A man has been arrested on suspicion of strangling and killing his boyfriend in a sober living home in Echo Park, a neighborhood in central Los Angeles.
Nicholas James Bowling, aka Nick Bowling, 28, is being held on $2 million bail in connection with the murder of his on-again-off-again boyfriend, 48-year-old Frank Rogers.
Bowling, who lost both legs in 2012 after he crashed an LAPD car he had stolen into a light pole, a parked car and a Starbucks on South La Brea Avenue in Los Angeles, is being held at the Los Angeles’ Inmate Reception Center and a hearing is set for Tuesday.
A friend of the victim told KTLA 5 News that Rogers was a “loving, gentle and kind soul” who will be “missed by the entire community.” LAPD’s Northeast division are still investigating the case, but “from a distance, it’s death by way of a domestic dispute.”
The Pride Los Angeles reported that “an enraged Bowling is said to have overpowered Rogers and locked him into what police describe as a ‘choke-hold’ that he held until Rogers was lifeless.” Bowling had “struggled for several years with substance abuse,” and Rogers, a “highly regarded member of Los Angeles’ recovery community,” was known to be a “generous mentor and supporter of Bowling.”
Bowling is no stranger to the generosity of friends.
After he stole and crashed the LAPD car which resulted in the loss of his legs, friends rallied in support of his recovery. A GoFundMe page was set up in his name to help with his “mounting medical expenses and extensive physical rehabilitation” and “blew right past” its initial goal of $5,000, according to organizer Ehren Bragg.
Friends also organized A Sunday Funday Event to Support Nick Bowling, a benefit at the now-defunct Eleven Nightclub in West Hollywood which raised over $9,000. The club donated 20 percent of food sales towards the benefit.
Watch the full report from KTLA 5 News:
Photo credit: Nick Bowling Fund/GoFundMe
