In the quiet community of Yeaddiss, Kentucky, a grim discovery shattered the peace on the evening of December 10, 2018. Thirty-eight-year-old Chad M. Bowling, a lifelong resident of Leslie County and a former coal miner, was found dead from a gunshot wound outside a neighbor's home. The tragedy deepened when his parents, Larry, 64, and Norma Bowling, 61, were also discovered deceased inside their residence, both having suffered fatal gunshot wounds.
Chad, born on July 7, 1980, in Hyden,
Kentucky, was known in his community and affiliated with the Beatty Branch Church of God in Christ Jesus. His life, tragically cut short, was remembered by his love for hunting, fishing, and University of Kentucky basketball.
The investigation into the triple homicide quickly focused on a suspect, Paul Douglas Sizemore. As Kentucky State Police troopers were responding to the initial reports of gunfire, one of the trooper's cruisers was intentionally rammed by a vehicle driven by Sizemore, who then fired shots at the officer before fleeing the scene on foot. This brazen act escalated the manhunt for the then-unidentified assailant.
Following an intensive search, law enforcement officials apprehended Sizemore. He was subsequently charged with three counts of murder for the deaths of Chad, Larry, and Norma Bowling. In addition to the murder charges, Sizemore also faced a charge of attempted murder of a police officer for the attack on the state trooper. The arrest brought a suspect to justice in a case that had deeply affected the small eastern Kentucky community. Autopsies confirmed that all three members of the Bowling family died from gunshot wounds.
