New Jersey State Police

Reward Offered in Manhunt for Man Accused of Stabbing Ex-Girlfriend to Death

A $5,000 reward is being offered for information leading to the arrest of a man wanted for the deadly stabbing of his ex-girlfriend outside her South Jersey home.

Michael Eitel, 45, has been on the run from authorities since Wednesday night when police say he stabbed Carol Bowne to death in the driveway of her West Berlin, New Jersey home.

Bowne, 39, and Eitel dated for some time after the woman's husband died in a motorcycle crash, but the hair stylist later took out a restraining order against the man after he became violent against her, according to authorities.

New Jersey State Police and U.S. Marshals combed through the woods around Bowne's home by air and the ground trying to find Eitel. A fugitive task force was added to the search Thursday.

A motive for the killing is not yet known, but investigators said Eitel had an argument with another woman at a different home before he came to Bowne's house.

Bowne had recently added security cameras to her Patton Avenue home and, in April, applied for a gun permit, but had yet to receive approval.

Two days after Bowne's death, state senators Diane Allen, Jennifer Beck and Dawn Marie Addiego are drafting legislation that would prioritize permitting for those who have a restraining order in place.

"You're still going to have to go through the process, but every step of the way, your particular application will get priority," Addiego said.

Nancy Hutchinson with Camden County Women's Center spoke cautiously about the proposed law, however, concerned it could hurt domestic violence victims.

"[They must ensure] that if a gun is used for victims of violence for self-defense that there are laws in the legal system that help them if they have to resort to that so it doesn't come back and hurt them if a gun is used for their own protection," she said.

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