Jake Kennedy
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Oct 09/02) - As Garrison (Gary) Storm Bowman made his way into a Yellowknife courtroom on Monday, he smiled at the photographers snapping away.

"Hi, fellas," he said, waving his shackled hands.

Garrison (Gary) Storm Bowman, 66, made an appearance in a Yellowknife courtroom on Monday. Bowman is being held on an immigration charge and is wanted by officials in the U.S. for questioning in the death of a Virginia family. -- Merle Robillard/NNSL photo

Bowman was in court for a hearing on whether the government will continue to hold him on an immigration charge. In the southern U.S., officials from two county sheriff offices and the FBI met to plan a trip North to speak with Bowman. One FBI agent is already reported to be in the NWT.

The officials are interested in speaking with the quiet 66-year-old, whom they continually refer to as "a witness," about what happened on Aug. 15 when the bodies of Michael Short, 60, and wife Mary Short, 36, were found in their Virginia home, each with a gunshot wound to the head.

Their daughter, nine-year-old Jennifer Short, was missing and became the subject of a nationwide search as police believed she had been kidnapped.

Human remains found about one kilometre from Bowman's North Carolina home were identified by DNA Friday as Jennifer Short.

Bowman was last seen in the United States the day after Jennifer's parents were killed, and testimony given to police by his landlord suggests Bowman may have had a grudge against Short after a business deal went sour.

What isn't known is the role, if any, Bowman may have played in the deaths of the Shorts.

According to information presented by hearings officer Leah Gabretensae, immigration officials believe Bowman entered Canada in late August somewhere along the British Columbia border as a visitor.

On Sept. 1, he was arrested in Fort McPherson on a drunk driving charge after he rolled his van on a corner of the Dempster Highway.

Bowman was to attend court on the charge on Sept. 9, but failed to appear. As a result, a bench warrant for his arrest was issued on Sept. 12.

On Oct. 4, Inuvik RCMP arrested Bowman at his apartment above an auto leasing shop on the immigration charge.

Bowman is currently being held under the Immigration Act for "criminal inadmissibility" because of his criminal record. He has several impaired driving convictions in the United States.

Although Bowman may never have been specifically asked by a customs officer if he had any criminal convictions, Citizenship and Immigration Canada spokesperson Randy Gurlock said just having a conviction is enough to violate the Immigration Act.

Man 'cannot be trusted'

Immigration adjudicator Paul Kyba said he based his decision to continue holding Bowman solely on the fact that he allegedly committed an offence in Canada, had an opportunity to appear before the court, and didn't.

"You cannot be trusted to follow directions," he said.

Kyba said he didn't need to consider American authorities' interest in Bowman's connection to a triple murder in order to make his decision.

The hearing, held as a telephone conference with Bowman in Yellowknife, Gabretensae in Edmonton and Kyba in Calgary, lasted than 30 minutes. Bowman represented himself in the proceedings.

He admitted to having missed previous court appearances, and to his criminal past, but said he felt false information about him was provided to investigators in the case of the murder of the Shorts.

"I'm a suspect in this murder in Virginia and North Carolina," he said. "I'm quite sure we'll get to the bottom of this eventually."

Bowman, whom Gabretensae said has about $14,000 in available funds, was visibly upset at Kyba's decision to keep him in custody.

Bowman will be held at Yellowknife Correctional Centre until an Oct. 14 deportation hearing.