More than three decades after 14-year-old Barbara Rowan's body was found on the side of a Bucks County road, her killer is serving more than a decade behind bars. But, the judge wishes the sentence was longer.
A Florida man has been sentenced to 13.5 to 27 years in the killing of the suburban Philadelphia teenager.
George Shaw, 57, was convicted in July of third-degree murder and attempted indecent assault but acquitted of rape in a nonjury trial.
At sentencing, Common Pleas Court Judge Wallace Bateman Jr. spoke about being bound to 1984 sentencing guidelines rather than modern guidelines.
“You have truly been a beneficiary of the delay in bringing you to justice,” Bateman told Shaw.
“You are a murderer,” the judge said. “You have lived 30 years without paying your debt to society [while] the Rowan family has been given a life sentence by your hand... The bottom line is, you took the life of such a young girl, and then you got to live your life.”
Bucks County authorities said Shaw drugged and suffocated 14-year-old Barbara Rowan in an apartment in the Trevose section of Bensalem in August 1984, then dumped her duct tape-bound body along a highway with the help of a friend. Her body was found 13 days later of U.S. Route 1.
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Through his attorney, Shaw maintained his innocence, saying Rowan was killed by someone else. Defense attorney Louis Busico attacked the credibility of the testimony of a prosecution witness who pleaded guilty to hindering apprehension.
Under law in effect in 1984, the maximum term for third-degree murder was 10 to 20 years.
Getting the conviction was a challenge for prosecutors.
“It was very challenging, but we’re pleased that George Shaw is now convicted as a murderer, and as a sex offender, two things we knew to be the case,” Deputy District Attorney Jennifer Schorn said.
