, including her claim that he had ridden out West and joined an outlaw motorcycle gang.

At one point, Garrett said Wednesday, she told authorities that Bowles no longer needed his pacemaker because he had had the bottom third of his heart removed by Lasik surgery.

In July 2004, Chavers reported finding the body of Cody Bowles’ mother, Eleanor Bowles, in the trailer beside the house where Chavers was living with Cody Bowles, who still was alive. Eleanor Bowles was believed to have died from natural causes. It is too late to do an autopsy because her body was cremated.

Authorities say Chavers used Cody Bowles’ credit card and collected Cody Bowles’ and Clent Chavers’ Social Security money after they disappeared. And according to investigators, money removed from Eleanor Bowles’ bank account before and after her death had ended up in Mary Chavers’ account.

Sharpe said her sons have been frustrated in their attempts to recover remaining assets left behind by Cody Bowles or his mother.

“It’s like it’s one big headache after another,” Sharpe said. “It’s one big maze of a mess.”