Suspect skips 4th court date

Michael John Bowden, the man charged with causing his former girlfriend's 5-year-old daughter to wither away to 12 pounds, once again was a no-show in court Thursday.

Bowden, 25, was scheduled to make an initial appearance before 3rd District Judge Ann Boyden, but according to lawyers and deputies, Bowden "refused to be transported" from the Salt Lake County Jail to the Matheson Courthouse.

Bowden in the past has refused to come out of his jail cell or not come into the courtroom for initial-appearance court hearings, although he did attend a custody hearing involving the child. Another hearing was canceled because of a power outage at the jail.

He received a new roll-call court date — his fifth — for Sept. 21 before 3rd District Judge Stephen Henriod.

"At some point, the court will either order the jail to transport him, or we would proceed in absentia," said prosecutor William Kendall.

Public defender Michael Sikora said he does not know why Bowden will not come to the hearings.

Bowden is charged with second-degree felony child abuse for permitting his girlfriend's young daughter, Jade Ferrando, to shrink to 12 pounds while the girl's mother, Anahi Ferrando, was serving in the Army in Iraq. Anahi Ferrando said she gave Bowden legal authority to take care of the child, but he lied to her about how the little girl was faring.

Jade's grandfather, Rafael Ferrando, grew suspicious when Bowden seemed to be preventing visits with the child and finally got an ex parte protective order. The girl, who has a mild case of cerebral palsy, was taken to Primary Children's Medical Center, where doctors said she was malnourished and dehydrated. She is gaining weight and doing better now, according to her mother, who is back in the United States.

Bowden is also under investigation by West Valley police for allegedly siphoning money from his girlfriend's bank account and stealing Jade's Social Security checks.

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E-mail: lindat@desnews.com