Latest / Least of These / 253. “Two Men, Two Paths” - The Case of Donald Bowers - Lebanon, Indiana

Transcript

253. “Two Men, Two Paths” - The Case of Donald Bowers - Lebanon, Indiana · Least of These

• 0:00
  [SPEAKER_00]: Welcome to least of these where I cover the cases that need it most because every life matters and everyone deserves justice.
• 0:07
  [SPEAKER_00]: I'm your host Leah D and today I'll be covering the case of Donald Bowers and Lebanon in Indiana.
• 0:12
  [SPEAKER_00]: Let's get right to it.
• 0:52
  [SPEAKER_00]: Halfway between downtown Indianapolis and Purdue University, nestled in the countryside, is the city of Lebanon and Indiana.
• 1:00
  [SPEAKER_00]: Lebanon has that quintessential small town feel, a place with a historic downtown quiet residential neighborhoods, beautiful boon county farmland, and more than a hundred acres of public parks, all this according to life in India.
• 1:15
  [SPEAKER_00]: For a city with a population of roughly 16,000, it's about as safe as any other city at size in the United States.
• 1:23
  [SPEAKER_00]: And Lebanon was home to 64-year-old Donald Bowers.
• 1:27
  [SPEAKER_00]: Donny, as he was known by most of his friends, lived in an old established residential neighborhood in the 500-block of southwest street on the southwest side of Lebanon with his dog, peanut.
• 1:39
  [SPEAKER_00]: According to his friends and family, Donnie, who was disabled and required a use of a wheelchair, well Donnie just never met a stranger.
• 1:47
  [SPEAKER_00]: He was kind and well-liked by pretty much everyone who knew him.
• 1:51
  [SPEAKER_00]: He never missed an opportunity to rescue an injured animal.
• 1:54
  [SPEAKER_00]: or strike up a conversation with someone, especially if they happen to like his favorite band kiss.
• 2:01
  [SPEAKER_00]: Donnie was the kind of person who didn't hesitate to help a friend in need.
• 2:05
  [SPEAKER_00]: He was also incredibly proud of his sobriety.
• 2:09
  [SPEAKER_00]: Donnie had been sober from alcohol for more than 13 years.
• 2:12
  [SPEAKER_00]: He was in charge of AA meetings at the church and always made sure the doors were open, the coffee was
• 2:22
  [SPEAKER_00]: At some point, according to Fox 59, Donnie befriended a man named Jacob Kram.
• 2:28
  [SPEAKER_00]: And on paper, the two men could have seemed more different.
• 2:32
  [SPEAKER_00]: 37-year-old Jacob Kram had a lengthy criminal history dating back years.
• 2:37
  [SPEAKER_00]: But it seems Donnie always looked for the best in people, and with Jacob it was no different.
• 2:43
  [SPEAKER_00]: But Jacob Kram will those court records showed a progression of criminal offenses dating all the way back to 2006.
• 2:51
  [SPEAKER_00]: First minor crimes, multiple driving offenses that resulted in a suspended license, but from there things slowly began to escalate.
• 3:00
  [SPEAKER_00]: According to those court records in 2010, Kram was convicted of possession of marijuana.
• 3:06
  [SPEAKER_00]: In 2011, he was convicted of theft by receiving stolen property, and in 2011 he was charged with battery public intoxication and disorderly conduct.
• 3:16
  [SPEAKER_00]: However, those charges were dismissed, but that same year, so we're still in 2011.
• 3:21
  [SPEAKER_00]: Cram was arrested again for driving under the influence and dangering a person, driving with a suspended license and possession of a controlled substance.
• 3:35
  [SPEAKER_00]: But he didn't stay out of trouble long, and 2013 he was convicted of possession of a synthetic drug.
• 3:41
  [SPEAKER_00]: And then in 2016, Kram was charged with battery in the presence of a child, battery resulting in bodily injury, resisting law enforcement and criminal misship.
• 3:51
  [SPEAKER_00]: After another play agreement, Kram pled guilty to only battery resulting in bodily injury and served 23 days in jail before being sentenced to 319 days of probation.
• 4:02
  [SPEAKER_00]: While on probation and still in 2016, he violated a court order and was ordered to 363 days probation and random drug testing.
• 4:13
  [SPEAKER_00]: And then, in 2018, Jacob Kram was charged with robbery
• 4:19
  [SPEAKER_00]: and surprise surprise, another plea agreement.
• 4:22
  [SPEAKER_00]: Cran pled guilty and was sentenced to seven years in prison followed by two years' probation.
• 4:28
  [SPEAKER_00]: He was released in June of 2025.
• 4:32
  [SPEAKER_00]: Three months and two days after his release, while he was still on probation, Jacob Cran would be arrested again.
• 4:39
  [SPEAKER_00]: Only this time, he'd be charged with murder.
• 4:43
  [SPEAKER_00]: Fox 59 reported that on the evening of September 10, 2025, Lebanon police were approached by two individuals who wanted to report a possible homicide.
• 4:54
  [SPEAKER_00]: According to an affidavit obtained by the Lebanon reporter, those two witnesses told police that Jacob Kram had killed Donald Bowers.
• 5:02
  [SPEAKER_00]: One of the witnesses told police that he had seen Kram attempting to hang a blanket over a doorway inside Donnie's home.
• 5:09
  [SPEAKER_00]: When the witness tried to go inside, Kram initially stopped him.
• 5:13
  [SPEAKER_00]: I can't show you, Kram said.
• 5:15
  [SPEAKER_00]: But then, apparently, he changed his mind.
• 5:18
  [SPEAKER_00]: Oh well, I guess I can.
• 5:20
  [SPEAKER_00]: When that witness walked inside Donnie's house, what he saw was horrifying.
• 5:25
  [SPEAKER_00]: Donald Bowers was lying on the floor with duct tape wrapped around his head and a screwdriver protruding from his skull.
• 5:32
  [SPEAKER_00]: At the time, the witness believed Donnie was still breathing.
• 5:36
  [SPEAKER_00]: According to the Lebanon reporter, that witness was a man named Zach, a man Donnie had apparently been helping.
• 5:44
  [SPEAKER_00]: It turned out that Zach had been living in a camper and Donnie's backyard.
• 5:48
  [SPEAKER_00]: Zach and the other witness contacted police.
• 5:52
  [SPEAKER_00]: At around 6.45 that evening, Lebanon police responded to Donnie's home.
• 5:57
  [SPEAKER_00]: Inside officers found just what the witness described.
• 6:01
  [SPEAKER_00]: Donald Bowers was deceased on the floor of his own home with injuries police described as obvious traumatic injuries.
• 6:09
  [SPEAKER_00]: Those two witnesses told investigators that Jacob Kram's last-known location had been inside Donnie's home, and it turned out he had made it far.
• 6:19
  [SPEAKER_00]: 13 WTHR reported that Kram was quickly located nearby Donnie's house.
• 6:24
  [SPEAKER_00]: He was, of course, taken into custody.
• 6:28
  [SPEAKER_00]: Kram was swiftly transported to the police station for an interview.
• 6:32
  [SPEAKER_00]: And that's when an already tragic story took an even darker turn.
• 6:37
  [SPEAKER_00]: Jacob Kram admitted to Killing Donnie, I mean at this point that wasn't exactly shocking.
• 6:43
  [SPEAKER_00]: But the details surrounding exactly what had happened that night were more horrific than
• 6:50
  [SPEAKER_00]: Fox 59 reported that Jacob Cram sold officers that he knew Donnie, that Donnie was a friend to him.
• 6:56
  [SPEAKER_00]: Donnie lived on southwest street and Jacob Cram lived nearby on west-own.
• 7:02
  [SPEAKER_00]: Cram said that earlier that evening he had seen Donnie fall down in the street.
• 7:07
  [SPEAKER_00]: He went on to say that he helped Donnie get back into his wheelchair and then offered to help him get back inside his home.
• 7:14
  [SPEAKER_00]: And then, he turned on him and without provocation attacked.
• 7:19
  [SPEAKER_00]: According to investigators, Kremit metted that he tried multiple ways to kill Donnie.
• 7:24
  [SPEAKER_00]: First, he struck him with a broom handle, and when that quote didn't work, Kremit said he cut Donnie with a box cutter.
• 7:31
  [SPEAKER_00]: He then wrapped a blanket and dug tape around his face, and finally, he stabbed Donnie in
• 7:38
  [SPEAKER_00]: Cram told police at every single time and in every single way he tried to kill Donnie, Donnie fought back.
• 7:45
  [SPEAKER_00]: And remember, Donald Bowers was disabled, he was in a wheelchair.
• 7:50
  [SPEAKER_00]: Jacob Cram already had the upper hand.
• 7:52
  [SPEAKER_00]: Donnie must have put up one hell of a fight, but in the end all those injuries were just too much for his body.
• 8:00
  [SPEAKER_00]: The forensic pathologist later concluded that Donnie's death resulted from a combination of blunt forest injuries, sharp forest injuries, and itsphyxia.
• 8:10
  [SPEAKER_00]: There was no question as to who, no question as to how, but why?
• 8:15
  [SPEAKER_00]: Why had Jacob Cram killed a disabled man?
• 8:18
  [SPEAKER_00]: One he claimed was a friend.
• 8:20
  [SPEAKER_00]: Why had he viciously attacked him after helping him into his wheelchair and inside his home?
• 8:26
  [SPEAKER_00]: What was the reason?
• 8:28
  [SPEAKER_00]: Well, there was none.
• 8:29
  [SPEAKER_00]: No reason at all.
• 8:31
  [SPEAKER_00]: As far as the public record show, Krem never provided police with any sort of explanation as to why he attacked Donnie.
• 8:38
  [SPEAKER_00]: He helped him inside, and then he killed him.
• 8:42
  [SPEAKER_00]: Despite his confession and the two witnesses, Jacob Kram initially pled not guilty to felony murder.
• 8:49
  [SPEAKER_00]: He was facing a murder charge with a habitual offender enhancement, because, well, as we know, he was a habitual offender.
• 8:58
  [SPEAKER_00]: According to Justia Law in Indiana, a habitual offender finding attached to a murder conviction could add between eight and twenty years to Kram's sentence if the state could prove the defendant had qualifying prior felony convictions.
• 9:11
  [SPEAKER_00]: but the murder case would never make it to trial.
• 9:15
  [SPEAKER_00]: It was scheduled for the fall of 2026, but a month before it was set to begin on August 21, 2026, Kram appeared in Boom County Superior Court before Judge Matthew King Kade and changed his plea to guilty.
• 9:30
  [SPEAKER_00]: According to the Boone County Prosecutors Office, under the terms of the plea agreement, Jacob Cran pled guilty to Donald Bower's murder, and in exchange the state agreed to dismiss the habitual offender enhancement.
• 9:42
  [SPEAKER_00]: That meant Cran was facing the standard Indiana sentencing range for murder, between 45 and 65 years in prison.
• 9:50
  [SPEAKER_00]: Boone County Prosecuting Attorney Kent Eastwood said that the plea agreement guaranteed a
• 9:58
  [SPEAKER_00]: He said, this guilty plea ensures that Jacob Andrew Cramp is how to countable for the murder of Donald Lee Bowers while eliminating the uncertainty associated with a trial and potential appeals.
• 10:10
  [SPEAKER_00]: At the same time, the agreement preserves the state's ability to seek the maximum sentence authorized by law.
• 10:16
  [SPEAKER_00]: Our office remains committed to seeking justice for victims and their families, and we appreciate the input and cooperation of Mr. Bowers' family throughout this process.
• 10:26
  [SPEAKER_00]: With that maximum sentence, Jacob Kram was facing essentially a lifetime in the Indiana Department of Corrections, but ultimately that would be for Judge King K to decide.
• 10:37
  [SPEAKER_00]: and the side he did.
• 10:38
  [SPEAKER_00]: On September 17, 2026, Jacob Kram was sentenced to the maximum, 65 years in prison.
• 10:46
  [SPEAKER_00]: According to court documents, Judge Kincaid found several aggravating factors which warranted that punishment to include the severity of the injuries inflicted, his prior convictions, and the fact that at the time of the murder Kram was still on probation from the robbery charge.
• 11:01
  [SPEAKER_00]: The only mitigating factor was that Kram had admitted his guilt.
• 11:06
  [SPEAKER_00]: Jacob Kram was rebanted to the Indiana Department of Corrections.
• 11:30
  [SPEAKER_00]: Jacob Crambs conviction and Donald Bower's murder was not the end of his legal troubles.
• 11:35
  [SPEAKER_00]: According to court records, five days after his sentencing, on September 22, Cramplug guilty to yet another charge.
• 11:43
  [SPEAKER_00]: This time it was battery by bodily waste upon a public safety officer, which in Indiana is a level six felony.
• 11:52
  [SPEAKER_00]: That offense involves knowingly or intentionally placing bodily fluid on a public safety official while that person is performing official duties.
• 12:01
  [SPEAKER_00]: In Kram's case, the victim was a boon county corrections officer.
• 12:06
  [SPEAKER_00]: And frankly, I don't know exactly what bodily waste was involved, and I'm not sure I really want to know.
• 12:13
  [SPEAKER_00]: But whatever happened happened, and it resulted in an additional year of incarceration,
• 12:20
  [SPEAKER_00]: We started this episode with the tale of two men, Donald Bowers and Jacob Kram, two men whose lives could hardly have been more different.
• 12:29
  [SPEAKER_00]: Donnie had struggled with addiction, but he fought his way through it.
• 12:33
  [SPEAKER_00]: At the time of his death, he had been sober for more than 13 years.
• 12:37
  [SPEAKER_00]: And he didn't just maintain his sobriety, he used what he'd learned to help other people.
• 12:48
  [SPEAKER_00]: He loved animals.
• 12:49
  [SPEAKER_00]: He loved kiss.
• 12:51
  [SPEAKER_00]: He loved talking to people.
• 12:52
  [SPEAKER_00]: According to the people who knew him, he never met a stranger.
• 12:57
  [SPEAKER_00]: Jacob Kram's life had taken a very different path.
• 13:00
  [SPEAKER_00]: His criminal record stretched back years, with convictions for drug offenses, theft, battery, robbery, resulting in serious injury, and eventually murder.
• 13:10
  [SPEAKER_00]: While Donnie spent more than a decade working to rebuild his life, and helping other people rebuild theirs, Kram continued to cycle through the criminal justice system.
• 13:20
  [SPEAKER_00]: Donnie Gave
• 13:21
  [SPEAKER_00]: He gave far more to the people around him than he ever asked for in return.
• 13:25
  [SPEAKER_00]: And Kram, and he took, he had become a leech on the people in the systems around him.
• 13:32
  [SPEAKER_00]: Donald Bowers was a man living with a disability.
• 13:35
  [SPEAKER_00]: He relied on a wheelchair and that made him physically vulnerable in ways many of us don't have to think about.
• 13:41
  [SPEAKER_00]: Unfortunately, what happened to Donnie is part of a much larger problem.
• 13:51
  [SPEAKER_00]: According to U.S. Department of Justice statistics, between 2017 and 2019, people with disabilities accounted for only about 12% of the population, but experienced 26% of all non-fatal violent crime.
• 14:06
  [SPEAKER_00]: During that same period, their rate of violent victimization was nearly four times higher than the rate for people without disabilities.
• 14:14
  [SPEAKER_00]: And that's something that needs to be addressed.
• 14:16
  [SPEAKER_00]: Because Donnie's story isn't just about one horrific crime.
• 14:20
  [SPEAKER_00]: It should serve as a reminder that people with disabilities can be particularly vulnerable to violence.
• 14:26
  [SPEAKER_00]: And that vulnerability deserves to be recognized, discussed, and addressed.
• 14:31
  [SPEAKER_00]: It needs to be addressed for Donnie, and for everyone else living with a disability who deserves to feel safe in their own home and in their own community.
• 14:41
  [SPEAKER_00]: And that, my friends, is all I've got for this week.
• 14:43
  [SPEAKER_00]: Be sure to join me next Thursday for an all new episode.
• 14:47
  [SPEAKER_00]: In the meantime, you can find me on Instagram at least underscore of these or my Facebook, at least of these podcasts.
• 14:54
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• 14:57
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• 15:01
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• 15:08
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• 15:13
  [SPEAKER_00]: Thank you for listening.
• 15:15
  [SPEAKER_00]: Thank you for caring.
• 15:16
  [SPEAKER_00]: If you know something, say something.
• 15:18
  [SPEAKER_00]: And until next time, be good to each other.
• 16:03
  [SPEAKER_00]: y'all already know, cases like this piss me off on a whole, another level.
• 16:09
  [SPEAKER_00]: Let me start this off by saying that I'm not typically one who judges by appearances, but Jacob Cramden looked like someone you'd like to run across in a dark alley if you didn't know him.
• 16:19
  [SPEAKER_00]: I mean, I'm just being real here.
• 16:22
  [SPEAKER_00]: Get mad if you want to.
• 16:23
  [SPEAKER_00]: I'll be sure to post his
• 16:27
  [SPEAKER_00]: But the fact that Donnie was still kind and befriended him is just another example of the kind of character he had.
• 16:34
  [SPEAKER_00]: Now I'm just speculating because I found nothing in the reporting, which, by the way, there wasn't much reporting at all.
• 16:40
  [SPEAKER_00]: But if I had to guess, I'd say Donnie had befriended him because he wanted to help him change his life.
• 16:45
  [SPEAKER_00]: Jacob Graham was headed nowhere fast.
• 16:49
  [SPEAKER_00]: And it seems like Donnie maybe thought he could help him.
• 16:52
  [SPEAKER_00]: And Graham repaid kindness with evil.
• 16:55
  [SPEAKER_00]: And that's what makes this story so tragic.
• 16:57
  [SPEAKER_00]: Because why?
• 16:59
  [SPEAKER_00]: Why help?
• 16:59
  [SPEAKER_00]: And I'm putting quotations around the help here?
• 17:03
  [SPEAKER_00]: Because maybe that was the plan all along.
• 17:05
  [SPEAKER_00]: But why help in that of the street and then violently attack it?
• 17:09
  [SPEAKER_00]: I don't really think there's another excuse out there besides Jacob Kram was evil and I know we don't always like to talk about it, but evil exists.
• 17:17
  [SPEAKER_00]: He saw this man fall down the street and thought, well, let me just go help him home and then I'll turn around and kill him.
• 17:23
  [SPEAKER_00]: I seriously can't think of any other reason.
• 17:25
  [SPEAKER_00]: Some people are just evil and I think Jacob Kram is certainly one of those people.
• 17:31
  [SPEAKER_00]: My heart absolutely breaks for Donnie's family, and his obituary it mentioned that he and his sister lost their father at a young age, and that Donnie was her support throughout that.
• 17:42
  [SPEAKER_00]: And again, it's like Donnie helped anyone in every way he could.
• 17:46
  [SPEAKER_00]: Family, friend, people, and AA, the man he was letting live on his property, he was just a helper, the contrast between these two men couldn't be more stark.
• 17:57
  [SPEAKER_00]: And on a lighter note, I did also see where Kram had filed a complaint while in the DOC for the robbery charge.
• 18:03
  [SPEAKER_00]: He was saying that gang members were going after him in prison the first time he was there, and that he was scared for his life.
• 18:10
  [SPEAKER_00]: So I just made me chuckle a little bit because I don't think the guy has a good time in prison.
• 18:14
  [SPEAKER_00]: He doesn't seem so tough when he's put up against someone who's his own physical equal.
• 18:19
  [SPEAKER_00]: So I guess, have a good time in prison, buddy.
• 18:21
  [SPEAKER_00]: You've certainly earned it.
• 18:24
  [SPEAKER_00]: And that's about all I got to say about that.
• 18:26
  [SPEAKER_00]: Y'all know I love you more in my luggage, and I can't wait to talk at you next week.
• 18:29
  [SPEAKER_00]: But until then, bye-bye, buh-thing!