Juan Lazaro-Abrego, now approximately 47, is wanted by the Cobb County, Georgia Sheriff's Office in connection with the 2008 murder of Elizabeth Bowie, a 28-year-old seventh-grade teacher with Marietta City Schools. Bowie was found strangled inside her Smyrna, Georgia apartment; investigators believe she was killed on either July 28 or July 29, 2008. Lazaro-Abrego, Bowie's boyfriend at the time and a former Mexican law enforcement officer who was living in the United States illegally, has not been located since. He is described as a Hispanic male, 5 feet 4 inches tall, approximately 170 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes.
A Cobb County grand jury indicted Lazaro-Abrego in October 2016 on charges of malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, and concealing a death. The Cobb County District Attorney's Major Crimes Unit, the Smyrna Police Department, and the U.S. Marshals Service have investigated the case for more than a decade. Lazaro-Abrego is believed to have possibly left Georgia and gone to Fayetteville, North Carolina immediately following the murder, according to a 2008 WRAL news article. It was later reported by an independent source that he may have fled the country after the killing, and investigators have said he may be hiding in Mexico, though his exact location has not been confirmed by any agency. The case was featured nationally on Investigation Discovery's "In Pursuit with John Walsh" in February 2019. He remains on the Cobb County Sheriff's Office's Most Wanted list as of August 2026, and no reward has been publicized. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Cobb County Sheriff's Office at (770) 499-4633, the "In Pursuit" tip line at (833) 378-7783, or submit a tip directly to the HOLMES website.
