Man claiming to hear demons is charged with stabbing man in KC, woman in Independence

A 22-year-old Kansas City man charged with stabbing a man and a woman last week in separate incidents claimed demons told him to attack, according to court documents.

The Jackson County prosecutor has charged Steven J. Bowes in the stabbings Tuesday in Independence and Wednesday in Kansas City.

He faces two counts each of first-degree assault and armed criminal action and one count of stealing a motor vehicle.

According to court documents:

Bowes went to the male victim’s house in the 11000 block of East 75th Street in Independence on Monday to watch television.

Bowes was “talking as if he was in a cult” and said he wanted to kill someone, the victim told police. Bowes allegedly told the victim that he had killed someone in the past.

The victim persuaded Bowes to stay so he wouldn’t hurt anyone and then went to bed while Bowes was in the living room.

At about 3 a.m. Tuesday, the victim got up to go to the bathroom and found Bowes in the hallway. Without warning, Bowes stabbed him, court documents say. Bowes allegedly fled in the victim’s 2007 GMC Sierra pickup truck.

The second stabbing occurred at a home in the 5100 block of Indiana Avenue in Kansas City.

The female victim said she was hanging out with Bowes when he said he wanted to talk to her about an ex-boyfriend. Bowes then grabbed her by her hair and stabbed her four times in the stomach, according to court documents.

Bowes was taken into custody on Thursday. Bowes admitted to Independence detectives that he cut the male victim and then spoke with him for 20 minutes before fleeing, according to court documents.

He allegedly told police that demons told him to do it, and he waited until his victim was asleep because it was the “moral thing” to do.

He told Kansas City police that he stabbed the female victim, cleaned off the knife and got rid of it, according to court documents.

Bowes allegedly said that he should have finished the job by taking her life because then he wouldn’t be in jail. He believed the stabbing was justified, according to court documents.

This story was originally published December 24, 2017 at 2:10 PM with the headline "Man claiming to hear demons is charged with stabbing man in KC, woman in Independence."