On Monday, a 42-year-old Milan man was sentenced to 55 years in prison in connection with the fatal assault of a Milan woman in 2021, according to court documents.

Ward Davis, of Milan, earlier pleaded guilty to a charge of first-degree murder. He received credit for time he already has served.

A deadly assault in 2021

Shortly after 11 a.m. Sept. 17, 2021, Milan Police responded to the 700 block of Hillcrest Road for a report of a woman with head injuries who was lying in the roadway, according to a news release from the Milan Police Department.  

She was transported by ambulance from the scene and was in critical care, the release said. The caller also reported a gas can on fire in the laundry room of Pineview Apartments. A suspect had left the area, police said.

Julie Bowser was identified as the victim. Lisa Bowser, her sister, earlier told Our Quad Cities News that her sister passed away at 6:51 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 22, 2021, at St. Francis Medical Center, Peoria.

According to Lisa, the incident happened at the Pineview Apartments in Milan. Julie Bowser had moved to the complex three months before. Soon after, she met a new neighbor.

“She befriended him at first because she’s neighborly and friendly and then he just started stalking her and harassing her. She had told the landlord twice about him,” said Lisa Bowser.