Jaquan Devaughen Bowen

In the early morning hours of October 3, 2024, officers from the Asheville Police Department responded to a report of a shooting at a home on Laurel Loop in West Asheville. At approximately 12:34 a.m., they arrived to find Jaquan Devaughen Bowen, a 26-year-old man, with a gunshot wound to his head. A woman at the scene, Jessica Barnes Ferland, was holding paper towels to his head in an effort to stop the bleeding. Officers administered immediate life-saving measures before Bowen was transported to Mission Hospital with life-threatening injuries. He died the following day, on October 4, 2024.

Investigators learned that Bowen and Ferland, who was 40 at the time, were in a romantic relationship. Just before the shooting, the two had been arguing on her porch. The dispute centered on an affidavit Bowen had written in support of Ferland’s ex-husband in a custody case involving her children, which questioned her parenting. During the argument, Ferland retrieved a .22-caliber pistol to intimidate Bowen. She pointed it at his head and pulled the trigger, but the weapon dry-fired. When Bowen shrugged in response, Ferland pulled the trigger a second time. The gun discharged, striking Bowen in the temple.

Ferland immediately sought help and remained at the scene. She told investigators that the shooting was an accident and that she did not intend to kill Bowen, but wanted him to take her seriously and understand her grief over losing custody of her children. Police arrested Ferland and initially charged her with attempted first-degree murder. Following Bowen’s death, the charge was upgraded to first-degree murder.

On February 5, 2026, Jessica Barnes Ferland pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of second-degree murder in Buncombe County Superior Court. The plea agreement was reached after consultation with Bowen’s family, who, in accordance with the North Carolina Crime Victims’ Rights Act, were kept informed throughout the prosecution and agreed with the resolution of the case. A judge sentenced Ferland to an active prison term of 125 to 157 months in the North Carolina Department of Adult Correction. With her sentencing, the case was closed in February 2026.